Documenting Kokama-Kokamilla: texts, grammar and lexicon

The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide to for the linguistic documentation of endangered language and knowledge. Grantees create multimedia collection of endangered languages. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) housed at the library of SOAS University of London.

Kokama-Kokamilla is a deeply endangered language spoken in the Peruvian Amazon. The need for documentation is urgent as nearly all of the estimated 1500 remaining speakers are elderly people, and natural processes of language transmission have been interrupted. This project involves a significant fieldwork component leading to a comprehensive grammar, a lexicon and collection of texts and video and audio recordings, which will contribute to ongoing language revitalization efforts. The grammar will include substantial analysis of discourse aspects, as well as a historical account for grammaticalization phenomena shedding light on the evolution of the language, and potentially on the history of this people. Primary investigator: Rosa Vallejos

Project Details


Location: Peru, South America, Peru, Peru, Americas, United States of America Organiser(s): Endangered Languages Documentation Programme Project partner(s): University of Oregon Funder(s): Arcadia Funding received: £15,187.00 Commencement Date: 01/2002
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