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Methodologies in Semantic Fieldwork

Online ISBN:
9780190212353
Print ISBN:
9780190212339
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Methodologies in Semantic Fieldwork

M. Ryan Bochnak (ed.),
M. Ryan Bochnak
(ed.)

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow Visiting Assistant Professor

Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley
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Lisa Matthewson (ed.)
Lisa Matthewson
(ed.)

Professor of Linguistics

University of British Columbia
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Published online:
22 January 2015
Published in print:
30 January 2015
Online ISBN:
9780190212353
Print ISBN:
9780190212339
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

This volume discusses methodological issues in conducting elicitation on semantic topics in a fieldwork situation. While some chapters cover issues specific to certain semantic topics (e.g., modality, comparison, tense and aspect, definiteness), others focus on elicitation techniques more generally, and address methodological issues such as the creation of elicitation plans, the choice of language in which to conduct elicitation, and the status of translation tasks. Each chapter draws on individual fieldwork experience, pairing explicit methodological proposals with concrete examples of their use in the field. The languages discussed span 11 language families and four continents. Furthermore, the chapters in the volume demonstrate that elicitation on semantic topics, when conducted following sound methodologies, can and does produce reliable results. Given that many of the world’s languages are currently endangered, this type of work is critical for gathering new empirical findings that bear on linguistic theory.

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