Using Mixed Media Tools for Eliciting Discourse in Indigenous Languages

dc.contributor.authorCaldecott, Marion
dc.contributor.authorKoch, Karsten
dc.date.accessioned2014-06-03T22:11:37Z
dc.date.available2014-06-03T22:11:37Z
dc.date.issued2014-06
dc.description.abstractProsody plays a vital role in communication, but is one of the most widely neglected topics in language documentation. This omission is doubly detrimental since intonation is unrecoverable from transcribed texts, the most prevalent data sources for many indigenous languages. One of the underlying reasons for the dearth of prosodic data is methodological. Modern technology has removed technical barriers to recording the appropriate data, but traditional methods of elicitation still inhibit accurate documentation of linguistic structures at or above the phrasal level. In addition, these methods do not facilitate the mobilization of linguistic documentation. In this paper, we present techniques that we have developed that address both these concerns: 1) eliciting prosodic data for theoretical analysis, and 2) producing linguistic materials that can be useful for educators and curriculum developers. Highlighting advantages and disadvantages, we compare traditional elicitation and text-gathering methods with two non-traditional methodologies using non-verbal stimuli. These two non-traditional methodologies are aimed at collecting: 1) spontaneous conversation (either unguided, or task-oriented), and 2) partly scripted conversation (aided by multimedia tools). The methodologies are illustrated with original fieldwork on focus and intonation in two related, endangered Interior Salish languages – Nlhe7kepmxcín (Thompson) and St’át’imcets (Lillooet).
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Foreign Language Resource Center
dc.format.extent32
dc.identifier.citationCaldecott, Marion, Karsten Koch. 2014. Using Mixed Media Tools for Eliciting Discourse in Indigenous Languages. Language Documentation & Conservation. 8: 209-240.
dc.identifier.issn1934-5275
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10125/24603
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherUniversity of Hawaii Press
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/
dc.subjectlanguage documentation
dc.subjectmixed media
dc.subjectdiscourse
dc.subjectindigenous languages
dc.subjectprosody
dc.titleUsing Mixed Media Tools for Eliciting Discourse in Indigenous Languages
dc.typeArticle
dc.type.dcmiText
prism.endingpage240
prism.publicationnameLanguage Documentation & Conservation
prism.startingpage209
prism.volume8

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