Grant awarded for documenting a nearly extinct language

Through its Small Grants Program, the Pike Center sponsors research and publication that address issues faced by language communities on the margins of society. We are pleased to announce the grant that has been awarded in the latest cycle of this program.

Steve Parker (middle) pictured in 1985 with two Chamikuro speakers in Yarinacocha, Peru

$3,000 has been awarded to Dr. Steve Parker for a project entitled “Documentation of Chamikuro.” Chamikuro is a nearly extinct and severely under-documented Maipurean language spoken in the Amazon jungle of Peru. Descriptions of the language are minimal and there are no archived recordings. Furthermore, the last-known fluent speaker of the language is quite elderly. This grant (with matching funds from other sources) will allow Dr. Parker to lead a team to work with the last speaker, not only to fill gaps in the scientific record but also to create an enduring record for the members of the ethnic community of their heritage language. Dr. Parker is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at Dallas International University (DIU); he holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The field team will include two DIU students, along with Dr. Maggie Romani Miranda (linguist at Ricardo Palma University, Lima, Peru) and Dr. Scott Berthiaume (academic dean at DIU).