Students work under guidance with a native speaker of a previously undescribed language, writing papers on some aspects of the grammar (syntax or phonology) of the language. Instruction is given in the methodology of  linguistic fieldwork, including analysis and organisation of data, and the social dimensions of work with speakers of minority languages.

• Students will improve in the skills learned in earlier courses, and will have the chance to specialise in a subdiscipline, evaluating real data from language speakers.
• Students will acquire an appreciation of, and ability to manage, large amounts of data, learning databasing and formatting skills.
• Students will learn how to acquire information about the structure of a foreign language, by collecting oral data from a native speaker.

Ongoing preparation for elicitation sessions and organisation/distribution of materials following class (20%, continuous, Data organisation and management)

Report on Phonology (15%) (due week 4, perceptual phonetics and phonological analysis)

Transcription, analysis and translation of recorded text (15%) (due week 8, perception, morphological analysis and accurate data management). This part of the assessment may be done in a group.

Production of literacy materials (10%) (due week 10, data management and phonology/orthography organisation)

Report on some other aspect of linguistic structure (40%) (due week 13, subdisciplinary specialization as chosen through discussion between student and lecturer)

13 classes in a weekly block of 2 hours duration, plus additional individual elicitation sessions.  Students can expect to work at least 5 additional hrs/week. This course will commence in the second week of semester 1 (the week commencing Feb 29), and will involve one week during the April mid-term break of intensive work at the ANU's Kioloa Campus (http://kioloa.anu.edu.au/).

Introduction to Syntax (LING2003), Morphology (LING2007) plus either Phonological Analysis (LING2019) or Phonetics: Sounds of the World's Languages (LING1010/2010).

A reading brick of relevant materials, partly drawing on the books listed above, will be made available.

Students will be well-advised to revise materials relevant to the prerequisite classes, and to experimentally read grammars of languages in the library with the aim of understanding the process by which the authors arrived at their analyses. Other useful (but not required) readings are:

Bowern, Claire. 2008. Linguistic Fieldwork: a practical guide. Palgrave Macmillan.

Healey, Alan, editor. 1975. Language learner's field guide. Ukarumpa: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Payne, Thomas. 1997. Describing Morphosyntax: a guide for Field Linguists. Cambridge University Press.

Samarin, William J. Field linguistics; a guide to linguistic field work. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston.

Relevant journal articles, useful URLs, discipline specific journals

Students will be required to have access to a computer and the internet. No special software is required beyond access to a spreadsheet and word-processor. Other software, free to download, will be discussed in class.