Linguistic Field Methods

Harvard FAS

In our study of human language we rely on data from different, sometimes underdescribed, languages. But how do we obtain reliable data? This course provides tools for the elicitation of phonological, morphological,syntactic, and semantic information, working with a native speaker of an unfamiliar language. We focus on the practical methodology and discuss problems of data collection and grammatical description in the field, with the aim to prepare students for their own potential…