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School of Culture History and Language · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
In 2026, the intensive dates will be 7-18 September (Monday to Friday from 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm). In this course students work with a native speaker of an under-described language, learning how to document and describe a language from scratch. Instruction is given in the methodologies and technologies of linguistic fieldwork, including collection, analysis and organisation of data, and the social dimensions of working with speakers of minority languages. Students work together with the language consultant to collect and annotate language data and prepare it for archiving. They also undertake linguistic analysis of their primary data encompassing different aspects of the language’s grammar (morphosyntax, phonology, lexicon). The documentation and description of a language builds on students’ knowledge and skills from other linguistics courses, and deepens their understanding of working within the field of Linguistics, as well as on community-based language projects.
Class Participation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5
Preliminary data deposit
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Lexical report (10 lexical items)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5
Annotated text (approximately 90 seconds)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Analytical Paper (3,500 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
The total workload for this course including in class time and independent study is 130 hours. Other Information This course typically runs as an intensive during the Semester 2 teaching break. Classes are held for 4 hours a day, Monday–Friday. The final assessment is due around 8 weeks after the first class. This is a co-taught course. Any cap on enrolments in one course applies to both courses combined.
not required