This project will support final data collection and analysis for a Ph.D. dissertation consisting of a detailed reference grammar, collection of texts, and glossary of Wayana, a Cariban language spoken in the rain forest north of the Amazon river in Brazil, Surinam and French Guiana. Wayana is virtually undocumented, primarily due the the inaccessibility of the region where it is spoken. The need for documentation is urgent, as there are less than a thousand speakers and in several villages Wayana is not being learned by children. Several grammatical properties of Wayana are cross-linguistically rare, and one property of the verbal system is apparently unprecedented; a clear description will provide linguistic theoreticians and typologists with the opportunity to explain these properties. Given reliable lexical and grammatical descriptions, Wayana may finally be placed in the proper branch of the Cariban family, potentially shedding light on the pre-history of the region. This description will also serve as a foundation for the elaboration of literacy materials.

Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1999-12-15
Budget End
2001-11-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
$18,881
Indirect Cost
Name
Rice University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77005