Seri Reference Grammar and Workshops

FAIN: FN-50007-06

Stephen A. Marlett
Unaffiliated Independent Scholar (Tucson, AZ 85739)

The project will complete a comprehensive reference grammar of Seri, a morphologically complex language of northwestern Mexico. This grammar will complement the trilingual dictionary which was published in 2005 with only a brief grammar included. It will also complement the corpus of glossed texts that was produced and which continues to be expanded. Three workshops are planned that will enhance the value of this grammar: one for the linguistic community in northwestern Mexico, to help improve understanding and appreciation of the Seri language (and the importance of its continued documentation); and two for the Seri community, to help prepare a group of people to continue the development and archiving of written materials. Digital recordings of the bulk of the material in the grammar will also be made and archived. The Principal Investigator's work on the dictionary and texts was funded by NSF in 2002-2004. (Edited by staff)