Completion of Eyak (ISO 693-3 eya) Grammar, Dictionary, Texts

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

This project by Dr. Michael Krauss will complete the documentation and presentation of existing materials on the Eyak language, which became extinct in 2008 when the last Native speaker passed away. Dr. Michael Krauss has focused much of his career working with the remaining speakers of Eyak recording their language in great detail. Krauss' work is, as one reviewer described it, of the highest quality. Eyak is an important language because it occupies the space between Athapaskan and Tlingit and a full analysis of Eyak will contribute to an understanding of the linguistic relationships between North America and Asia. The project focuses on archiving existing materials and completing the dictionary, translation and transcription of texts and grammar for the future access and use of scholars and the Eyak community alike.