0 or 4 credits
Spring 2026 Laboratory Lecture Upper Division
This course deals with the basic techniques for collecting language data, and is designed to reproduce and explore the conditions and methods of linguistic fieldwork in a classroom. The course also addresses questions related to the ethics of retrieving linguistic data, the relations between the linguist and the speaking communities, and the use of the collected data. A non-Indoeuropean lesser-studied language will be examined with the help of a native speaker of the language. The main area of its grammar will be covered: phonetic and phonological system, inflectional and derivational morphology, basic syntactic structures and basic semantic phenomena. The final goal is to obtain a basic grammatical description of the language. Lab sessions will be directed towards the training in the software and audio and video tools used for the trade.
Learning Outcomes1Identify the key parts of the grammar of language.
2Formulate questions about the language that (a) can reveal the structure of language and (b) can be answered by a speaker with no knowledge of linguistics.
3Use the tools of the trade (software, equipment, etc.)
4Develop methodologies based on a Participatory Action Research approach.
5Develop sensitivity about what is of relevance to the speaking community and how to interact with the community in general and the speakers in particular.
6Develop skills on how to transfer newly discovered scientific knowledge of the language back to the speaking community.
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.