Admission requirements
None, but it is advised to have passed Speech Sounds of the World/Klanken van de Wereld.
Description
This course introduces students to linguistic fieldwork. Students are trained to carry out linguistic fieldwork by working with a native speaker of an unfamiliar or under-described non-European language. The aim is to collect and analyse sufficient field data to be able to write a basic grammar sketch of the language.
Data are collected through interviews with a language consultant by using various elicitation and grammar gathering techniques. These sessions will be recorded and the recordings will be made available to the students. Students are also expected to take notes of the data collection during class.
The data collected during the fieldwork sessions will be analysed by applying theoretical knowledge of linguistics on primary data. For this reason, a basic knowledge and understanding of articulatory phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax is required.
The course takes place twice a week: one class is dedicated to the data collection with the native speaker, and the other is devoted to the discussion and the analysis of the collected data. The data collection sessions will be led by a different group of students each week. The session leaders share their preparation beforehand with the students and the teacher. All students take their own notes and build their own database. In the discussion sessions, the leaders of the previous data collection session give a brief presentation of their main findings. This will be followed by plenary discussion of the data and possible analyses, as well as data collection techniques and ideas for future data collection. We will also discuss theoretical, practical and ethical aspects of conducting linguistic fieldwork.
Weekly homework consists of processing and analysing the newly collected data, as well as assigned readings. The book to be used is:
Bowern, Claire. 2015. Linguistic fieldwork: A practical guide. Palgrave Macmillan.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
Record, transcribe and annotate speech data of a previously unfamiliar language, through the interaction with a native speaker;
Collect data through word lists, visual stimuli and other techniques;
Apply adequate data management strategies for the collected data;
Present a basic analysis of the grammar of the language in written form;
Identify which data gaps still exist for the analysis;
Identify practical issues related to doing fieldwork (choosing a field site, orthography design, how to work with speakers, etc.).
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Mid-term paper: phonology sketch
Final paper: grammar sketch, including lexicon and text
Eliciation leaders: all students need to lead (prepare, conduct) at least one of the data collection sessions. Failure to do so *
Weighing
Mid-term paper: 30%
Final paper: 70 %
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
Students can resit the final paper. There is no resit opportunity for the mid-term paper.
Inspection and feedback
Students will be provided with feedback on their papers, and general feedback on the mid-term paper will be discussed in class. Students can make an appointment with the teacher for further discussion of feedback if necessary.
Reading list
We will use chapters of the following textbook as background literature during the course. The book is available in the library.
Bowern, Claire. 2015. Linguistic Fieldwork: A practical guide. Palgrave Macmillan.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats
Remarks
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