Thursday, February 28, 2008

¡Se habla chibcha!

This blog is where I'll post thoughts notes and "article stubs" on the Chibchan languages and their associated cultures, particularly the Magdalenic Chibchan group of northern Colombia:
(As always you should take some of the information in those Wikipedia articles with ... a grain of salt!)

I should issue a caveat from the start: I'm not a formally trained linguist as such, and certainly not with respect to the Chibchan or any other native American languages. On the other hand, I do have a kind of ... general background in Indo-European languages and linguistics thanks to a bachelor's degree in Folklore & Mythology (Medieval Scandianavian) and a doctorate in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic studies, so the problems and issues of research in (what a Colombian anthropology professor marvellously described to me as) chibchología are not wholly alien to me. In any case, the field is so poorly known (though there are a few very great experts scattered around the planet here and there) that I can hardly make things worse with my musings.

Perhaps, in time, a wider electronic academic forum for chibchology might come into being. Until then ... this will be a start!

P.S. - I spotted the phrase "Se habla chibcha" on the tablecloth at the Bogotá restaurant/nightclub Gaira owned by Colombian folk-pop star Carlos Vives and ... well, I want the T-shirt! :) Good place, by the way, with tasty food and awesome live music!