Biloxi update

[Anthony Grant]

Dave:

yes, the book has the texts as well as the vocab (and see Mary Haas'
artile on the last words of Biloxi in IJAL in, I think, 1968 for one
other lexical item).   For my money, Ofo is a bit more divergent in some
respects. (I don't know Tutelo well enough to judge.)   But divergence
can also imply archaism.  My advice on mastering comparative Siouan?
Saturate yourself in the relevant works of Rankin and Rood (certainly
start with their works).

Someone should do a Comparative Siouan Reader one day, ditto for Alg,
Caddoan, Iroquoian, Uto-Aztecan, Muskogean...(anyone spot a trend
here?).

Best

Anthony



>>> dvklinguist2003 at yahoo.com 11/10/2004 03:36:17 >>>
Already ordered a copy of the dictionary--a used hardback in "good"
condition through Amazon.  Should be arriving in the next week or so.
I'm not sure if this one has the texts in it, but a NEW copy (which was
all I saw) with texts costs $99.00!  A bit much at the moment.
Eventually I'm sure I'll get it, but I'll see where I get with the other
things, especially the ordered dictionary, first.

Are these U of Colorado Siouan archives something I can access online?
Also going to track down the IJAL article.  So, Bob, you mentioned you
did a couple of papers on Biloxi-Ofo?  Is this something you could email
copies of, or forward via snail mail?

I'm also wondering if, since Biloxi is the farthest afield of the
Siouan languages, it is also the most divergent?  I know in the case of
Cherokee it became the most divergent of the Iroquois family because of
its fairly early shift farther south.  Wonder if the same is true of
Biloxi in the Siouan family.  It'll be interesting to compare Hidatsa,
in the far north, with Biloxi, in the far south, to see how much these
two Siouan languages have diverged.

Thanks again!

Dave

"R. Rankin" <rankin at ku.edu> wrote:
Oh, and don't forget the computer files of D&S's texts and dictionaries
at the
U. of Colorado's Siouan Archive. It was recorded in the older ASCII
symbol set
with all-CAPS and numerals for diacritics, but it can be dubbed down
into
Windows symbols/formatting by you. It's much easier to search than the
book
(which should always be on hand for double checking for typoes.

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: "R. Rankin"
To:
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2004 3:45 PM
Subject: Re: Biloxi update


> > 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" 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)
> > >
> > >
> > > ---------------------------------
> > > Do you Yahoo!?
> > > vote.yahoo.com - Register online to vote today!
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > vote.yahoo.com - Register online to vote today!
>
>


		
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