Year of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Linguistics

Department or School/College

Anthropology

Committee Chair

Dr. Mizuki Miyashita

Commitee Members

Dr Leora Bar-el, Dr. Dora Lacasse

Keywords

Muysca language, language reclamation, historical linguistics, dormant languages, Chibchan linguistics

Subject Categories

Comparative and Historical Linguistics | Other Linguistics

Abstract

This thesis examines the phonological system of Muysca, a Chibchan language once spoken in central Colombia and currently dormant. Its goal includes supporting the revitalization efforts of the Muysca people of Suba. Drawing from a documentation produced in the 17th century by Catholic missionaries and engaging with comparative and historical linguistic methods, I argue for the existence of specific phonemes in Muysca —/ə/, /kʷ/, /tʲ/, and /ʔ/— which are not consistently identified in recent literature. My analysis is situated within the framework of Mediated Language Change (Hinson 2019), which acknowledges the need for Indigenous communities to actively shape the development of revitalized varieties of their ancestral languages. This thesis begins by contextualizing the missionary sources and their limitations, including the cultural and linguistic biases from the documenters who were second-language learners. The prescriptive of these researchers at that time tended to lack the important components in language documentation such as spontaneous discourse and sociolinguistic variations. Despite these challenges, the thesis provides reconstruction of the sound system of Muysca through comparison with related Chibchan languages and typological reasoning, especially when genetic data is limited. Although I do not attempt a full reconstruction of Muysca's phonology, I propose a revised account of selected phonemes and outline synchronic phonological rules, as well as diachronic sound changes from Proto-Chibchan to Muysca. I also highlight practical decisions made for Suba-cubun —a revitalized variety of Muysca currently being developed and taught in Suba—, which reflect the linguistic needs of a living community. This thesis contributes to the fields of historical linguistics and documentary linguistics by addressing the challenges of reconstructing a sound system from a formant language with orthographic notation with some problematics aspects. It underscores the importance of balancing scholarly rigor with community-driven language reclamation. This thesis, as a result, supports the development of future educational resources and aims to inspire continued research that bridges academic investigation and Indigenous revitalization efforts.

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