DDIG: Kiowa-Tanoan: A Diachronic and Synchronic Study

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

The investigation into the historical relationships, both phylogenetic and areal, between Kiowa-Tanoan and other language families, fills a notable gap in the literature on Native American languages. This dissertation research project aims to produce a comparative-historical analysis of the Kiowa-Tanoan language family which includes Kiowa, Arizona Tewa, Rio Grande Tewa, Picurís Northern Tiwa, Taos Northern Tiwa, Southern Tiwa, Towa, and the extinct Piro. The project both informs and is informed by synchronic analysis of the modern languages of the family. Updated grammatical descriptions of each language provides the groundwork for the cross-comparison of vocabulary and grammatical constructions. This comparison permits a detailed reconstruction of the hypothetical ancestral language (Proto-Kiowa-Tanoan). The focus of comparison centers on the complex systems of verb indexation, number marking, noun classification, and tense/aspect/mood. Evident diachronic changes of the Kiowa-Tanoan language family elucidate numerous aspects of the grammar of the modern languages. The study takes advantage of all material published to date, extensive unpublished archival material, much of which has not been utilized in previous research, and new consultation with native speakers of the modern languages. The project serves as a comprehensive state-of-the-art summary of Kiowa-Tanoan studies and makes data, previously difficult to access, available to both linguistic researchers and community members where these languages are still spoken. This research provides important insight into Native American linguistics and intends to be a useful resource for researchers investigating the language and ethnographic history of pre-contact North America and for linguists and Native community members in the development of materials for language revitalization and maintenance in the Kiowa-Tanoan speaking communities where the heritage language is being lost.