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Fieldwork and research to document and analyze Secoya, an endangered language of Amazonian Peru.

This fellowship will support key components of the PI`s ongoing work to document Secoya, an endangered Tukanoan language of Peruvian Amazonia. The PI will produce a corpus of fully transcribed, glossed, and translated video recordings, and a comprehensive account of central features of the language: its noun categorization system and complex predicate constructions. The Secoya people live mainly in Loreto, Peru, inhabiting nine villages in the area. The total Secoya population is estimated at 600, about half having migrated to Ecuador during the Peru-Ecuador conflict in 1941. In contrast to what is reported for Ecuador, the Secoyas in Peru are mostly dominant in their heritage language, and, given their geographic isolation, this variety has not been influenced by any other neighboring language. However, this sociolinguistic context is changing rapidly. In the last decade alone, a growing Spanish/Secoya bilingualism among children and a change in attitudes towards Secoya identity among youngsters has been observed. This situation has become a concern for the community, and they are now putting forward initiatives to maintain their language. Thus, this is a crucial time to document Secoya and support ongoing community efforts. This project, the first to be focused entirely in Peruvian Secoya, will take advantage of current favorable conditions: a well-established collaborative relationship with the community, trained native speakers, and an efficient workflow. (Edited by staff)