Starting to Work on a Language

Abstract

Before you go to the field for the first time, there are a lot of preparations to make. You need to find a field site, gather the previous materials on the language, plan your early elicitation sessions, and work out how you’re going to find people to work with. You probably also need to apply for human subjects research approval and take care of the associated paperwork. In a field methods class, all of this is done by the instructor. Usually you are not permitted to look at previous materials, and instead in the class you will rely completely on your own data and judgements. However, this chapter is concerned with what to do when you arrive in the field and start elicitation, or when you start your first field methods class. Other chapters in this book describe the different preparations that you need to make before actually starting the linguistic work.