Linguistics 407-408 / 507-508


Field Techniques and Analysis
Rice University
Fall 2004-Spring 2005


Course Meetings

MWF 3:30-4:20Herring 126

Instructor: Dr. Robert Englebretson

Office:Herring 206
Office Hours:Mon. 2:00-3:00, Thurs. 2:00-4:00, and by appointment.
Office Phone:713 348-4776
E-mail:reng {at} rice.edu

Course Links


 Course Description

This two-semester course sequence in field methods addresses techniques for the recording, analysis, and description of a field language. The language for A2004-2005 is Sinhala. Class meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays will consist of elicitation sessions with the Sinhala speaker. Class meetings on Friday will not include the speaker, and will consist of data analysis, planning the following week’s sessions, and general discussions of issues related to data collection, transcription, analysis, and fieldwork experiences and ethics. IN addition to in-class sessions, students will work in pairs outside of class. Each pair will be allotted one hour per week of time with the Sinhala speaker for work on individual and group projects. Students will be responsible for entering elicited data into an online class database, to which all students in the class will have access.

Three ‘provisional’ written reports will be due each semester, and will be made available to all class members. Because of the emergent nature of a course in field methods, the exact due dates for these reports are flexible and individually-negotiable by each student. During the first semester, the topics of these reports will be:

  1. basic phonetic inventory of Sinhala (due early October);
  2. an individually-chosen topic of interest related to Sinhala phonetics and/or phonology (Due early November);
  3. a basic sketch of Sinhala morphology (due early December).
During the second semester, the topics will be:
  1. overview of Sinhala grammar (due late February);
  2. a short Sinhala text with interlinear glosses and free translation (due mid March);
  3. an individually-chosen topic of interest related to semantics and/or discourse and grammar (due late April).
Each student will make his/her provisional reports available to all members of the class.

Near the end of each semester, students will give in-class presentations related to their individual projects.

On the last day of exam week for each semester, the final course paper is due. This paper will be a compilation and revision of the three ‘provisional’ reports from the semester, incorporating feedback from the instructor and other students, as well as new data and analysis as relevant. This paper will be due at 5pm on the last day of the exam week for each semester, e-mail submissions preferred. (For Fall semester, the due date is December 15 at 5pm. For Spring semester, the due date is noon on May 5 for graduating seniors, and 5pm on May 11 for everyone else.)


* Note: If you require course material in an alternative format or need special accommodations due to a disability, please contact the instructor and the Disability Support Services Office (Ley Student Center room 122).


Course Requirements

Actively participate in class elicitation, discussion, and data sessions20%
Three 'provisional' written reports45%
Individual in-class presentation15%
Final 'compilation' term paper20%

Last updated: Sept. 3, 2004 by Robert Englebretson.