University of Utah shifts focus on indigenous languages (fwd link)

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*University of Utah shifts focus on indigenous languages*

Linguistics » With scholar’s exit, U. of U. center to zero in on Utah
tribal languages.

By Brian Maffly
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Sep 17 2012 05:44 pm

Before he came to Utah two years ago to pursue a doctorate in linguistics,
Jeff Pynes had already worked amid the Tolupan and other indigenous people
of Central America, recording their speech and stories in an effort to
document the words, syntax and grammar of their languages.

These tongues may be taught to young people to preserve them — and the
systems of knowledge they encode. Or they may shed light on structures
common to all languages and even help scientists unlock which parts of
language come from biology and which come from culture.

But time is running out for Tol and dozens of other native North and South
American languages that are a few generations away, or less, from going
silent forever.

A 2006 Berkeley graduate, Pynes was drawn to the University of Utah by its
then-growing reputation for language preservation — a vibrant subdiscipline
within linguistics — thanks to its Center for American Indian Languages, or
CAIL. The center has been devoted to preserving indigenous languages across
the Americas, from isolated corners of the Amazon to tribal schools in or
near Utah.

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http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54890361-78/language-center-cail-campbell.html.csp
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