Course Description
This course will introduce students to one of the most linguistically diverse regions of the world. There are over 300 languages – representing over 70 genetic units – currently spoken in Amazonia. We will start by exploring each of the major language families, their geographic distribution as well as important grammatical characteristics that languages within those families are known for. Then we will look at phonological, morphological, syntactic and discursive structures that stand out typologically. Thirdly we will focus on historical change and grammaticalisation pathways that are common for the region. Finally, we will look at the dynamics of language contact and the profound effect that cross-cultural interaction and multilingualism has had on many languages of the area. By the end of this course, students will not only be familiar with a number of languages of Amazonia and their typological features but will also have an appreciation for the valuable contribution that the study of Amazonian languages has had on linguistic theory.
Area Tags: Language Documentation, Typology, Sociolinguistics, Language Contact, Historical Linguistics
(Sessions 1 & 2) Monday/Thursday 9:00-10:20
Location: ILC S416
Instructors: Martin Kohlberger & Alexia Fawcett
Martin Kohlberger is an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Saskatchewan, located in Treaty 6 Territory, Canada. He is originally from Quito, Ecuador. He received his PhD from Leiden University in 2020. Most of his linguistic work has revolved around collaboration with citizens of the Shiwiar Nation in the Amazonian lowlands of eastern Ecuador. Since 2010 and together with over 30 collaborators, he has been involved in the Shiwiar Language Documentation Project, which has the primary aims of documenting endangered traditional Shiwiar knowledge, including spiritual speech registers, knowledge of flora and fauna and place names.
Alexia Fawcett is a doctoral candidate in linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her work mainly stems from documentation and description of Wao Terero, which she has been conducting in collaboration with speakers of the language in the Ecuadorian Amazon for over a decade. As such, her research spans levels of language structure, but to date has focused on spatial semantics, ideophones, and morphosyntax more generally.
