Methodological problems in reclaiming Nuu-wee-ya’ from archival materials: The case of verbal prefix semantics

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to support the language revitalization and reclamation of Nuu-wee-ya’, a Dene language from Southern Oregon and Northern California, and to contribute to the discussions on methodological particularities of archive-based research for language revitalization. Nuu-wee-ya’ is a sleeping language comprising three dialects (Tututni/Upper Coquille, Tolowa, and Galice), two of which are currently being reawakened through community efforts and philological analysis of archival materials. Native American philological analysis for language reclamation is a burgeoning field needing methodological introspection. This paper describes the semantic function of a small subsection of verbal prefixes: na-, ni-, nu-, ne-, and nv-. I also provide commentary on unique factors of language reclamation from a philological analysis. It is hoped that this work can provide information on approaches to analyzing verb semantics to further speaker-learner reclamation of a sleeping language, furthering the development of methodologies in the field of Native American philology as well as contributing to the understanding of the semantic use of verbal prefixes in Dene languages. May this work support the growth and use of Nuu-wee-ya’ language and culture.