'O'odham Ñeo'okĭ ’I Ma:mjim Cipkanakuḍ
(’O’odham Language Research Lab)
Purpose
The O'odham Ñeo’okĭ ’I Ma:mjim Cipkanakuḍ (’OÑIMC) (’O’odham Language Research Lab) at University of Arizona is dedicated to advancing the study, documentation, and revitalization of the O'odham language through community-responsive research and Indigenous-centered methodologies. ’OÑIMC’s work bridges rigorous linguistic scholarship with the priorities and expertise of O'odham communities.
Mission
’OÑIMC pursues comprehensive linguistic research across multiple domains of O'odham grammar, including phonology, phonetics, morphology, sociolinguistics, language change, and language acquisition in revitalization contexts. Through this work, both theoretical understanding and practical applications in pedagogical linguistics are developed that serve community language goals and needs.
Commitments
- Community-Responsive Research: ’OÑIMC grounds research in methodologies that respond to and align with community needs, values, and knowledge systems.
- Indigenous Scholarship: ’OÑIMC builds on foundational linguistic research conducted by O'odham linguists and scholars, centering O'odham voices, perspectives, and analytical frameworks.
- Methodological Innovation: ’OÑIMC explores and develop innovative methodologies in the documentation, analysis, and teaching of O'odham that honor both academic rigor and cultural protocols.
Current Projects
- Ñeo’okĭ ’E-Da:mcuda ’O’ohon (O’odham Reduplication Dictionary): O’odham reduplication is a complex morphological phenomenon in the O'odham language used to create a series of grammatical features like nominal and verbal plurality, habitual iterative aspect and distributive predication. The processes by which reduplication occurs are largely left untreated in language acquisition domains. The reduplication dictionary provides learners with a resource for understanding how reduplication works in O’odham to assist in internalizing the morphophonological patterns and semantic associations made by speakers when employing reduplicative morphology in O’odham.
- Na:nko Kaidam Ñeo’okĭ Ce:gidaḍag (O’odham Language Dialectal Atlas): The O’odham dialectal atlas is a comprehensive resource that documents the variation and diversity of O'odham language use across different geographical contexts. The atlas is expected to provide a comprehensive overview of the different ways O'odham is used and experienced across various communities by documenting and describing the unique linguistic identities of each group.
- Ge’e ’O’odham Ñeo’okĭ ’O’’ohona Toakuḍ (O’odham language corpus): The ’O’odham corpus is a repository of written materials in the O'odham language. Materials currently available in the corpus are sourced from published linguistic works. Texts are transcribed and annotated for linguistic analysis using FielWorks Language Explorer software. The purpose of the corpus is to provide a comprehensive resource for language documentation, language learning and linguistic research.
- Ṣel ’O’odham Ñeo’okĭ Taṣogida ’O’ohon (Monolingual O’odham Dictionary): The ’O’odham monolingual dictionary is a comprehensive reference work containing entries for words and phrases entirely in the O'odham language. It differs from traditional bilingual dictionaries such that it focuses on the O'odham language exclusively and provides no English or Spanish translations. While in its initial phases, the dictionary is envisioned as a collaboration with O'odham speakers and community members to ensure community level input and validation of entries and their associated meanings as understood among speakers and community members. The monolingual dictionary is also expected to serve as a valuable resource for language learning and documentation.