Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area, North Slave Region
| Principal Investigator: | Hucklebridge, Sherry (2) |
| Licence Number: | 16571 |
| Organization: | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2019
|
| Issued: | Jun 18, 2019 |
Objective(s): To learn how quantifiers add to the meaning of nouns in Tlicho Yatii and Sahtuot’ine Yati, and to explore how these languages may differ from each other, and from other languages.
Project Description: The specific focus of this study is on quantifiers in Tlicho Yatii and Sahtuot’ine Yati. The term ‘quantifier’ is used to refer to words that combine with nouns and give information about the amount of that noun. Examples of quantifiers in English include ‘all,’ ‘every,’ and ‘some.’ Tlicho Yatii and Sahtuot’ine Yati have distinct quantifiers from English, and from each other. For example, while English has two ‘universal’ quantifiers (‘all’ and ‘every’), Tlicho Yatii has three (‘hazoo,’ ‘hot’ii,’ and ‘tanet’e’). According to ‘Grammar of Slave,’ Sahtuot’ine Yati has four (‘ariyune,’ ‘tagoneht’e,’ ‘hoghare,’ and ‘lacho’). The researcher hopes to learn how quantifiers add to the meaning of nouns in Tlicho Yatii and Sahtuot’ine Yati, and to explore how these languages may differ from each other, and from other languages. This study will involve a series of one-on-one meetings between the researcher and native speakers of Tlicho Yatii and Sahtuot’ine Yati. These native speakers will act as language consultants for the study. Each meeting will last approximately an hour, and no longer than three hour, with a break every 1-1.5 hours. During these meetings, the researcher will ask the language consultant to help with a series of language tasks, including: a) translating English sentences into their language; b) translating sentences in their language into English; and, c) describing pictures in their language. The researcher will write down the consultant’s answers, and will also audio-record the meetings, with the consultant’s permission. The researcher will recruit language consultants personally through email and/or over the phone. The researcher will recruit between 1-3 native speakers of Tlicho Yatii from the communities of Bechoko and/or Yellowknife to participate as language consultants in this study. The researcher will also recruit 1-3 native speakers of Sahtuot’ine Yati from the community of Deline to participate. This project will contribute to ongoing efforts to document and revitalize both Tlicho Yatii and Sahtuot’ine Yati by recording parts of these languages that have not previously been documented. Copies of the all files that are recorded during meetings with consultants will be given to the Tlicho Community Service Agency and the Deline Government for use in languages revitalization and documentation projects, if the language consultant recorded on the tape gives their permission. The researcher will also write a plain-language version of the results of the research that can be used for language teaching and learning. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from June 18, 2019 to September 1, 2019.
