Since finishing the folk stories, Trechter and Benson been recording and transcribing Mandan social and cultural customs.
Trechter has had master some quirks of the language. She learned, for example, that a bird is said to "stand" while flying but "sit" when perched on a tree. She has found that some words or phrases simply defy translation into another tongue.
In the archives of the North Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Bismarck, Trechter said she found "boxes and boxes" of material, including a Mandan dictionary compiled in the 1970s and 1980s, and manuscripts from the 1920s and 1930s.
Jasztrembski compared the work to restoring an endangered plant or animal species.
"I think language revitalization is something like that," he said. "It takes a great deal of time to do."
Grinnell said the tribal college archives has hours of tape recordings of elders from the 1970s that might provide helpful material.
Trechter, 44, said she already seen enough material to keep her busy for the rest of her career.
"There is no finishing with Mandan," she said.
Information from: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com
- Associated Press
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