Linguistic Characteristics of the Comanche Language

FAIN: FN-50008-06

Todd A. McDaniels
Comanche Nation College (Lawton, OK 73501-7434)

The Principal Investigator requests support for a project to document the linguistic characteristics of the Comanche language. The goal is to collect and archive narrative and expository discourse as well as elicited linguistic data from from the c30 speakers of Comanche. Comanche is a Uto-Aztecan language from the Numic subfamily. Speakers are located nowadays mainly in southwest Oklahoma in and around the city of Lawton. The language is highly endangered. The project would benefit those within the tribe who maintain an interest in learning the language. The clearest effect would be yielded by the gathering of texts. Comanche stories have an intrinsic value for the Comanche community which is partly a matter of an appreciation of the sound of the language and partly a matter of an appreciation of the content. (Edited by staff)