A Grammar of Meskwaki

Ives Goddard

A Grammar of Meskwaki
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Mundart Press
Published
8 March 2023
Pages
516
ISBN
9798986545035

A Grammar of Meskwaki

Ives Goddard

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

This book is a grammar of Meskwaki, an Algonquian language spoken today in Tama County, Iowa. There are two factors that make Meskwaki of particular interest and importance. It is arguably the most archaic language of the Algonquian family in preserving the word shapes of the ancestral Algonquian language that is reconstructed as Proto-Algonquian by linguists. And it is documented by a very large collection of texts written by numerous native speakers more than a century ago that is kept in the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution. Meskwaki is a highly inflected language with extremely free word order. This grammar includes separate chapters on phonology (the sound system), grammatical categories, inflections, the derivation of stems, sentence structure, and some aspects of how sentences are connected to form longer utterances and narratives (discourse). The uses of the proximate and obviative third person categories are described and illustrated with numerous examples. The use of discontinuous compound words, phrases, and clauses is also described. Extensive reference is made throughout to the published and unpublished textual sources. An appendix lists and analyzes all the inflectional endings in the two long texts that have been published with interlinearized analysis, "The Autobiography of a Meskwaki Woman" and "The Owl Sacred Pack." Meskwaki is the heritage language of the Meskwaki Nation (the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa).

This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in 7-14 days

Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.