This course is designed to equip students with the basic methodologies necessary to carry out linguistic fieldwork on un(der)documented languages. Students will be trained in the skills and tools of language documentation and description by working with a speaker of a language previously unknown to them. Students will learn techniques of data collection, elicitation, management, and analysis. We will implement these methodologies by taking a holistic approach to creating and annotating a corpus of language, building a lexical database, and producing a grammatical sketch. This methodological training will be situated within an ongoing discussion of the current language endangerment crisis and methods that can be implemented to mitigate it. We will further discuss ethics in language documentation and approaches to building collaborative and empowering research methodologies.
Learning Outcomes:
Independently set up a recording session with clear video and audio and targeted linguistic data
Analyze the phonology and grammar of an unfamiliar language through a descriptive lens
Make use of previously-learned linguistic concepts and apply them to the analysis of a new language
Be able to navigate and use language documentation software for transcription and the creation of a corpora and lexicon
Critically examine the factors contributing to language loss and the ethical approaches to language documentation and conservation
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Prerequisites: Students must have previous taken "Language as System and Social Behavior" or another course that has introduced basic concepts in linguistics, such as phonology and syntax. Because we will be working with a different language, course content will be significantly different from "LIN4109: Language Documentation and Description" offered in Spring 2023. Students who previously took LIN4109 are still eligible to sign up for this course.
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 4
T 2:10PM - 5:50PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 15
Course Frequency: One time only
Categories: 4000 , All courses , Cancelled Courses , Four Credit , Fully In-Person , Linguistics , Sociolinguistics , Updates
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