Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24603

Using Mixed Media Tools for Eliciting Discourse in Indigenous Languages

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Item Summary

Title: Using Mixed Media Tools for Eliciting Discourse in Indigenous Languages

Authors: Caldecott, Marion

Koch, Karsten

Keywords: language documentation

mixed media

discourse

indigenous languages

prosody

Date Issued: Jun 2014

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Citation: Caldecott, Marion, Karsten Koch. 2014. Using Mixed Media Tools for Eliciting Discourse in Indigenous Languages. Language Documentation & Conservation. 8: 209-240.

Abstract: Prosody plays a vital role in communication, but is one of the most widely neglected topics in language documentation. This omission is doubly detrimental since intonation is unrecoverable from transcribed texts, the most prevalent data sources for many indigenous languages. One of the underlying reasons for the dearth of prosodic data is methodological. Modern technology has removed technical barriers to recording the appropriate data, but traditional methods of elicitation still inhibit accurate documentation of linguistic structures at or above the phrasal level. In addition, these methods do not facilitate the mobilization of linguistic documentation. In this paper, we present techniques that we have developed that address both these concerns: 1) eliciting prosodic data for theoretical analysis, and 2) producing linguistic materials that can be useful for educators and curriculum developers. Highlighting advantages and disadvantages, we compare traditional elicitation and text-gathering methods with two non-traditional methodologies using non-verbal stimuli. These two non-traditional methodologies are aimed at collecting: 1) spontaneous conversation (either unguided, or task-oriented), and 2) partly scripted conversation (aided by multimedia tools). The methodologies are illustrated with original fieldwork on focus and intonation in two related, endangered Interior Salish languages – Nlhe7kepmxcín (Thompson) and St’át’imcets (Lillooet).

Pages/Duration: 32

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24603

ISSN: 1934-5275

Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported

Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/

Journal: Language Documentation & Conservation

Volume: 8

Appears in Collections: Volume 08 : Language Documentation & Conservation



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