The list of persons who assisted me in the
research is long. I wish here to single out three per-
sons whose contributions were crucial to my undertaking
the task and bringing it to a conclusion. They are
Dr. M. J. Hardman, director of my doctoral dissertation,
and two native speakers of Aymara who were my teachers at
the University of Florida: Ms. Juana V&squez, writer and
artist, and Mr. Juan de Dios Yapita, founder and director
of the Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Aymara of La Paz and
professor at the Universidad Nacional de San Agustin in
La Paz. Whatever insights I have gained concerning Aymara
language and culture are due in large measure to their
knowledge and patient guidance. Without the training I
received from them and their considerable help in the
analysis, this study could not have been completed.
Specifically, Ms. Vasquez helped me review the extensive
literature on Aymara, commenting on the Aymara examples
contained therein. Mr. Yapita reviewed a near-final
draft of the whole manuscript of this study, sometimes
listening to tapes to check the accuracy of the tran-
scriptions of the Aymara examples. Both worked with me
in the analysis of translation dialects culminating in
Chapter 9.

In the various stages of the work Dr. Hardman
was my constant mentor, challenger, and support. The

final draft also benefitted from the suggestions of the