Field Methods in Linguistics: Documenting Language, Discovering Structure—Writing Intensive

Cross listed with LINGST 4870W-02 and LINGST 7870 and ANTRHO 4870W-02 and 7870

Step into the role of a linguistic fieldworker and document a living language! In this immersive, hands-on course, you will work directly with a native speaker of a language to collect, transcribe, and analyze linguistic data. From phonetic transcription to morphosyntactic analysis, you will explore the sound system, the structure of nouns and noun phrases, verb morphology, and more—building a rich linguistic portrait of an underdocumented language. The identity of the language we will study will be revealed at the beginning of the term.

This course offers a unique opportunity to contribute to an international collaborative research project, use professional tools like ELAN and FLEx, and develop your own linguistic questionnaires. Working in small teams, you will annotate audio recordings, analyze oral narratives, and present your findings in a mini-conference at the end of the semester.

Whether you're fascinated by agreement patterns, tone, or the challenge of describing a language with limited prior resources, this course offers a rare opportunity to engage deeply with linguistic data and make a meaningful contribution to language documentation.

This is the capstone course for the Linguistics major. It has Writing Intensive and Research Intensive designations. Prior coursework in Syntax and Phonology is recommended. Students without this background may take the course with instructor consent.