Seri (cmiique iitom) is an endangered language spoken in the coastal region of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Despite hypotheses that link it distantly to the putative Hokan language group, it is essentially a linguistic isolate. The group that speaks the language is culturally distinct from all neighbors. While the number of Seri people—and speakers—has quadrupled from the 230 there were in 1951, the language is still highly endangered. This dictionary, which richly documents the language and culture of this transitioning hunter-gatherer society is the result of more than fifty years of close interaction between the consultants and compilers. Recently the project was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

The work is built on the pioneering study of Roberto Herrera Marcos (father, grandfather and great-uncle of three of the principal participants), and Edward W. Moser (husband of Mary B. Moser) under the auspices of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. These two men undertook the documentation of the language and culture that continues to be of importance to present-day investigators.

COMPILERS: • Mary B. Moser (B.A., University of North Dakota) and her husband took up residence with the Seri people in the early 1950s. One of her earlier publications on the Seri culture and language is People of the Desert and Sea: Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians, co-authored with Dr. Richard S. Felger. • Stephen A. Marlett (Ph.D., University of California at San Diego) began to study the Seri language in 1976. He is the author of various articles relating to the structure of the language.

SERI EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: María Luisa Astorga, Genaro Gabriel Herrera Astorga, Lorenzo Herrera Casanova, René Montaño Herrera, Alma Imelda Morales, and Francisco Xavier Moreno Herrera.

ILLUSTRATOR: Cathy Moser Marlett.

CONTENTS:
Prefatory material (mainly in Spanish) including maps, prologue by Dr. Yolanda Lastra, and information about how to use the dictionary (28 pages) / Seri-Spanish-English section, with illustrations (609 pages) / Spanish-Seri index (93 pages) / English-Seri index (92 pages) / Grammar (written in Spanish, with appendices, bibliography, table of contents, and notes, 119 pages).

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Page from Section "C"

Page from Spanish index

Page from English index

Page from Grammar

ORDERING INFORMATION

Cost: $83 plus shipping and handling.

In the U.S.: International Academic Bookstore, 7500 W Camp Wisdom Rd, Dallas, TX 75236-5699.
Tel.: 972-708-7404
Fax: 972- 708-7363
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In Mexico: see www.plazayvaldes.com.

More information on the story of the Seri Dictionary.

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