Licensed under: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
This is a beta version
HI-LING
LINGUISTICS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
Module 12: Language Documentation
Language documentation involves the collection and preservation of relevant information about a language, like how it's spoken and the different ways in which people use it. This is a new and growing area of study in language and related fields. It focuses on languages which are not well-known and sometimes spoken by very small groups of people. In simpler words, it's like creating a special book that keeps a record of a language for a very long time, so that we can learn from it and protect it.
What falls under the scope of this field of linguistics? This section outlines some fundamental aspects of language documentation and its connection to particular communities.
​
​
​
This lesson explores the intriguing aspects of language documentation, factors influencing the disappearance of languages, and how language reflects the cultures of its speakers.
In this lesson, you will learn that there are organisations committed to documenting, preserving endangered languages, and providing platforms for knowledge-sharing. You will find world maps which contain information about these languages, so, why not have a look at them?
This lesson focuses on the activity of documentary linguists. You will learn about what they need to document and about transcriptions, which is a crucial part of their work.
This unit is about how we create sentences in different languages. You will learn to analyze them and you will be introduced to “morphosyntax” to explore how particles and words are made and fit into sentences.
Final Quiz
This is a 8-questions-quiz to test your knowledge about what you've learned during this Language Documentation module. Good luck!
1. What is Language Documentation?
A) Language Documentation is the process of writing novels and stories in a particular language.
B) Language Documentation is the systematic recording and analysis of a language’s vocabulary, grammar, and cultural context to preserve and understand it.
C) Language Documentation is the study of how languages change over time.
D) Language Documentation is the study of how languages are learned by children.
2. Which of the following are factors contributing to the decline of languages?
A) The impact of fashion trends on language use.
B) The influence of some spoken languages in social media.
C) Globalisation, migration and urbanisation.
D) Globalisation and migration, but not urbanisation.
3. In 2022 the ELP labeled how many of the 7,000 languages that are spoken worldwide as endangered?
A) 790
B) 4,000
C) 2,450
D) 1,970
4. Which of the following cities is the linguistically most diverse one?
A) New York
B) Bern
C) Paris
D) Cape Town
5. What basic equipment does a linguist need for field work?
​
6. Is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) an essential tool for linguists in accurately representing the distinctive sounds and phonological features of languages?
A) Yes
B) No
7. With which method do linguists work, when creating vocabulary lists?
A) Surprising questions
B) Passive conversation
C) Random questioning
D) Active eliciting
8. Which term is defined as the set of rules that help create sentences and understand a language?
A) Vocabulary
B) Phonetics
C) Grammar
D) Pragmatics