[Lexicog] extinct languages...

[phil cash cash]

my name is phil cash cash and i just joined the list (thanks to Rudy
Troike for suggesting i join).  i work on polysynthetic languages Nez
Perce, Sahaptin, and an extinct language isolate Cayuse, all from the
NW interior (OR/WA/ID).  i am Cayuse/Nez Perce and speak NP.

i am presently working a dictionary for Cayuse based upon late 19th
century records (Hudson's Bay records, BAE word lists, and even rarer
word lists done by modern linguists).  an minimum estimate of known
words are in the range 1000-1500.

i would be interested in knowing if any of you share in some of the
same problems or interests in reconstructing lexical forms from an
extinct language.  one major advance that i have made is capturing the
basic prosodic sound pattern which appears as a trochaic word pattern.
from there i may be able to show borrowing of forms where comparisons
have been made in the literature.

just of give you an idea of what i am up against, Mithun's (1999) 'The
Languages of Native North America' show two inflectional paradigms: 9
examples of 'hungry' and 6 examples of 'thirsty'.  this is all there is
that exists (w/simple single verb entries of various sorts elsewhere)!

thanks,

phil cash cash
UofA
ph.d student in ling/anthro



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