Doctoral Dissertation Research: Belizean Mopan Documentation (MOP)

Southern Illinois University At Carbondale, Carbondale IL

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to document and describe the grammar, lexicon, dialectal variations, and a variety of performance and speech genres of Belizean Mopan, a Mayan language spoken in the Toledo district of Southern Belize. Despite increases in Mopan populations, Mopan is a severely endangered language because younger community members are no longer speaking the language. The data are to be documented and analyzed to allow for: evaluation of Belizean Mopan's relationship with its Yukatekan sister languages; data sets for Proto-Yukatekan reconstruction; analysis of culturally specific linguistic functions, such as the role of sound symbolism in discourse; the comparison of the effects of English contact on Belizean Mopan with Spanish contact on Guatemalan Mopan; and the creation of cultural and intellectual resources for future generations. This study will contribute to a better understanding of Belizean Maya and to strengthening the ethnic identity of its speakers and call more public attention to and appreciation of the modern Belizean Mayan people, culture and language. This project will also contribute to the scientific training of a promising scholar.