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Spotlight on Scholars

Exploring the mysteries of an endangered language

University of Toronto linguistics student Will Oxford is setting out to prove he’s a worthy recipient of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

“It’s hard to express how encouraging it is to be recognized in such a way,” he says. “But it also gives me a sense of responsibility, making me strive to live up to the honour that I was fortunate enough to receive.”

The Newfoundland and Labrador native is examining Innu-aimun, the language of the Innu of Labrador, which is spoken by about 10,000 people.

“Innu-aimun is what is known as a free word order language,” Oxford explains. “The order of words in a sentence is much more fluid than in languages like English and French.”

But while English or French speakers may get the impression Innu-aimun words can go in any order, that’s not the case. There are principles of word order in Innu-aimun, but they are much different than those of languages like English. Oxford’s goal is to uncover the principles of word order in Innu-aimun to see what they tell us about language in general.

“A linguist who studies an endangered language such as Innu-aimun also has an opportunity and a responsibility to contribute to the language-related needs of the community,” says Oxford. “I hope that my current research on the principles of Innu-aimun word order will have practical benefits for translation training, especially since French-Innu and English-Innu translation is so important for things like education and the justice system.”

Oxford says the Vanier scholarship allows him to travel to Labrador to do fieldwork and to conferences to present his work. “The fact that it completely erases any financial concerns leaves me free to devote myself 100 per cent to my work,” he says. “I feel very fortunate to have received a Vanier scholarship.”