Adapting Methods of Language Documentation To Multilingual Settings

Bibliographic Data

ID12987486
AuthorsJeff Good (0000-0001-8679-4654, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume15
Issue2
Pages341-375
Publication date2023-05-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language Contact (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1955-2629 • E-ISSN: 1877-4091
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/19552629-15020006
OpenAlexW4378231951
LanguageEN
References cited20

Commonly recommended methods for documenting endangered languages are built around the assumption that a given documentary project will focus on a single language rather than a multilingual ecology. This hinders the potential usability of documentary materials for the study of language contact. Research in domains such as ethnography and sociolinguistics has developed conceptual and analytical tools for understanding patterns of multilingual usage, but the insights of such work have yet to be translated into concrete recommendations for enhancements to documentary practice. This paper considers how standard documentary approaches can be adapted to multilingual contexts with respect to activities such as the collection of metadata, the use of ethnographic methods, and the recording and annotation of naturalistic multilingual discourse. A particular focus of the discussion are ways in which documentary projects can create better records of multilingual practices even if these are not the focus of the work

Documentation · Focus (optics · Linguistics · Metadata · Sociolinguistics · Sociology · Usability · World Wide Web · Categorization, perception, and language · Computer Science · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy

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