Linguistics Professor publishes first-ever dictionary of rare language
November 17, 2023 - Savannah Peat
There are thousands of languages that span across nations and time–an estimated seven thousand known so far. UNM Linguistics recently hired Assistant Professor Joshua Birchall, who is one of the many linguists working tirelessly to understand, document and preserve some of the lesser known, yet just as crucial languages. 
Few have heard of Moré-Kuyubim, an incredibly rare, complex language shared between small communities split across the Guaporé River that divides Bolivia and Brazil. Birchall is one of the few people in the world who has been able to decipher this language, despite not originating in the community. He is also now a publisher of the first Moré-Kuyubim dictionary.
“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,” Birchall said. “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.”
Full story at UNM Newsroom
