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LING-404 Field Methods
Spring only
Prof. S. Sara, S.J.
I.C.C. 455
Tel:(202)687-6226/4004
e-mail:Saras@georgetown.edu
O.hs: (ICC 455) M-W 2:00-2:40
by appointment: anytime
Class: M-W, 2:40-3:55 p.m., ICC 113
Goal of the Course: This course will simulate the situation of a field linguist, as we attempt to understand the structure of an unfamiliar language. The class will elicit data orally from a native speaker, the students transcribe the utterances, submit them to analysis and thus develop skills of linguistic analysis as we cumulatively proceed through phonological, morphological and syntactic topics. The aim of the course will be to produce an explanatory description of as much of the language as possible.
Procedures of Elicitation and Analysis: In general, every class will begin with an elicitation session. We will prepare lists of materials and work with the informant as a group, with each student preparing her/his own transcriptions. This will be followed by a period in which we discuss the analyses of the previous class’ materials. At the end of each class we will again consult the informant on topics which have arisen during the discussion. There will be frequent oral and written reports on the class work, and a final report on the language. Adjustments along the way will be made as the need arises.
Intended Audience for the Course: The course is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Prerequisites for this course are basic linguistic courses. Linguistics 404 will be useful to any student who foresees doing fieldwork in any area of linguistics; we all end up doing some field work. It may also be attractive to those students who simply wish to experience the unmediated contact with an unknown language and culture. Finally, those interested in any area(s) of theoretical linguistics will find the challenge of confronting an unknown language to provide excellent practice for their analytical skills.
Language: Spoken Yemeni Hebrew or Arabic
The choice of a language and informant has narrowed to an ancient culture, that of Yemen where Hebrew has been spoken for a long time. If that does not materialize, then we will use Yemeni spoken Arabic.
Short description: The course will simulate the situation of a field linguist, as we attempt to understand the structure of an unfamiliar language. The class will elicit data orally from a native speaker of Yemeni Hebrew/Arabic, and students will develop skills of linguistic analysis as the class cumulatively proceeds through phonological, morphological and syntactic topics. The aim is to sharpen one’s linguistic skills and in the process to produce an explanatory description of as much of the language as possible. Prerequisites for the class are: interest and any basic phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax courses. The course is open to undergraduate and graduate students.
Readings:
Bowern, Clair. 2008. Linguistic Fieldwork: A practical Guide. New York: Palgrave.
Bouquiax, Luc and J.M.C. Thomas. 1992. Studying and Describing languages. SIL
Burling, Robins. 1984. Learning a Field Language. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press.
Comrie, Bernard and Norval Smith. 1977. Lingua Descriptive Studies: Questionnaire. Lingua 42. 1-72, not a textbook but a guide to describing data.
Crowley, Terry. 2007. Field Linguistics: A Beginner’s Guide. New York: Oxford.
Kibrik, A. K. 1977. Methodology of Field Investigation in Linguistics. The Hague: Mouton.
Ladefoged, P. 2003. Phonetic Data Analysis: An Introduction to Fieldwork and Instrumental Phonetics. New York: Blackwell
Newman, Paul, and Martha Ratliff. 2001. Linguistic Fieldwork: New York: Cambridge.
Pike, Kenneth. 1947. Phonemics: A Technique for Reducing Languages to Writing. Ann Arbor: The Univ. of Michigan Press.
Samarin, William. 1967. Field Linguistics: A Guide to Linguistic Field Work. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston.
Vaux, Bert and Justin Cooper. 1999. Introduction to Linguistic Field Methods. Munchen: Lincom Europa.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
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