Synopses & Reviews
The most comprehensive dictionary of the Hocak language (formerly known as Winnebago) to date, this bidirectional Hocak-English/English-Hocak dictionary contains approximately 4,000 entries. Hocak is a highly endangered North American Indian language spoken by less than two hundred people in different parts of Wisconsin and Nebraska. This dictionary and volume 2 are the outcome of a large project on the documentation of the Hocak language, which was carried out in close cooperation with the Hocak Language Division, a tribal institution for the stabilization and revitalization of the Hocak language in Mauston, Wisconsin. The volume contains a lengthy introduction to the basics of the phonology, orthography, and morphology of the Hocak language, written in a learner-friendly, easy-to-access style, explaining linguistic terms so that it can be used by nonlinguists. The individual lexical entries of the words are organized according to the standards of modern lexicography, containing all necessary phonetic, grammatical, and semantic information for the use of the Hocak words. In addition, every word is provided with about three Hocak example sentences in order to demonstrate the typical use of the words in different contexts. Also of interest are a frequency list of all words in the dictionary counted on the basis of a large corpus of Hocak texts, and a thesaurus of all Hocak words in the dictionary. A valuable source of information on the Hocak language and culture, this work will appeal to linguists in general, and specialists in Native American languages, as well as anthropologists and all learners of the Hocak language.
Synopsis
This is the most comprehensive bilingual dictionary ever available for the Hochunk (popularly known as the Winnebagos; orthographically rendered as Hocank) language. Living today in two reservation communities in Wisconsin and Nebraska, the Hochunks are wrestling with the widespread challenge of preserving and teaching their original language to new generations. Language revitalization, as at so many other indigenous communities, is intricately connected to cultural sovereignty in the twenty-first century. The compilers have worked very closely with the Hochunk Language Center in Wisconsin to compile and edit this dictionary, a work that is eagerly anticipated and needed by the community.
Also included with this volume is an outline of the basic elements of Hochunk grammar, information that is likewise essential for the future of the original language.
Synopsis
Comprehensive bilingual dictionary of the Hochunk language.