The Department of Linguistics presents a
PhD Dissertation Defense by
Katherine Matsumoto
March 27th, 2015
3:30 pm
LNCO 2110
Title: Language change in Shoshone: Structural
consequences of language loss
Abstract:
This dissertation provides a detailed case study of language endangerment-induced language change in the Shoshone
community of Duck Valley, a Shoshone and Paiute reservation where the native languages have lost ground to English
significantly over the past decades. The analysis incorporated factors from individual speaker backgrounds and
sociolinguistic histories in determining language endangerment-induced language change and variation and indicates how
these variables indicate that extensive contact with English and decreasing use of Shoshone have led to structural
simplification in the nominal morphological features examined in this study.
This dissertation examines structural changes in Shoshone, a language whose community is undergoing language shift.
Shoshone is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language with approximately 3000 speakers. It is spoken over the entire Great
Basin area, primarily in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. There is a large dialect chain of Shoshone speakers over this
geographical area (Miller 1970). Miller conducted extensive fieldwork throughout the Shoshone-speaking community
during the 1960s and 70s. His vast collection of texts and grammatical work, the Wick R. Miller Collection (WRMC) is
housed at the University of Utah. The availability of this collection for comparison with present-day data that I collected
during a three-week field trip to the reservation provides a picture of language change over a period where the language
has gone from relatively viable to extremely endangered.
This analysis focuses on nominal morphology motivated by the existence of crosslinguistically marked features, the
anecdotal or preliminary observations of changes in progress, and to build on the findings of previous case studies into
endangered language nominal morphology. Descriptive analysis of each feature is presented with examples from present
day speakers of various fluency and compared with the texts from the WRMC. The features discussed are the accusative
case allomorphy, number marking and agreement, and proximity indication in demonstrative stems. The analysis of the
sociolinguistic data on language use, gender, age, and social network indicates that these factors interact with age being
the most relevant factor in retention of innovation in the features presented here.
To request an ADA accommodation, please contact: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 201 S.
Presidents Cr., #135, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, (801)581-8365. Reasonable notice is required.
To request an ADA accommodation, please contact: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 201 S.
Presidents Cr., #135, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, (801)581-8365. Reasonable notice is required.