Mutsun Text Collection: mutsun riicakma hummen

Abstract

This collection includes all of the known texts written down in the Mutsun language (Costanoan language family of California, ISO code: css), along with our own translations of the texts and analyses of all the words and sentences. Mutsun is a Native American language that was historically spoken in the area including the San Juan Bautista Mission and the locations of modern Gilroy and Hollister. The last fluent first-language speaker, Doña Ascension Solarsano, passed away in 1930. There are a large quantity of written materials documenting the language, stretching from 1807 to 1930 in time. This text collection includes a typed version of how the original source transcribed the material as well as what translation the original source gave, information about where in the sources each entry occurs, and our analysis of the texts, as well as conversion to the practical orthography in use in the community. The materials are intended for community members who wish to learn the language from sentences that fluent speakers said, as well as for others wishing to study the materials.