By Alyssa Peterson, UAS Intern, Amanda Mosher, UAS Intern, Ishmael Hope, UAS Intern
Title: Seth Cable Recordings Collection, 1972-2011
ID: MC/026
Primary Creator: Cable, Seth
Extent: 2.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 04/03/2012
Subjects: Tlingit language.
This collection consists of reports and recordings generated by linguistic scholar Seth Cable for his research on the Tlingit language as a Visiting Scholar at the Sealaska Heritage Institute from 2005 to 2008, along with his further research from 2011. During this period Cable interviewed fluent speakers of the Tlingit language about aspects of the Tlingit language, such as its syntax and semantics, among other subjects. This research contributed to his 2010 publication, The Grammar of Q: Q-Particles, Wh-Movement, and Pied-Piping, published by Oxford University Press.
Box 1 of the collection primarily consists of audio recorded interviews with fluent Tlingit speakers, with transcriptions and translations usually provided by Seth Cable. Most interviews were with Johnny Marks, with others by David Katzeek, Fred White, and Anita Lafferty. Also included in the collection are several reports of Cable’s research, with focus on Tlingit syntax and semantics.
Further components of this collection include ten audio recording of Tlingit speakers Beatrice Brown, Margaret Dutson, William Fawcett, and Helen Sarabia. These recording were collected in August 2011 by Seth Cable for use in his 2011 publication, Report on Empirical Findings from Field Research on Tlingit: Distributive numerals, Plural Marking of Predicates, Plural Root Suppletion. Though the recordings contained in this collection possess some detailing of the grammatical intricacies of the Tlingit language they center on a broad range of topics from cultural knowledge to the personal histories of the previously mentioned Tlingit speakers Beatrice Brown, Margaret Dutson, William Fawcett, and Helen Sarabia.
Box 2 of the collection primarily consists of audio recorded interviews with fluent Tlingit speakers Margaret Dutson, Selena Everson and William Fawcett. No transcriptions/translations are available for these recordings. Box 2 also contains linguistic analysis of the Tlingit phrases developed by the Tlingit speakers, which discusses future and Potential Inflection, Conditionals and Decessive Suffix.
Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives
Use Restrictions: Intellectual Properties Note: Since SHI adheres to the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials, and since we desire to honor Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian traditional cultural belief that clans retain the intellectual property rights to clan stories or songs, patrons who use or study clan songs or stories are asked to credit clan ownership to stories and songs.
Acquisition Source: Seth Cable
Acquisition Method: The material in the collection was donated to Sealaska Heritage Institute in various batches by linguist Seth Cable, primarily as he completed ongoing research fieldwork projects and then donated his fieldwork materials to SHI. A batch of materials documenting his work from between 2005 to 2011 was donated on April 3, 2012 (accession # 2012.023) and a batch documenting his work conducted during 2012 was donated on Sept 20, 2012 (accession # 2012.24).
Folder 1: Project report by linguist Seth Cable, “Future, Potential, Conditionals, and Decessive in Tlingit: A Report on the Empirical Findings from Recent Field Research. The report “summarizes the main empirical findings of (his) recent field research on the Tlingit language, which was supported by an Individual Grant from the Jacobs Research Funds and by Project Funds from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst. The work was carried out in Juneau… with thre exceptional elders, all native speakers of the Tlingit language: Margaret Dutson (Chiksháani), Selena Everson (Kaséix) and William Fawcett (Kóoshdaku.éesh).”
Folder 2: Two audio recordings of interviews of Seth Cable with Selena Everson and William Fawcett, translating sentences from English to Tlingit, August 20, 2012. Topics of Discussion: Future and Potential Inflection, Conditionals and Decessive Suffix.
Folder 3: Two audio recordings of interviews of Seth Cable with Margaret Dutson, Selena Everson and William Fawcett, translating sentences from English to Tlingit, August 21, 2012. Topics of Discussion: Future and Potential Inflection, Conditionals and Decessive Suffix.
Folder 4: Two audio recordings of interviews of Seth Cable with Margaret Dutson, Selena Everson and William Fawcett, translating sentences from English to Tlingit, August 22, 2012. Topics of Discussion: Future and Potential Inflection, Conditionals and Decessive Suffix.
Folder 5: Two audio recordings of interviews of Seth Cable with Margaret Dutson, Selena Everson and William Fawcett, translating sentences from English to Tlingit, August 23. Topics of Discussion: Future and Potential Inflection, Conditionals and Decessive Suffix.
Folder 6: Two audio recordings of interviews of Seth Cable with Margert Dutson, Selena Everson and William Fawcett, translating sentences from English to Tlingit, August 24, 2012. Topics of Discussion: Future and Potential Inflection, Conditionals, Decessive Suffix, Distributive Numerals and Extraction from Adjuncts.
