Survey of California and Other Indian Languages

The Survey of California and Other Indian Languages (originally the Survey of California Indian Languages) at the University of California at Berkeley documents, catalogs, and archives the indigenous languages of the Americas. The survey also hosts events related to language revitalization and preservation.

Origins

The Survey was started as a pilot project by Berkeley linguistics professor Murray Emeneau[1] and Mary Haas in 1953.[2] It was established with an official budget on January 1, 1953.[3] Haas was a particular influence on the early working culture of the Survey. One student, Brent D. Galloway, recalled[4] how several of Haas' students had used a Natchez greeting, wanhetahnú·ʼis, and that "the tradition had apparently continued for over twenty years." (Haas' first publication had been on Natchez.)

The first project was a study of the Karuk language by William Bright, then a graduate student.[5] Since its founding 80 doctoral dissertations have been written under the auspices of the Survey.[6]

Publications

The Survey published a series of "Reports" beginning in 1981, covering a variety of topics related to languages of California as well as Native American languages elsewhere. Some volumes were standalone works such as dictionaries, others were collections of varied articles.[7] Beginning in 1976 the Survey began publishing the proceedings of Hokan–Penutian Workshop, which addressed the proposed Hokan and Penutian language families.[8] Both resources are available online.

In 2011, a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities made it possible to merge online resources from the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages and the Berkeley Language Center (BLC) into a single website, the California Language Archive.[9]

Directors

In addition to Haas, the Survey has been directed by Wallace Chafe and Leanne Hinton.[10] The current director is Andrew Garrett.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hoge, Patrick (2005-09-12). "Murray Emeneau -- famed UC Berkeley linguist". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  2. ^ Golla, V. (1997). "The Formative Influences on Mary R. Haas's Career". Anthropological Linguistics: 550–555.
  3. ^ McLendon, S. (1997). "Mary R. Haas: A Life in Linguistics". Anthropological Linguistics. 39 (4): 522–543. JSTOR 30028484.
  4. ^ Galloway, B. (1997). "Recollections of Mary R. Haas as Teacher, Supervisor, and Inspiration". Anthropological Linguistics. 39 (4): 636–641 [640].
  5. ^ Shipley, William (1988). In Honour of Mary Haas. City: Walter de Gruyter & Co. ISBN 978-3-11-011165-1.
  6. ^ "Survey of California and Other Indian Languages, University of California, Berkeley". linguistics.berkeley.edu. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  7. ^ "Proceedings of the Hokan–Penutian Workshop". Publications – Survey of California and Other Indian Languages. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  8. ^ "Survey Reports". Publications – Survey of California and Other Indian Languages. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  9. ^ Maclay, Kathleen (2011-06-20). "California Language Archive clicks with multiple resources". Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  10. ^ "Survey of California and Other Indian Languages, University of California, Berkeley". linguistics.berkeley.edu. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "Andrew Garrett". linguistics.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2009-12-18.