Nilotic  Workshops  . . . . . . . . . .

Between 2002-2004, the Nilotic Research Network convened  three to four workshops in order to share current work in progress and stimulate further research and collaboration.  Discussion of a workshop schedule and time frame was initiated at the 8th Nilo-Saharan Conference in Hamburg, Germany, August 2001.  Participants in this first discussion discussion noted the merits of different venues for different foci, and briefly introduced their areas of interest. (Participants included Torben Andersen, Nicki DeJong, Leoma Gilley, Gerald Heusing, Roland Kiessling, Christa König, Daniel Owino, Doris Payne, Mechthild Reh, Anne Storch, Joost Zwarts, among others.) The original Network Steering Committee members were Doris Payne, Mechthild Reh, and Suzanne Kemmer. We are grateful to Anne Storch and Leoma Gilley for their support, both logistically and intellectually.

Workshop 1: Lexical Semantics
March 7-9, 2002,  Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya

Approximately 20 researchers participated from Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, USA.

1. Research overview.  Workshop participants introduced their research histories and interests, to give an understanding of the status of research across the family.  This will facilitate learning about new and younger researchers to the field.

2. Issues and approaches in lexical and cognitive semantics.  Introductory lecture by Suzanne Kemmer (Rice University), focusing on lexical semantic parameters.

3. Lexical Semantics in Nilotic:  Work papers were presented on semantic domains and lexical semantics of cultural and linguistic interest in Nilotic and Nilo-Saharan languages, followed by group discussion.  Domains included life-stage terms, social relations, death vocabulary, disease, healing, medicine, human personality concepts, movement verbs, color and design terms, domains of borrowing, etc.

Workshop 2: Issues in Nilotic Lexicography and Text Databases
July 25-27, 2002, Max Planck Institute, Department of Linguistics, Leipzig, Germany.

1. Identification of Nilotic language features which have implications for the format and technical aspects of lexicography databases
2. Comparative lexicography, text, and other databases
3.
Issues in construction of searchable databases
4.
 Discussion of future workshops


General Discussion  
Various Nilotic researchers met  at the World Congress of African Linguistics 4/ Annual Conference on African Linguistics 34, June 17-22, 2003, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Workshop 3:  Khartoum, Sudan
A third workshop was held as convened during the Ninth Nilo-Saharan Conference, January 2004.

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This page last updated June 2005, by Doris L. Payne