Native American Languages
and Linguistics Master of Arts

Have you wondered about...

• The future of the indigenous languages of the Americas?
• How many of these languages are endangered, or no longer spoken?
• The age of the speakers of healthy languages?
• How to begin a project on describing an indigenous language?
• Where you would look for teaching materials or guides for Indigenous languages?
• Where you can learn about indigenous language of the Americas?
• Where you would find assistance in Native languages curriculum development and methods?

Program Overview

The Linguistics Department at the University of Arizona offers a Master of Arts in Native American Linguistics and languages. The focus of this degree is Indigenous languages and communitites. Due to the rapid decline in the use of heritage languages, tribal communities are pressed for practical linguistics training to:

• Maintain, restore, and document indigenous languages;
• Provide skills and expertise for Native American linguists to develop teaching grammars and other materials;
• Promote understanding of indigenous peoples' educational issues at every level of policy making;
• Enhance and promote understanding of complex factors leading to language loss;
• Locate talented students to advance to the Ph.D. level in linguistics or related disciplines.

Course Work

The Native American Linguistics and Languages Master of Arts (NAMA) program is designed to be completed in a year. During the first summer session the student completes coursework in the American Indian Language Development Institute (AIDLI) focusing on materials development and teaching methods and other relevant Native American language and linguistic topics. In the fall and spring semesters, the student enrolls in the core course of the program: Workshop on Descriptive Linguistics, LING 597A for 4 credits each semester. The Workshop courses consist of lectures and laboratory work on Indigenous languages, particularly the student’s heritage language. The Native American Languages and Linguistics MA consist of 26 units of coursework plus 6 units of thesis.

Sample Course Schedule

* Independent Study units are scheduled with approval of an advisor and students may work with a faculty member whose expertise is in the student's language or related topic.

A thesis is required and is evaluated by the student's committee. The topic of the thesis must also be approved by the committee.

Faculty with A Primary emphasis in Native American Linguistics

• Coordinator of Program: Mary Willie (Navajo) Associate Professor. Navajo Language teaching, Navajo morphosyntax.
• Andrew Carnie, Associate Professor. Nez Perce syntax, Syntactic Theories, Celtic linguistics.
• Heidi Harley, Associate Professor. Hiaki morphosyntax, Hiaki language teaching & maintenance, lexical semantics.
• Natasha Warner, Associate Professor. Language Maintenance and revitalization of Mutsun Language, Experimental Phonetics.
• Ofelia Zepeda, (Tohono O’odham) Regents’ Professor. Linguistics of Tohono O’odham, language teaching, Language Revitalization & Maintenance. Director of AILDI.
• Amy Fountain, Lecturer. Phonology, Phonetics, general American Indian languages .
• Stacey Oberly (Southern Ute) Assistant Professor. Phonetics, phonology of Southern Ute, Language teaching, Documentation & Revitalization.

Other Faculty with Native American Linguistic Interests

• Sheilah Nicholas (Hopi). Hopi language shift and education. Dept. of Language, Reading, & Culture.
• Leisy Wyman. Yup’ik language shift among youth. Dept. of Language, Reading, & Culture.
• Mary Carol Combs. Language education and policy. Dept. of Language, Reading, & Culture.
• Perry Gilmore, Language Identity, language and culture. Dept. of Language, Reading, & Culture.
• Jane Hill. Regents’ Professor. Uto-Aztecan languages, historical linguistics.
• K. Tsianina Lomawaima (Creek) Chair of American Indian Studies Program. History of Indian Education, Federal Boarding School Experiences, ethnohistory.

For more information about the program, please contact:

Mary Willie, Associate Professor
mwillie@email.arizona.edu
Phone 520-621-9726

Ofelia Zepeda, Regents’ Professor
ofelia@email.arizona.edu
Phone 520-621-8294

The University of Arizona
Department of Linguistics
P.O. Box 210028
Tucson, AZ 85721-0028
Phone: 520-621-6897
Fax: 520-626-9014

azlinghlep@sbs.Arizona.edu