Mary B. Moser
Encyclopedia
Mary Margaret Beck Moser is an American field linguist
and Bible translator who worked on behalf of the Seri people of Mexico for more than fifty years. She authored and co-authored numerous articles and two books (an ethnobotany and a substantive trilingual dictionary) about the language and culture of that group and brought to completion the translation of the New Testament in the Seri language
.
. The name by which people later knew her best, Becky, was also the nickname that her father used. She graduated from high school in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and attended Wheaton College
(Illinois) for three years and then taught first grade on a War Emergency Certificate. She met her future husband, Edward W. Moser
during her first year of college. They married in 1946, after Edward finished his service in the United States Navy. Both of them studied how to analyze an unwritten language at the Summer Institute of Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma
. It was there that they learned about the Seri people of Sonora, Mexico, and made the decision to dedicate their lives to serve them. They became members of Wycliffe Bible Translators
in 1950.
The Mosers took up residence in the Seri area on the Gulf of California
in 1951. A major effort in the early years was to learn the Seri language well and understand the culture, but the Mosers also helped in various ways to deal with a measles epidemic and other medical and physical needs. Mary helped deliver more than thirty Seri babies during the years before Seri women began using the hospital in Hermosillo
, the state capital. When the Mosers first arrived, the Seri population was about 230. During the time that the Mosers lived with the Seri people, the population of the Seri people reversed its downward trend and the total population began to increase.
Although the Mosers thought that they could not have children, their family grew when in 1952 a daughter (Cathy) was born.
Mary and Edward lived in the only house that they would ever own, a three-room adobe house that was later slightly enlarged, in the Seri village of Haxöl Iihom (later known as El Desemboque
). During almost all of the years of use, the house did not have electricity or running water. But the house was a mecca for visitors to the area since scientists, government personnel, artists, and tourists alike always found a welcome there, especially to have a good meal and to use the bucket-shower in the corner of the kitchen and the adobe outhouse furnished with reading material and art exhibit.
Together Edward and Mary learned the Seri language and did the first serious analysis of its sound system and grammar (see the bibliography below). Working in close collaboration with community members and under the guidelines of the Secretaría de Educación Pública (Mexico's department of education), they prepared the first materials to be used to teach Seri children and adults how to read and write their language. They did meticulous documentation of the culture during the years between 1951 and 1976 while at the same time preparing a translation of the New Testament into the language.
Edward's unexpected and premature death in 1976 put the job of finishing various projects, including the translation, into Mary's hands. The New Testament was published in 1982. She completed an Old Testament summary in 1986. During these years a primary co-worker was Roberto Herrera Marcos, a prominent member of the Seri community.
During her years of residence in the Seri community, Mary took special interest in the lives of the people. She published articles on various anthropological and linguistic topics. She and Richard S. Felger, a botanist from Arizona, collaborated for more than twenty years to produce the Seri ethnobotany, People of the Desert and Sea, considered a classic today for the depth and breadth of its investigation into the use of plants by a single ethnic group. Later publications focused on grammar, songs, and lexicon. Mary's last paper publication was the Seri dictionary (Moser & Marlett 2005), which brought together the lexical information on the Seri language that had been filed on 3x5 paper slips during the previous fifty years.
Mary was an adjunct phonetics instructor at the SIL linguistics program at the University of North Dakota
for most years between 1952 and 1999. In 1982 she received her B.A. in social sciences and linguistics from the University of North Dakota.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and Bible translator who worked on behalf of the Seri people of Mexico for more than fifty years. She authored and co-authored numerous articles and two books (an ethnobotany and a substantive trilingual dictionary) about the language and culture of that group and brought to completion the translation of the New Testament in the Seri language
Seri language
Seri is a language isolate spoken by the Seri people by between 716 and 900 people in two villages on the coast of Sonora, Mexico.-Classification:...
.
Life and career
Daughter of Robert and Vila Mae Beck, Mary Margaret was born on October 12, 1924 in Lock Haven, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The name by which people later knew her best, Becky, was also the nickname that her father used. She graduated from high school in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and attended Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
(Illinois) for three years and then taught first grade on a War Emergency Certificate. She met her future husband, Edward W. Moser
Edward W. Moser
Edward W. Moser was an American linguist and expert in the Seri language and culture working with the Summer institute of Linguistics.-Life and career:...
during her first year of college. They married in 1946, after Edward finished his service in the United States Navy. Both of them studied how to analyze an unwritten language at the Summer Institute of Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. It was there that they learned about the Seri people of Sonora, Mexico, and made the decision to dedicate their lives to serve them. They became members of Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...
in 1950.
The Mosers took up residence in the Seri area on the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
in 1951. A major effort in the early years was to learn the Seri language well and understand the culture, but the Mosers also helped in various ways to deal with a measles epidemic and other medical and physical needs. Mary helped deliver more than thirty Seri babies during the years before Seri women began using the hospital in Hermosillo
Hermosillo
Hermosillo is a city and municipality located centrally in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the capital and main economic center for the state and region. It contains almost all of the state's manufacturing and has thirty percent of its population...
, the state capital. When the Mosers first arrived, the Seri population was about 230. During the time that the Mosers lived with the Seri people, the population of the Seri people reversed its downward trend and the total population began to increase.
Although the Mosers thought that they could not have children, their family grew when in 1952 a daughter (Cathy) was born.
Mary and Edward lived in the only house that they would ever own, a three-room adobe house that was later slightly enlarged, in the Seri village of Haxöl Iihom (later known as El Desemboque
El Desemboque
El Desemboque, known as "Haxöl Iihom" in the Seri language, is a town located 376 km from Hermosillo on the shore of Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Sonora; coordinates N 29° 30' 13", W 112° 23' 43". It is one of two major villages on the Seri Indian communal property, the other being...
). During almost all of the years of use, the house did not have electricity or running water. But the house was a mecca for visitors to the area since scientists, government personnel, artists, and tourists alike always found a welcome there, especially to have a good meal and to use the bucket-shower in the corner of the kitchen and the adobe outhouse furnished with reading material and art exhibit.
Together Edward and Mary learned the Seri language and did the first serious analysis of its sound system and grammar (see the bibliography below). Working in close collaboration with community members and under the guidelines of the Secretaría de Educación Pública (Mexico's department of education), they prepared the first materials to be used to teach Seri children and adults how to read and write their language. They did meticulous documentation of the culture during the years between 1951 and 1976 while at the same time preparing a translation of the New Testament into the language.
Edward's unexpected and premature death in 1976 put the job of finishing various projects, including the translation, into Mary's hands. The New Testament was published in 1982. She completed an Old Testament summary in 1986. During these years a primary co-worker was Roberto Herrera Marcos, a prominent member of the Seri community.
During her years of residence in the Seri community, Mary took special interest in the lives of the people. She published articles on various anthropological and linguistic topics. She and Richard S. Felger, a botanist from Arizona, collaborated for more than twenty years to produce the Seri ethnobotany, People of the Desert and Sea, considered a classic today for the depth and breadth of its investigation into the use of plants by a single ethnic group. Later publications focused on grammar, songs, and lexicon. Mary's last paper publication was the Seri dictionary (Moser & Marlett 2005), which brought together the lexical information on the Seri language that had been filed on 3x5 paper slips during the previous fifty years.
Mary was an adjunct phonetics instructor at the SIL linguistics program at the University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
for most years between 1952 and 1999. In 1982 she received her B.A. in social sciences and linguistics from the University of North Dakota.