Plenary: Linguistic fieldwork as a scientific enterprise
Date
2009-03-14
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
Description
After years of neglect in which linguistics lost sight of the value of empirical field
research, new life has finally been breathed into this fundamentally important component
of our discipline. But in the process, linguistic fieldwork has ironically lost sight of
linguistics! That is, if by linguistics one means the scientific study of language, fieldwork
ideology and practice have gone askew. The major movements and individuals that we
can thank for the resurgence of interest in linguistic fieldwork all promote (in words or
deeds) approaches to field research that fall far short of the tenets of science. Examples of
such misguided directions include (a) the endangered languages movement, (b) language
documentation, and (c) the traditional-orthodox school. In my talk, I expose the failings
of these non-scientific approaches to linguistic field research and set out what would be
required for linguistic fieldwork to qualify as truly scientific and thus be entitled to
recognition as an essential subfield within linguistics per se.
Keywords
Citation
Extent
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
Copyright © Paul Newman 2009
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.