LING 630: Field Methods 2 – Bua and the languages of Fiji

Instructor

• Gary Holton (facilitator)
• Sisilia Gravelle (language expert)

Overview

This course is the second semester of a two-semester sequence in which students acquire training in the skills and tools of linguistic fieldwork, language documentation and language description by working with a speaker of a language previously unknown to them to produce a documentation and description of aspects of the language. Building on the first-hand experience with the Fijian variety Bua gained during the first semester, this course takes a deeper look at the structure of Bua. While the use of outside resources was not prohibited during the first semester, we did not rely heavily on them nor discuss them during class time. The approach taken in this second semester differs somewhat in that we will actively engage with the existing literature on Fijian languages and Central Pacific languages more broadly, thus ensuring that our analyses are contextualized within current understandings in the field.

Course objectives and learning outcomes

At the end of the course, a successful student should be able to:

• Plan, initiate, and conduct fieldwork on an unfamiliar language in an informed and productive way by drawing on state-of-the-art methods in language documentation.
• Investigate different levels of the structure and use of a previously unfamiliar language by collecting and using various types of language data.
• Effectively use and critically evaluate a range of audio and video recording equipment, software, stimuli, and other elicitation tools.
• Clearly describe aspects of the language’s phonology, morphology, and syntax based on analyses of primary data.
• Have a firm grasp of the existing literature on Fijian languages.

Course readings

The following reference works will be made available via GoogleDrive. Some can also be freely downloaded (see links) or accessed online via “emergency access” provisions at HathiTrust. Others can be purchased for a nominal cost should you prefer a paper copy.

• Capell, Arthur. 1991. A New Fijian Dictionary (3rd ed.). Suva, Fiji: Government Printer.
• Dixon, R.M.W. 1988. A Grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago.
• Geraghty, Paul A. 1983. The History of the Fijian Languages. University of Hawaii Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20006700
• Gatty, Ronald. 2009. Fijian-English Dictionary: with notes on Fijian culture and natural history. https://hdl.handle.net/1813/28702
• Schütz, Albert J. 1985. The Fijian Language. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/62912
• Schütz, Albert J. 2014. Fijian Reference Grammar. Honolulu: Pacific Voices.

In addition to these primary references we will look at a number of articles dealing with specific topics in Fijian and in the languages of the Central Pacific more generally.

Prerequisites

Although intended as a continuation of the Fall 2020 Field Methods (LING 630), the course is open to all students with prior experience in either Fijian or other languages of the Central Pacific. If you were not enrolled in LING 630 in Fall 2020, please consult with the instructors prior to enrolling in this course.

Course Format

Due to the ongoing pandemic, all class meetings will be held via Zoom. Meetings will be divided between weekly consultant sessions and weekly class sessions. During the consultant sessions students will meet with the language expert to record Bua language. Consultant sessions will be organized in groups, and the size of the groups will depend on the course enrollment (likely 1-3 people per group). During the classroom sessions we will discuss existing descriptions of Fijian languages and review any issues and discoveries arising from the small group sessions.

Consultant sessions

• Students will meet in groups with Ms. Gravelle for approximately 1-2 hour per week.
• Students need to work with the language consultant to work out times that fit her schedule.
• Each session needs to be recorded. This can be done using Zoom, but you must ensure that you have the necessary permissions to record in Zoom.
• Each member of the group should maintain metadata for the sessions in laMeta. Descriptive metadata in laMeta should include:
  • the goal of the session
  • the activity or activities planned for the session
  • the outcome of the session (i.e., what was actually learned/accomplished in the session)
  • questions arising (or remaining) from the session.

Classroom sessions

• Class sessions meet during the scheduled course time slot with the entire class.
• Students should read the assigned readings for the week prior to the class and be prepared to discuss the readings.
• Students should be prepared to discuss the way structures described in the assigned readings are realized in Bua.

For more details see the course syllabus.