Prof, students help ancient culture live on (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Prof, students help ancient culture live on

November 3, 2005
http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/2005/fall/129.htm

English Associate Professor Troi Carleton is determined to save Zapotec,
a language indigenous to Mexico -- and to do it before it is lost to new
generations transformed by technology and social change. "When a
language dies, its culture dies, too," Carleton said.

This summer Carleton took eight students to Oaxaca, Mexico, where 23
dialects of Zapotec are spoken. The Zapotecs called Mexico their home
for thousands of years before Spain colonized Mexico and made Spanish
-- a completely foreign tongue -- the country's official language.

"What makes me terribly sad is the thought of it [Zapotec] dying without
it being written down anywhere. Once it disappears, there's no record it
ever existed," said Carleton, who has been teaching in the linguistics
and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages programs at SFSU
since 1996.

This was the second year Carleton's students worked on preserving the
Zapotec language, which is being overwhelmed by Spanish. The field
experience provides a rare opportunity for students with little to no
experience in field linguistics and language documentation.

"Dr. Carleton's efforts in this project have put all of us way ahead of
the curve," said Jason Fraser, a graduate student who participated this
summer. "She is doing her students a great service."

The students, who must take preparatory linguistics classes and speak
Spanish to participate in the ongoing project, focused on Zapotec
Teotitlan Del Valle, a dialect from a small town named Teotitlan in the
Oaxaca valley. Joining Teotitlan officials, community elders and local
university students, they worked toward three goals: developing a
Spanish/Zapotec dictionary, a grammar accessible to all Zapotec
community members and an archive of oral history for the town museum.

Carleton wanted to integrate SFSU students in a first-hand, language
preservation project, but the Oaxaca mountain communities were poor,
dangerous and could not sustain a group of students for the three weeks
needed for research. She turned to Teotitlan, a wealthier town known for
its textile production and successful international market for rugs. The
people of Teotitlan are eager to preserve their language and culture and
welcome SFSU into to their community, Carleton said.

"They are extremely hard-working, amazing people," said Charlie Kaupp, a
graduate student who has been a part of the Zapotec preservation project
since it started. "They wake up early ... and they work well into the
evening. But even with all this work, they still find time for family
and friends to have a Coronita."

Carleton began the Zapotec preservation project after working for seven
years to help preserve Chatino, another Zapotec dialogue. She produced
the first Chatino/Spanish/English dictionary and published several
articles on grammatical- and discourse-related issues in Chatino.
Earlier in her career, she worked in Malawi, Africa.

Carleton will continue to bring students each summer to gather more
language and cultural information and to contribute to the Teotitlan
museum, which includes sections on the town's history, individual
stories, cultural practices, and traditional storytelling, myths and
legends. The archive is owned by both Teotitlan and Carleton.

Carleton's students, who are already preparing for next year's trip, are
working on developing a Spanish/Zapotec dictionary of at least 5,000
words.

-- Student Writer Lisa Rau with Matt Itelson