Field Methods (LING 630)

Fall 2025

Facilitator

Bradley McDonnell

Modified

January 10, 2026

Language expert: Evangeline Anton
Course number 77357
Time: F 10:30 – 1:15
Location: Moore 202
Office hours: W 11:30 – 12:30
R 2:30 – 3:30
Office: Moore Hall 582
Virtual meeting: https://hawaii.zoom.us/my/mcdonn
Lamakū https://lamaku.hawaii.edu/d2l/home/67351

Course description

This course is primarily designed to equip graduate students to carry out linguistic fieldwork on un(der)documented languages. It is the first part of a two semester course in which students acquire training in the skills and tools of linguistic fieldwork and language documentation by working with a speaker of a language previously unknown to them to produce a documentation and description of aspects of the language. We will take (or maybe more accurately simulate) a holistic and ethnographic approach and simultaneously create and annotate a corpus of language in use, build a lexical database, and produce a grammatical sketch. Students will learn techniques of data collection, elicitation, management, and analysis by doing linguistic fieldwork.

Student learning outcomes

This course addresses all seven of UH Mānoa Advanced Degree Learning Objectives (ILOs). At the end of the course, a successful student should be able to:

  1. Plan, initiate, and conduct fieldwork on a language unfamiliar to them in an informed and productive way by drawing on state-of-the-art methods in language documentation.
  2. Investigate different levels of the structure and use of a language unfamiliar to them by collecting and using various types of language data.
  3. Effectively use and critically evaluate a range of audio and video recording equipment, software, and questionnaires and other elicitation tools.
  4. Clearly describe aspects of the language’s phonology, morphology, and syntax based on analyses of primary data.
  5. Demonstrate an ability to work collaboratively with an expert user of the language, demonstrating a sensitivity to the language expert’s personal and cultural background as well as their goals, desires, and needs as it relates to language (and language-related) work within their community.

Course readings

There is no required textbook for this course, and there will only be sporadic required readings. Course readings can be accessed through Lamakū. If you are interested in a recent book on field methods, I recommend Meakins, Green & Turpin (2018). There are other helpful books, which I list in the references.

Software

Students need access to the software below.

  1. ELAN 7.0

ELAN is our go to software for time-aligned transcriptions translations.

  1. Fieldworks Stable 9.2.9/10

Fieldworks (aka FLEx) is used for our lexicon and interlinearized texts. Using the ‘send/receive’ function, the class will have a shared FLEx database.

WarningFLEx is only available on PC.

Mac users may use a laptop designated for field methods or may try to check one out from LAElabs to work on assignments and projects with FLEx.

It is possible to install a virtual machine for free, which is how I use FLEx. I recommend VMware Fusion Pro for Mac with Windows 11 for Arm. This download is for Windows Insider Preview, so you will have to register with Microsoft. Virtual machines typically do not work well with older machines and require both RAM and hard disk space. Follow the minimum and recommended specifications for VMware Fusion Pro.1 I do not recommend installing VMware if your laptop only meets the minimum requirements.

  1. DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve has a free version that we will use to sync audio from an audio recorder and video/audio from a camcorder.

WarningDaVinci Resolve is computationally demanding

DaVinci Resolve, like other video editing apps, is very demanding, so if your laptop only meets the minimum requirements, consider using the field methods laptop for video editing.2

Prerequisites

  • Some training in phonetics/phonology (e.g., LING 421) and morphology/syntax (e.g., LING 422).
  • Some training in language documentation theory (e.g., LING 680) and methods (e.g., LING 710) is preferable.3

Tentative Course Outline

This course will “go where the language takes us,” so there is no set schedule. However, there are some general guidelines that we will (try to) follow.

  • Language/culture learning
  • Background research on language
  • Sociolinguistic background of language expert
  • Archiving plan for class
  • Eliciting lexical items
  • Creating/maintaining lexical database
  • Phonological analysis
  • Phonetic analysis
  • Develop practical orthography
  • Recording speech events
  • Transcription & translation
  • Morphosyntactic analysis
  • …

Sessions with language expert

There are two types of sessions: class sessions and small group sessions (detailed below). Students are expected to attend all sessions. If a student cannot attend, they must notify the course facilitator in advance when possible. Students are responsible for staying current by reading the activity log and watching the recording of any missed session.

Class sessions

  • We meet during the scheduled course time slot with the entire class.
  • The first part of class may be used to discuss organizational issues, analysis of the language, and discussion of readings on fieldwork.
  • The remaining two-thirds of the class will primarily be spent working with the language expert, carrying out elicitation, transcription, and/or translation.
  • Each small group will rotate facilitating sessions. Within each group, students are responsible to:
    • input plans into the activity log.
    • retrieve equipment from the field methods room and set it up before the start of class.
    • record and facilitate the session.
    • transfer recordings to an external hard drive, edit the recording, and upload session recordings to Google Drive immediately after class.
    • complete the metadata and activity log, and edit field notes and convert to PDF/A.

See Data management below for a detailed workflow.

NoteClass sessions follow the schedule below:
10:30-11:10 Discuss practical issues, readings, analysis
11:15-12:05 Recording session 1
12:15-1:05 Recording session 2
1:05-1:15 Review, questions, wrap up discussion

Small group sessions

  • Small groups of 2–3 will meet for approximately 1 hour per week.
  • Moore Hall 476 is the designated field methods room, but students have found other places to meet, such as Moore Hall 575 (if available) as well as GA offices.
  • It is the students’ responsibility to find an appropriate location for these meetings.
CautionNoisy Air Conditioning

The air conditioning in rooms in Moore Hall create a lot of noise that is noticeable in recordings. Make sure you test the equipment in the room adjust the recording setup accordingly.

  • If students need to cancel a small group session, they need to notify the facilitator before doing so with information on when the group plans to hold a make up session. Small groups should only meet on Zoom if someone is feeling sick. It is important to meet regularly in person with the language expert.
  • Small groups need to work with the language expert to work out times that fit her schedule. (Keep in mind that she has her own responsibilities.)
  • Each small group session needs to be audio and video recorded. It is the responsibility of the students to make sure that the audio and video recorders are available and ready for use in each small group session. If there is an issue with the equipment, make sure to notify everyone in the class. Students meeting virtually may record their sessions using Zoom.

Course assignments & grading

All course assignments must be turned in on time and should be submitted to the appropriate folder on Google Drive or Lamakū assignment by the deadline given below. Some tasks (e.g., activity log, backing up and file naming recordings) do not have a due date per se, but need to be completed after each small group session. If I notice a backlog, I may suspend the student(s) from small group sessions until they have caught up on these tasks.

  1. Sessions & Activity log 15%
  • Students are required to record each session with the language expert using both audio and video. The resulting video and sound file(s) need to be given appropriate file names, annotated with metadata, and prepared for archiving.
  • Students are required to take detailed notes either in a notebook or on a text document of all sessions with the language expert.
NoteFieldnotes

Notebooks must follow best practices for keeping a field notebook, see pp. 52-55 in Bowern (2015) and Sakel & Everett (2012). Notebooks themselves are never turned in, but scanned pages in the notebook must be archived as PDF/A.

Text documents must be well organized with clear transcriptions and translations. Any comment bubbles in Google Docs must be resolved, and additional material that was not elicited should be deleted, i.e. the document should represent what happened in recording session. Once it is finished it needs to be converted to a PDF/A.

  • Students are required to upload audio and video files to their computer, name the files, and back up the originals and archive-ready versions on the class external hard drive and upload smaller edited versions to Google Drive immediately after each session.
  • Students are required to keep a record of each small group session or class session they are in charge of. The information that should be included is: (i) the goal of the session, (ii) the activity or activities planned for the session, (iii) the outcome of the session (i.e., what was actually learned/accomplished in the session), and (iv) what questions came up or still remain from the session.
      1. and (ii) should be filled out before the session.
      1. and (iv) should be filled out after the session.
    • Each of these should be short notes in complete sentences that anyone in the class (or future researchers interested in the language) can search for and understand.
  • The activity log is a shared spreadsheet file in Google Drive that should be filled out immediately after each session.
  • Even though only a portion of the recorded sessions will be archived in Kaipuleohone (see below), all recordings must be synced and prepared as if they will be archived.
  1. Lexicon 15%
  • Each student will contribute to and help maintain a shared class FLEx database using the ‘send/receive’ function.
Note

In order to access the shared lexicon, each student needs to create an account http://public.languagedepot.org/account/register. Note: After requesting the account, Language Depot will send you an email to confirm. This email commonly goes into SPAM. Everyone needs to also have the latest stable release of FLEx (see Software section).

  • Words will be collected in a shared spreadsheet until we are comfortable with the orthography (for about the first month), then we will import all words into the shared FLEx database.
  • The lexicon will be checked twice throughout the semester (see Important dates below). Students must make sure that their entries are up to date by these dates.
  1. Recording / ‘Text’ 15%
  • Each group will be required to make at least one recording using both audio and video of the language expert telling a story or performing some elicitation task (e.g., Frog Story) that involves ‘connected speech’. Here are a list of some possible elicitation tasks:
    1. Pear Story www.pearstories.org
    2. Frog Story (see Google Drive) & http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/access/Frogs/0doc.html
    3. Story-builder: Picture Cards for Language Activities www.story-builder.ca
    4. Totem Field Storyboards www.totemfieldstoryboards.ca
    5. Problem Solving Task http://hdl.handle.net/10125/4504
    6. The North Wind & the Sun (See Google Drive) & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_North_Wind_and_the_Sun
    7. L & C Field Manuals http://fieldmanuals.mpi.nl/
  • In some cases, the group may need to conduct more than one elicitation task.
  • Each group will be required to prepare the recording for archiving (e.g., provide complete metadata, photographs of the recording setup and setting, description of the context, summary description of the content of the recording).
  • Each group will be required to segment the recording into intonation units, transcribe using a (simplified) Discourse Transcription (Du Bois et al. 1993), and provide free translations for the recording.
  • The recording must also be glossed at the word-level (and if possible the morpheme-level) in FLEx and exported back into ELAN.
NoteA simplified Discourse Transcription minimally contains

Intonation Unit, Boundary Intonation (Final: ‘.’, Continuing: ‘,’, Appeal: ‘?’), Short Pause ‘..’, Long Timed Pause ‘(0.0)’‘, Laughter’@‘, Word Truncation’-‘, IU Truncation’–‘, In-breath’(H)’‘, Out-breath’(Hx)’.

  • Additionally, each person is required to submit a short write up assessing the recording and the process of recording.
  1. Mini-descriptions 15%
  • Each student will complete three mini-descriptions during the semester in the following areas:
    1. Phonology
    2. Morphology
    3. Syntax
  • Mini-descriptions may take different format, but focus on developing clear, well-reasoned, empirically-grounded descriptions.
  • They are primarily based upon the data students are collecting in class but should make reference to the previous literature.
  • Data can and should be shared among the students, but each student will complete their own mini-description.
  • Mini-descriptions are not long, and the focus is not necessarily on how much the description covers but the quality of the description.
  1. Culminating project 20%
  • Each student will develop a culminating project on some aspect of the language in regular consultation with the facilitator. Potential projects include:
    • Option 1: Develop an in-depth research paper that explores one aspect of the language.
      • The paper must be an original contribution to our knowledge of Kosraean and interact with the existing linguistic literature on the topic and previous descriptions of Kosraean.
      • All data points in the paper must be cited and point to an annotation file (e.g., ELAN file).
      • Papers must be 3,000 words at a minimum including examples
    • Option 2: Produce a resource on the language in consultation with the language expert that is grounded Kosraean culture and the analysis of Kosraean (both elicited and naturally-occurring language data). The project must be accompanied by a write-up (minimally 1,000 words) that explains the conceptual foundation of the resource with appropriate references from linguistics, language documentation, and language revitalization literature.
      • Readers for children or adults (e.g. produced in Bloom).
      • A topical ‘mini-dictionary’ that explores a semantic domain (e.g. fishing, edible plants)
      • An transcribed, translated, and annotated corpus that is made publicly available
      • See e.g. Lise Dobine’s annotated texts made with IATH ELAN
  • Each student will be required to submit a one-page (single-spaced) culminating project proposal that specifies the proposed topic, data, and relevant literature.
  1. Curated archive collection 20%
  • Each group is responsible for preparing their bundles–whether that be a small group or class session that a particular group is facilitating–for archiving. That means that each group has appropriate metadata and has all files prepared for archiving. Data will be uploaded to the archive at the end of the semester, but I will be intermittently checking the activity log and backed up recordings on Google Drive to make sure everything is up-to-date. This includes the following tasks:
    • Backing up original audio and video files on an external HD.
    • Editing files in DaVinci Resolve (i.e., syncing audio and video, and cropping audio and video to the same length) each small group session and each class session that they are facilitating (if editing is necessary).
    • Scanning notebooks (or saving documents) as PDF/A files for each small group session and every class session, not only the class session your group is facilitating.
    • Providing detailed metadata required by Kaipuleohone for each language expert session and each class session that they are facilitating. Metadata will be formally checked and graded three times throughout the semester.
    • Upload edited files (e.g., .mp4 video files, .wav audio files, .jpg notebook scans and the recording setting) into the archive folder.
  • Each group will archive a selection of at least five sessions. These five sessions should be good examples of your work and must be accompanied by at least some level of annotation in ELAN. Students will be graded on the quality of their recordings, metadata, and annotations.
ImportantRecording quality

It is important for students to test the recording equipment before each session and monitor the recorders during the session. Students should watch and listen to their session to identify any problems (e.g. loud background noise, noise from microphones, gain too low to hear speaker’s voice, poor lighting or framing, etc.)

Data management

It is important for students to plan before each session and process recordings and field notes after each session. We will follow the workflow below.

flowchart TD

    subgraph 1 ["`**Before Session**`"]
        A("Plan Session & Input Plans in Activity Log") --> B("Setup Equipment & Test Equipment to Ensure It's Running Properly 
        Erase SD Cards")
    end
  
subgraph 2 ["`
**After Session**
`"]
  D("Transfer Recordings from SD Cards to originals folder on External HD 
  in a Folder named FM9-SESSION NUMBER-O(riginal),  
  (e.g. FM9-001-O) for Original Files")
  --> E("Sync/Edit Original Audio-Video Files in DaVinci Resolve") 
  --> F("Export Synced Files 
  (HD quality .mp4/.wav files) 
  in the 'edited' Folder on External HD") 
  E --> G["Export Synced Files 
  (SD quality .mp4/.wav files) 
  in FM8 folder 
  in Shared Google Drive"]
  --> H["Fill out metadata (completely!) on Activity Log"]
  F --> H
  H --> I["Edit Field Notes & Convert to PDF/A 
  Scan Notebooks & save as PDF/A"]
  end

1 --> C["Hold Session, Monitoring Audio/Video, 
    Taking Detailed Field Notes"] --> 2

File naming conventions

We will follow a prescribed file naming system that follows conventions adopted by Kaipuleohone. A single dash - is used to separate each of the elements listed below:

  1. The archive collection for this class will be named FM9, and we will use this name at the beginning of each file.
  2. Each session will be numbered using three digits, e.g. 001, 002, …. Each file associated with a single session will be have these three digits.
  3. The original unedited files will be kept at least until files have been archived. They appears with the letter “O” at the end. This helps us distinguish original files from edited files.
  4. In the case that there are multiple files of the same type, a two digit code is appended to the file.
  5. In the case that there are two recordings of the same type with the same content, a capital letter is appended to the end, beginning with A.

Below is a list of sample file names followed by a description:

FM9-001
Folder name for the first session that contains the archive-ready files
FM9-001-O
Folder name for the first session that contains original files
FM9-002.mp4
Video file for the second session.
FM9-003-01.wav
Audio file for the third session in which there is more than one audio file.
FM9-003-01-O.wav
Audio file for the third session in which there is more than one audio file and it is the original recording.
FM9-003-01-A.wav
Audio file for the third session in which there is more than one audio file in the session and there is a second audio file with the same content.

Important Dates

Due dates are subject to change. All assignments due by 8am on Monday.

First Metadata Check Sep 29
First Lexicon Check Oct 6
Recording & write-up for ‘text’ assignment due Oct 13
Mini-description (Phonology) Oct 20
Culminating project proposal Oct 27
Second Lexicon Check Oct 27
Second Metadata Check Nov 3
Mini-description (Morphology) Nov 10
Third Lexicon Check Nov 24
No class Nov 28
Transcription of ’text’in ELAN/FLEx due Dec 1
Mini-description (Syntax) Dec 8
Culminating project due Dec 15
Archival materials due (final metadata check) Dec 15

Course Policy

  • Please be respectful to everyone in the class. More than any other course, Field Methods has the potential for conflict between students.
    • If you know that you are the type of person to talk a lot in class, be conscious of the students around you who may not be so quick to share. It is not enjoyable to be in Field Methods when it is dominated by one or two people.
    • If you know that you are a more reserved person in class, you may need to challenge yourself to speak up.
  • Remember that Evangeline is the only expert on the language in our class. She should be treated as such. Be mindful of the questions that you are asking and how you are asking them. Don’t get lost in the ‘data’ and forget your manners.
  • Attendance in this course and small group sessions is crucial. In order to be successful in the course, you need to attend every class and be punctual. Excessive absences or tardiness may result in a grade reduction.
  • Please be attentive during class, and please refrain from working on anything unrelated to class during small group and class sessions, including checking email, Discord, texting, etc. It can be especially tempting to do this if we are taking notes in a text document.

Inclusivity policies

Diversity and Civility

I consider the classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect, and we welcome individuals of all ages, backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, genders, gender identities, gender expressions, national origins, religious affiliations, sexual orientations, ability – and other visible and nonvisible differences. All members of this class are expected to contribute to a respectful, welcoming and inclusive environment for every other member of the class.

Preferred Names and Pronouns

I will gladly honor your request to address you by a preferred name or gender pronoun. Please advise us of this preference early in the semester so that I can make appropriate changes to my records.

Needs (ADA Statement)

If you have a disability for which you need accommodations in this class or any other special need (e.g. religious holidays), please inform the instructor as soon as possible. The KOKUA Program (Office for Students with Disabilities) can be reached at (808) 956-7511 or (808) 956-7612 (voice/text) in room 013 of the Queen Lili’uokalani Center for Student Services.

References

Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. 2014. The Art of Grammar: A Practical Guide. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199683215.001.0001
Bowern, Claire. 2015. Linguistic Fieldwork: A Practical Guide 2nd ed. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Chelliah, Shobhana L. & Willem J. de Reuse. 2011. Handbook of Descriptive Linguistic Fieldwork. Dordrecht: Springer.
Du Bois, John W., Stephan Schuetze-Coburn, Susanna Cumming & Danae Paolino. 1993. Outline of discourse transcription. In Jane Anne Edwards & Martin D. Lampert (eds.), Talking data: Transcription and coding in discourse research, 45–89. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Meakins, Felicity, Jennifer Green & Myfany Turpin. 2018. Understanding Linguistic Fieldwork 1st ed. New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203701294
Sakel, Jeanette & Daniel L. Everett. 2012. Linguistic Fieldwork: A Student Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thieberger, Nicholas (ed.). 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Fieldwork. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tsikewa, Adrienne. 2021. Reimagining the current praxis of field linguistics training: Decolonial considerations. Language 97(4). e293–e319. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2021.0072

Footnotes

  1. System requirements:
    Mac Hardware — Intel Mac (Big Sur+) or Apple Silicon (Monterey+) is minimal
    RAM — 8 GB (minimal), 16 GB+ (recommended)
    Disk Space — 1.5 GB app + 5 GB per VM (minimal), 10 GB+ per VM (recommended)
    macOS Version — Monterey (12) or Ventura (13) is minimal; latest supported macOS is recommended↩︎

  2. System requirements (DaVinci Resolve Free, HD editing):
    Mac Hardware — Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) or Intel quad‑core (2017+) is minimal; Apple Silicon recommended
    RAM — 8 GB (minimal), 16 GB+ (recommended)
    GPU — Apple Silicon GPU, or AMD GPU with 2 GB VRAM (minimal); 4–8 GB VRAM (recommended)
    Disk Space — ~3 GB app + 10 GB for cache/projects (minimal), 50 GB+ fast SSD for media/cache (recommended)
    macOS Version — Monterey (12) is minimal; Ventura (13) or newer recommended↩︎

  3. For students who have not taken LING 710, you will need to familiarize yourself with current language documentation practices in audiovisual recording, basic video editing, metadata collection, archiving, and transcription. Please ask me at the beginning of class to give you access to the materials for LING 710, so that you can review the readings.↩︎