Biloxi update

[R. Rankin]

>  Can the dictionary be special ordered perhaps through Borders or Amazon.com?

There are lots of used copies floating around.  Amazon.com's websites
incorporates inventories from several other antiquarian booksellers.  check
there first.

> May I request a copy of Einaudi's dissertation from U of Colorado by phone or
email to be sent to me?

It was published by Garland Press.  There should be used copies floating around.

Whom would I contact at the Smithsonian to get copies of Dorsey's field notes?

Go to the National Anthropological Archives website and start there.  They
charge an arm and a leg for photocopying but may have the Biloxi on microfilm.
I don't know.

> I would imagine documenting an "extinct" language has its own problems, since
there are no longer native speakers left with which to confirm data.  But I
suppose it also has its advantages in that one doesn't have to go through the
long and difficult process of establishing rapports with native speakers and
become involved in tribal politics which I've heard sometimes happens in field
work.  It seems my main difficulty would just be in gathering, from a distance,
all the extant materials and prior work that has been done.

Better look at Dorsey and Swanton first, and Einaudi.  It's true that for
philological analysis of texts lots of comparative work is useful.

> I'm also curious about one other thing: since I currently have an MA (not a
PhD) in linguistics, would it be too illogical to assume that once one is
already involved in analysis of a language, that it would be easier to be
accepted to a PhD-granting university?  I mean if I were to make a career of
analyzing a language and would be developing the material for a dissertation
anyway, and then some!, wouldn't this also suggest easier acceptance into a
program?  I have actually considered applying to Canadian or British
universities where I understand all that's required is research and a
dissertation, and extra course work is not needed as is the case here in the US.
I'm nearly 42 years old, so of course time is an issue for me in achieving a
PhD.  Not that I'm hellbent on achieving a PhD (it really doesn't matter that
much to me either way) but since I'd already be doing the research and work that
a dissertation would entail, why not?

I'm sure there are lots of Ph.D. programs in Linguistics that would love to have
applicants.  This is especially true with international student applications
down 20 or 30%.  You'd maybe want a local Siouanist and definitely the
availability of comparative linguistics if possible.  That restricts the
possibilities somewhat.  At the moment I guess you might think of Colorado,
Chicago, UCSB, UCLA, UCB, Indiana, Utah, SUNY Buffalo, UBC, Regina, Toronto in
no particular order.  I'm probably leaving someone out.  I'm retiring in May or
I'd mention KS.  There are some Anthropology depts among these too.

Bob
>
> Thanks again for your feedback and answering my many questions!
>
> Dave
>
> "R. Rankin" <rankin at ku.edu> wrote:
> The place to start with Biloxi is John R. Swanton and James Owen Dorsey, A
> Dictionary of the Biloxi and Ofo Languages. BAE Bulletin 47, 1912. Paula
> Einaudi's U. of Colorado dissertation from about '74 is based on D&S and is a
> good starting place for further work. I reviewed the book for IJAL and have
> written a few additional papers on Biloxi and Ofo. The Smithsonian has
Dorsey's
> original Biloxi field notes which may contain additional information. Gatschet
> did a little earlier field work incorporated by Dorsey. Mary Haas located a
> woman in about 1934 who could remember a few words of Biloxi and she published
a
> paper in IJAL in about 1968 entitled "The last words of Biloxi". Randy Graczyk
> has a nice paper on Biloxi switch-reference particles in MS form.
>
> There is much about Biloxi morphosyntax that needs clarification. Einaudi's
> sketch is a beginning, but the definitive Biloxi grammar is yet to be written.
> I don't think another "dissertation length" treatise would cover it. It is
> pretty much a career's worth of work for somebody. Not me -- I have noodled
> around with it, but I'm too old and have too much on my plate already. I hope
> you or someone else will work with what's available.
>
> Hint: Take Dorsey's two series of stop consonants (plain and with subscript
> dots) seriously. They represent distinct phonological series that were missed
> by virtually everybody after Dorsey.
>
> Another hint: A single linguist per language guarantees totally inadequate
> coverage. There is still much to analyze in Dakotan, and numerous linguists
> have been trying to understand how that language works for well over 150
years.
> The other Siouan languages haven't seen nearly as much work. There's plenty to
> do with both texts and speakers in a variety of languages, and if it's done
> right, both speakers and linguists will appreciate the effort.
>
> Bob
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Kaufman"
> To:
> Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2004 6:54 PM
> Subject: Re: Hidatsa update
>
>
> > Thanks, John B., for your response and update on Hiraca. Glad to hear from
> you and know you're still involved in the tribe's efforts to revitalize it.
> >
> > Also, I wanted to ask the list about Biloxi. I was informed that there are a
> lot of texts available. I'm not sure if it's still spoken or if it's one of
the
> unfortunate extinct Siouan languages. Also, I'm wondering if anyone is
> currently involved in its research. Since I'm still willing and able to work
on
> a Siouan language, and since right now it's rather difficult financially for
me
> to travel across the country to do fieldwork, I feel I'd be in a very good
> position to study an "extinct" language which involves only written materials
> and texts. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get more info on this
> language and its current status and where I may be able to get hold of copies
of
> its texts?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Dave Kaufman
> >
> > John Boyle wrote:
> > Hello, I'm wondering what the status is right now of work on the Hiraca
> (Hidatsa) and Hocak (Winnebago) languages. I have not seen list email
> correspondence from John Boyle recently, whom I know was working on Hiraca (at
> least he was a couple of years ago when I visited Chicago). I wouldn't mind
> getting hold of any new documentation, dictionaries, updated grammars, or any
> other materials which may have been recently published, or which I may obtain
> for my own library and self-study purposes. I recently sent an email regarding
> Cherokee and Hawaiian. (I take it by the lack of response that there are no
> Siouanists out there also delving into these non-Siouan languages, or know of
> anyone who does.) These are the two indigenous languages I'm putting most of
my
> efforts into right now, but I always keep an eye on Hiraca, Hocak, and some
> other Siouan languages as well, although I'm not formally or professionally
> involved in working on these languages. It's strictly for my own
> > information and personal interest. Thanks. Dave
> Kaufmandvklinguist2003 at yahoo.com
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi All,
> >
> >
> > Well, I'm still working on Hidatsa. I have just completed a dissertation
> chapter on relative clauses which is more or less ready to go. It is pretty
> theoretical with a lot of syntactic trees, but if anyone would like a copy,
I'd
> be happy to send a pdf. I have also spent a good chunk of the summer entering
> Wes Jones' Word List/Dictionary into an excel spread sheet, so that it is
> searchable. Unfortunately, I use fonts that are probably not compatible for PC
> users. I hope to do a find and replace in the near future so that it is
> available for the schools on the reservation and anyone else who would like a
> copy. Throughout the coming year, I plan on checking all of the words and
> adding more to the list. All in all, it is a really good word list although
> some of the non-traditional words are not agreed upon by some people, so we'll
> want to flag those.
> > We are also working on lesson plans and grammar exercises for the
> schools to ensure that we are in line with all of the "No Child Left Behind"
> guidelines. In addition, we hope to be completing a "Sketch" for Lincolm on
> Hidatsa within the next year and a half. With regards to texts, I have
> completed interlinear breakdowns for all of the Lowie and Earth Lodge texts in
> addition to several others, giving us a total of 13 completed texts (which is
> over 1150 lines). There is still some inconsistency within the texts as my
> analysis has changed over the years, so I wouldn't feel so comfortable giving
> these out. In addition, some of the Hidatsa feel that some of these stories
> shouldn't be told to outsiders, so we still have to work through that
culturally
> sensitive point.
> > Other than that, things are going well on Ft. Berthold. The new
> immersion programs are working well for the younger children and the high
school
> programs are becoming more uniform in their content.
> > With regards to Hocank, I assume that Helmbrecht is still actively
> working on the language and I know that there are very active language
> revitalization programs going on on all of the reservations.
> >
> >
> > So that's what's going an as far as I know.
> >
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> >
> > John (Boyle not Koontz)
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
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>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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