Linguistic Field Methods

Catalog description

A lab/practicum course introducing the methodologies needed to collect, manage, and interpret primary data pertaining to the phonetic, phonological, morphosyntactic, semantic, and pragmatic properties of an understudied language. The course takes a hands-on approach, with students working in groups and individually with a native speaker consultant of an unfamiliar language. Students will learn how to test hypotheses about the language as well as construct grammatical descriptions. In addition, the course will cover a variety of practical, technological, interpersonal, cultural, and ethical issues typically encountered in fieldwork.