LINGUIST List 12.2420

Mon Oct 1 2001

Books: Anthropological Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Richard John Harvey <richardlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. LINCOM.EUROPA, Anthropological Linguistics: Linguistic Field Work

A Manual of Linguistic Field Work and Structures of Indian Languages
ANVITA ABBI 
Center of Linguistics and English, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 

This is a manual on linguistic field methodology with special
reference to Indian language structures. It covers all that one needs
to know about eliciting data from native speaker informants of South
Asian languages. The book contains step by step information about
collection, collation, analysis, description, presentation and
explanation of linguistic data. The author has drawn a large number
of first-hand collected examples from lesser-known and 'tribal'
languages of India to expose the readers to the variety and diversity
of linguistic data available in the subcontinent. In addition to the
discussion on elicitation of phonological, morphological, syntactic,
semantic and sociolinguistic information, the author has discussed the
linguistic characteristic features of each language family of
India. The book makes the reader aware of areal features of the
languages under consideration and the contact phenomena to facilitate
fieldwork. Each topic is followed by the 'elicitation tips' and
interrogation techniques for the field worker as well as practical
issues, problems and solutions as regards collection of data.

Sets of questionnaires on commonly investigated topics are included in
the 'appendix' to facilitate field worker to come to grips with the
theoretical and structural aspects of languages in general and Indian
languages in specific. Numerous figures, maps and tables.

Table of Contents: 

1	Linguistic Fieldwork and the Indian Scene 
1.1 All about Linguistic Field Research
1.1.1 	Field Linguistics as an Input System to other fields 
1.1.2 What does it involve? 
1.1.3 Participatory in character 
1.1.4 Theory independent 
1.2 	The Composition of the Language Scene in India
1.2.1. The Constitution 
1.2.2. The Minority languages 
1.3 	The Hierarchical Structure of Indian Society 
1.4 Bilingualism and Indian Society 
1.4.1 The Rural Scene 
1.4.2 The Urban Scene 
1.4.3	The Cosmopolitan cities of India (The Mahanagar) 
1.4.4 Bilingualism and Education 
1.4.5 Language Loyalty, Language Shift And 
 Language Adoption 
1.5. The Contact Languages of India 
1.5.1 All India 
1.5.2 Our field experience 

2	Language Families, Language Contact, and Areal Universals
2.1 Indian Language Features
2.1.1 Indo-Aryan
2.1.2 	Dravidian
2.1.3 	Austro-Asiatic
2.1.4 	Tibeto-Burman
2.1.5 	Andamanese
2.2 	India as a Linguistic Area
2.2.1 	The Sound System
2.2.2 	The Morphological System
2.2.3 	The Syntactic System
2.2.4 	Pragmatics and Sociolinguistics
2.3 	The Sub-linguistic Area
2.4 	Contact and Convergence
2.4.1 	Various Grammatical Levels
2.4.2. 	The Restructuring of Grammars

3	The Preparation
3.1. 	Budgeting and Reservation 
3.1.l 	Travel 
3.1.2 	Board and Lodging 
3.1.3 	Remuneration for the Informants 
3.1.4 	Communication Network charges 
3.1.5 	Stationary 
3.1.6 	Equipment and Accessories 
3.1.7 	Data Processing 
3.1.8 	Word Processing/Typing 
3.1.9 	Reprographic Services/Xeroxing 
3.1.10 	Printing 
3.1.11 	Books and Journals 
3.1.12 	Contingencies 
3.1.13 	Overheads 
3.2 	Your Luggage 
3.3	Status of the Informants/Area to be Studied
3.3.1 	Literature study 
3.3.2 	Ethnology 
3.3.3 	Language study in big cities 
3.4 Fieldwork in the Class room 
3.5 Preparation of the Questionnaire 
3.6 Contacts in the field 
3.7 	The Second Stage: In the field 
3.7.1 What Language to Use for Eliciting Data? 
3.8 	Choosing Informants 
3.8.1 	Begin at School 
3.8.2 	Avoid a Language Teacher 
3.8.3. Choose Both Male and Female Informants 
3.8.4. Choose All Age Groups But Not Below 
	Twelve 
3.8.5. Choose All Sections of the Stratified 
	Society 
3.8.6 One Willing Informant is Better Than 
	Ten Unwilling Ones 
3.9 	The Role of the Interpreter 
3.10 	Your Own Behaviour in the Field 
3.11 	Being a woman is a Blessing 

4 	Elicitation 
4.1. 	Various Methods 
4.1.1 	Observation Method 
4.1.2 	Interview Method 
4.1.3 	Sending Questionnaire Method 
4.1.4 	Documentary Source Method 
4.2 	Interviewing Informants 
4.3 	Interrogation Techniques 
4.3.1 	Translation 
4.3.2 	Contact Language 
4.3.3 	Pictorial Representation 
4.3.4 	Substitution Interrogation 
4.3.5 	Associative Interrogation 
4.3.6 	Paraphrase 
4.3.7 	Cross Interrogation 
4.3.8 	Stimulus Interrogation 
4.3.9 	Examples and Illustrations 
4.4 	Transcription 
4.4.1 	Narrow or Broad 
4.4.2 	IPA or American 
4.5 	Data Collection: Various Stages 
4.5.1 	Stage I: Basic Word List 
4.5.2 	Stage II: 400 Word List 
4.5.3 	Stage III: Small Phrases 
4.6. Morphological Topics 
4.7. 	Dichotomy between Noun and Verb 

5	Word formation Processes
5.0 	General Remarks 
5.1 	Mostly Inflection 
5.1.1 	Noun Morphology 
5.1.2 	Pronoun Morphology 
5.1.3 	Case Markings and Postpositions 
5.1.4 	Morphology of Adjectives 
5.1.5 	Stage IV: Simple Sentences 
5.1.6 	Morphology and Syntax of Adverbs 
5.1.7 	Verb Morphology 
5.1.8 	Stage V: Complex Sentences 
5.2 	Derivation 
5.2.1 	Particle -wala 
5.2.2 	Morphological Causatives 
5.3 	Reduplication 
5.3.1 	Morphological 
5.3.2 	Lexical 
5.4 	Compounds 
5.4.1 	Endocentric 
5.4.2 	Exocentric 
5.4.3 	Appositional or Associative 

6	Syntax and Semantics
6.1	Inquiring into Syntaxand Semantics 
6.2 	Word Order Typology 
6.2.1 	Characteristic Features of SOV 
6.3 	Topic and Focus 
6.4 	Interrogation 
6.5 	Negation 
6.5.1 	Salient Features 
6.5.2 	Negative Verbs 
6.5.3 	Deletion 
6.5.4 	Scope of Negation 
6.5.5 	Other Related Features 
6.6 	Complex Predicates 
6.7 	Explicator Compound Verbs 
6.7.1 	Aspectual
6.7.2 	Adverbial
6.7.3 	Attitudinal
6.8 	Dative Subjects
6.8.1 	Experiential
6.8.2 	Non Experiential
6.8.3 	Subject properties
6.9 	Complementation
6.9.1 	Types of Complements
6.10 	Converbs/Conjunctive Participles
6.11 	Anaphora
6.12 	Coordination
6.13	Adjectival Clauses 

7 	Social Aspects
7.1 Kinship Terms
7.1.1 Non-Affinal
7.1.2 Affinal
7.2 Forms of Address and Terms of Reference
7.2.1 Forms of Address
7.2.2 Terms of Reference
7.3 Politeness Strategies
7.3.1 Lexical
7.3.2 Prosodic
7.3.3 Syntactic 
7.4.4 Sociolinguistic
7.4 Language Shift, Retention, and Death
7.4.1 Language Shift and Retention
7.4.2	Language Death 

Appendices

This will include various charts, blank phono-logical and
morphological tables and different questionnaires mentioned in the
text. It will include among others the following:

IPA Charts for Consonants And Vowels [Including Blank Charts]
The Basic Word List (Swadesh, Gudchinsky And Samarin) [A]
The Basic Word List (300 Words) [B]
The Basic Word List (400 Words) [C]
The Basic Sentence List 
Cook's Case Frame Matrix
Word Order/ Topic And Focus/ Scrambling
Interrogation, Complementation
Explicator Compound Verbs
Dative Subjects
Language Shift And Retention/ Attitudes Of The Speakers
Language Death/ Obsolescence
Complete Word Reduplication [Bilingual And Bi-Scriptal]
Map: Hindi Speaking States
Map: Distribution of Tribal Languages

ISBN 3 89586 401 3.
LINCOM Handbooks in Linguistics 17. 
Ca. 360pp. USD 80 / EUR 68 / � 44. 





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