Linguistic Fieldwork
A Student Guide

A handy beginner's guide to linguistic fieldwork - from the preparation of the work to the presentation of the results.

Jeanette Sakel (Author), Daniel L. Everett (Author)

9780521837279, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 February 2012

192 pages, 5 tables
25.4 x 18 x 1.5 cm, 0.53 kg

'Because of the contemporary emphasis on the description and documentation of endangered languages, the publication of this extremely useful guide to field research by Sakel and Everett, both experienced fieldworkers, is very timely.' Robert D. Van Valin, Jr, Henrich Heine University and the State University of New York, Buffalo

A handy beginner's guide, this textbook introduces the various stages of linguistic fieldwork, from the preparation of the work to the presentation of the results. Drawing on over forty years of fieldwork experience between them, in over two dozen languages, the authors pack the book with examples and anecdotes from their experiences and include practical exercises for students to test what they have learned. Independent of any particular perspective, the methods can be applied to a wide range of fieldwork settings, for projects with very different theoretical backgrounds and without the need to travel too far. The book covers 'traditional fieldwork' such as language description and documentation, as well as less typical methods, including language contact and quantitative studies with experiments or questionnaires.

1. Introduction: what is linguistic fieldwork?
2. Fieldwork projects: two examples
3. The languages
4. The people
5. Fieldwork preparation
6. Fieldwork methods
7. The outcomes.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Sociolinguistics [CFB]