A lexicographic study of Ulwa

Abstract

In this thesis, I present the beginnings of a reference grammar and dictionary of the Ulwa language of the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. I first describe the current state of the Ulwa language and people in light of their historical and socio-linguistic context. I then go into some detail regarding the phonological and morphological nature of the language. Finally I touch on the syntactic and semantic issues that most directly affect the design of a lexical database of the language. These include discussion of verbal diathesis and the nature of complex multi-word verbal idioms. The thesis is a lexicographic study because the aim is to present information sufficient for a reasonable understanding of the lexical entries of the language, as represented in the included dictionary.