MixSpace: Language/culture documentation, spatial cognition, and revitalization/educational development

This project on Tu’un Javi (or Ixpantepec Nieves Mixtec) explores spatial language and body parts in order to understand their relation to categorical spatial cognition (i.e., topological, deictic, and projective/frames of reference relations). Tu’un Javi is spoken in Oaxaca and among the diasporic population in Oregon and California. Facing language shift, the project’s goal is to continue documenting the language while conducting ethnographic and cognitive science work. This well-rounded, comprehensive corpus will make significant contributions to understanding the interaction between language and the mind. Language/cultural products will become broadly distributable literacy and audiovisual resources for community language preservation and educational development efforts.