A Reference Grammar of Kotiria (Wanano)

Preface

Preface This grammar is the result of ten years of ongoing study of the Kotiria language and practical work on language issues with the Kotiria people. It is a slightly expanded and substantially reorganized version of my dissertation, completed in 2004 at the University of Colorado, and is based on a corpus of primary data that includes an extensive lexical database and dozens of recorded narratives (seven of which are given with full interlinear analysis in appendix 1), elicited words and sentences, texts written by the Kotiria themselves (five of these are included in appendix 1), and observations during numerous field trips to Kotiria communities from 2000 on. The analysis both builds on previous research and suggests new hypotheses and avenues of investigation. The portrait of the language offered here is not exhaustive; although I have tried to present an overview that is as comprehensive as possible, there are certainly many issues yet to be investigated. It is nevertheless my hope that this grammar will be a useful tool not only for researchers of Tukanoan and other Amazonian languages, but also for typologists in general, as well as theoretical linguists who look to descriptions of languages as an essential source of primary language data. With this in mind, I have adopted a basic functional-typological framework, and have tried to offer ample exemplification and argumentation for each hypothesis or affirmation presented. ...