The University of New Mexico (UNM) announced Dr. Joshua Birchall, recently appointed as Assistant Professor of Linguistics, has unveiled the first-ever dictionary of Moré-Kuyubim. Birchall, one of the few individuals worldwide to decipher Moré-Kuyubim, published the first comprehensive dictionary. This new academic material will serve as a vital resource for studying and preserving this unique language.
Let's delve into more details about this exceptional work. Moré-Kuyubim, an extremely rare and intricate language spoken by communities on both sides of the Guaporé River dividing Bolivia and Brazil, has been meticulously documented by Assistant Professor Joshua Birchall. In a comprehensive work spanning hundreds of pages, he dissects around 1,400 words, providing translations into Spanish and Portuguese. Birchall developed an app that allows community members to access and familiarize themselves with the terms, according to a press release by UNM.
The cultural context surrounding Moré-Kuyubim gives us further insight into its history. "The language had been passed on from generation to generation without ever having been written. Traditionally, it was spoken on both sides of the border and both sides of the river. Both of these groups went through very different kinds of cultural histories," said Birchall, according to a press release by UNM. "Now, there's an intermediate generation whose parents spoke the language so they kind of understand it and can speak it a little bit. Then there's that next generation who maybe heard some but never really connected with it as their language."
Birchall's journey in understanding Moré-Kuyubim was far from casual. Birchall's understanding of Moré-Kuyubim is the result of months spent immersing himself in the communities, facilitated by funding from the Museu do Índio and UNESCO, where he diligently learned, studied, and absorbed the speech patterns, words, and culture of the area, according to a press release by UNM.
His experiences offer valuable insight into the differences between the two cultural groups. "I was able to kind of map out the differences between the speakers from Bolivia and Brazil. We'd have cultural workshops in Brazil on how to make instruments and woven mats," said Birchall, according to a press release by UNM. "We also had language workshops where we’d listen to the sounds and language as recorded on these old tapes. We'd bring some of the elders from Bolivia who spoke the language much better than I could, and give us examples."
