The Struture of Amazonian Languages -- LING 4LX3

Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada “The Structure of Amazonian Languages” Syllabus

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Department of Linguistics and Languages

McMaster University

Course Outline

The Structure of Amazonian Languages, LING 4LX3

Tuesdays, 14:30 pm -17:30 pm, MDLC 1016

Winter, 2014

Instructor’s Name: Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada

Contact information: Email: roseslj AT mcmaster.ca, Phone: 905-525-9140 ext.24537

Office location and hours: Togo Salmon Hall 622, TBA (or by appointment)

Course Description

It is not entirely clear what the number of languages in the world is at present but most estimates agree

in that it exceeds 6,000 languages. Our knowledge of the world’s ~6,000 languages is unfortunately

extremely limited. The documentation and description of all these languages would not be a pressing

matter were it not for the endangerment situation that most of these languages are in nowadays. The dire

situation of the world’s languages has gained a lot of attention since the grim prediction about the

extinction of half of them by the end of the twenty-first century. It is this increased awareness of the

possibility of losing forever the world’s linguistic diversity, coupled with many technological advances

such as portable computers, digital recorders, etc., that has led to the (re)blossoming of language

documentation in the last two decades. The primary goal of this course is twofold: 1) prepare you to

document an underdescribed language and 2) give you the tools to carry out linguistic analysis on the

language you have decided to work on. The languages we will focus on are all from the Amazonian

linguistic area but what you learn in this course will be applicable to languages in other parts of the

world.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, students should be able to do all or most of the following:

1. Write a short language vitality assessment for an endangered Amazonian language

2. Discuss ethical issues that arise in linguistic fieldwork, including issues of community-

linguist interaction, ownership, and access

3. Record audio and video according to best practice standards

4. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of available archives and prepare data for archiving

5. Conduct linguistic analysis of the phonetic/phonological and morphosyntactic of a given

language.


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Course Assessments & Weighting & Due Date

Note that descriptions of the assignments will be provided on the course website.

Class Attendance and Participation 15% Throughout the course

Phonetic Study 15% Due: February 11

Interview Questions 5% Due: February 24

Group Audio Recording 5% Due: March 4

Mini-dictionary 10% Due: March 24

Description and Metadata 10% Due: April 4

Final project 40% Due: April 18

Course Textbooks

Aikhenvald, Alexandra. 2012. The languages of the Amazon. Oxford/New York: Oxford University

Press

Sakel, Jeanette and Daniel L. Everett. 2012. Linguistic fieldwork: A student guide. Cambridge, UK:

Cambridge University Press

Recommended Textbook

Givón, Talmy. 2001. Syntax: An Introduction. Volumes I & II. [Rev. ed.]. Amsterdam; Philadelphia:

John Benjamins Co.

Other Useful General Survey Books

Aikhenvald, Alexandra. 2002. Language Contact in Amazonia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dixon, Robert M. W., and Alexandra Aikhenvald (eds.). 1999. The Amazonian Languages. Cambridge,

UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.

Payne, Doris L. (ed.). 1990. Amazonian Linguistics: Studies in Lowland South American Languages.

Austin: University of Texas Press.

Course topics and Outline

WEEK 1 LINGUISTIC FIELDWORK & AMAZONIAN LANGUAGES

TUESDAY January 7

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 1: Languages of the Amazon: a bird’s eye view. pp. 1-67

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 1: Introduction: What’s linguistic fieldwork? pp. 1-9

Activity: Choosing a language

Description: We will be working with a grammar of an Amazonian language throughout the course. We

will form five small groups (4 to 5 people) and each group will then pick a language they would like to

work with. The grammars available at McMaster Libraries are:


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1. Epps, Patience.2008. A Grammar of Hup. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

2. Guillaume, Antoine. 2008. A Grammar of Cavineña. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

3. Olawsky, Knut J. 2006. A Grammar of Urarina. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

4. Sakel, Jeanette. 2004. A Grammar of Mosetén. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

5. Stenzel, Kristine. 2013. A Reference Grammar of Kotiria (Wanano). Lincoln: University of

Nebraska Press.

WEEK 2 LANGUAGE CONTACT & LANGUAGE VITALITY

TUESDAY January 14

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 2: Language contact in Amazonia. pp. 68-98

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 3: The languages. pp. 26-43

Recommended reading:

Dwyer, Arienne M. 2011. Tools and techniques for endangered-language assessment and revitalization.

In Vitality and Viability of Minority Languages. October 23-24, 2009. New York: Trace Foundation

Lecture Series Proceedings. Preprint @ http://www.trace.org/events/events_lecture_proceedings.html

Activity: How endangered is your language?

Description:

Part #1: We will watch the 4 extra feature videos included in the movie The Linguists and afterwards,

we will explore the “hotspots” in of language endangerment and focus on and report back to the class.

Hotspots are to be found in the Enduring Voices website.

Kramer, Seth, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger. 2007. The linguists [video recording]. Garrison,

NY: Ironbound Films.

Enduring voices project, National Geographic (website). Enduring Voices: Documenting the planet’s

endangered languages. URL: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/

Part #2: We will look at the different editions of the Atlas of the world's languages in danger of

disappearing (see citations below) for endangerment assessments of the language you chose to work

with. This information can be complemented with other sources. Please consult me if you need help

locating relevant sources.

It is based on the information from the Atlas as well as the other information you can locate that you

need to write a one-page long assessment of language vitality using the different factors outlined in

Brenzinger et al. (2003). The vitality report is worth 10% of your final mark and needs to be handed in

at the beginning of class on Wednesday, January 18.

Wurm, Stephen Adolphe, and Theo Baumann [cartographer], eds. 1996. Atlas of the world's languages

in danger of disappearing. 1st ed. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

Wurm, Stephen Adolphe, and Ian Heyward [cartographer], eds. 2001. Atlas of the world's languages in

danger of disappearing. 2nd [revised, enlarged and updated] ed. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

http://www.trace.org/events/events_lecture_proceedings.html

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/


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Moseley, Christopher, and Alexandre Nicolas [cartographer], eds. 2010. Atlas of the world's languages

in danger. 3rd [entirely revised, enlarged and updated] ed. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, Online

version: http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas.

WEEK 3

TUESDAY January 21

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 3: The sounds of Amazonia. pp. 99-127

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 2: Fieldwork projects: two examples. pp. 10-25

Activity: Phonetic study of (an area) of your language’s sound system

Description: In your groups, we will work with a wordlist from the language you have decided to focus

on. We will learn how to segment and annotate in Praat and then, using a Praat script, extract the

relevant information for your study. This information will then be analyzed and written up by you in

your groups. This short paper needs to be handed in on February 11 and is worth 20% of your mark.

WEEK 4

TUESDAY January 28

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 4: Building words. pp. 128-155

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 4. The people. (4.1-3). pp. 44-66

WEEK 5

TUESDAY February

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 5: The multifaceted noun. pp.156-178

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 4: The people. (4.4-5). pp. 67-78

ETHICS

Other Useful Readings:

Rice, Keren. 2006a. Ethical issues in linguistic fieldwork: An overview. Journal of Academic Ethics 4

(1): 123-155.

Austin, Peter K. 2010b. Communities, ethics and rights in language documentation. Language

Documentation and Description 7: 34-54.

Newman, Paul. 2012. Copyright and other legal concerns. In The Oxford handbook of linguistic

fieldwork, ed. Nicholas Thieberger, 430-456. Oxford [U.K.]: Oxford University Press

Chelliah, Shobhana L. and Willem J. de Reuse. 2011. Fieldwork ethics: The rights and responsibilities

of the fieldworker. In Handbook of Descriptive Linguistic Fieldwork, 139-160. Dordrecht: Springer

Netherlands.

http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas


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Activity: Preparing your own (mock) ethics protocol

Description: Together we will attempt to complete the McMaster ethics protocol for non-medical

research involving human subjects. As you go through the forms, bear in mind your readings and our

discussion of ethical issues in linguistic fieldwork. Each protocol must describe a small-scale

documentation project on the language you have chosen. All forms and guidelines are downloadable

from the Ethics website: http://reo.mcmaster.ca/

Please bring to class print copies of the MREB Form which you can find by clicking on the Forms link

on the MREB webpage as well as of the consent forms on under Sample Consent & Assent Forms on

the Tips and Samples page.

WEEK 6

TUESDAY February 11

Required Readings

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 10: Reflecting the world around us: Genders, noun classes, and classifiers.

pp. 279-303

Sakel and Everett. Chapter 5: Fieldwork preparation. pp. 79-98

PREPARING FOR THE FIELD

Other Useful Readings

Hyman, Larry. 2001. Fieldwork as a state of mind. In Linguistic fieldwork, eds. Paul Newman and

Martha Ratliff, 15-33. Cambridge [U.K.]: Cambridge University Press.

Crowley, Terry. 2007. Getting started. In Field linguistics: A beginner’s guide, 57-84. New York:

Oxford University Press Inc.

Chelliah, Shobhana L. and Willem J. de Reuse. 2011. Field preparation: Philological, practical, and

psychological. In Handbook of Descriptive Linguistic Fieldwork, 93-138 .Dordrecht: Springer

Netherlands.

Rice, Keren. 2001. Learning as one goes. In Linguistic fieldwork, eds. Paul Newman and Martha Ratliff,

230-249. Cambridge [U.K.]: Cambridge University Press.

READING WEEK: February 17-21

WEEK 7

TUESDAY February 25

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 6: The versatile verb. pp. 179-199

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 6: Fieldwork methods. (6.1-2). pp. 99-104

Activity: Round Panel with Documentary Linguists

Description: This is a Skype roundtable with experienced fieldworkers where you can ask questions

about their work and hear some of their stories about documenting endangered languages in the

http://reo.mcmaster.ca/


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Amazon. Participating panelists will be selected based on their availability and announced later in the

course.

For this session, you need to submit two questions that you would like to ask a panelist through the

online course website on Monday February 24 before midnight. Questions could be based on some of

points brought up during our in-class discussion or on issues mentioned in last week’s class (and the

recommended readings if you read them). The questions are worth 5% of your final mark.

WEEK 8

TUESDAY March 4

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 7: Who does what to whom: grammatical relations. pp. 200-225

Anna Margetts and Andrew Margetts: Audio and video recording techniques for linguistic research. In

The Oxford handbook of linguistic fieldwork, ed. Nicholas Thieberger, 13-53. Oxford [U.K.]:

Oxford University Press.

AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING: BEST PRACTICES


Ashmore, Louise. 2008. The role of digital video in language documentation. Language documentation

and description 5: 77-102.

Nathan, David. 2009. Audio responsibilities in endangered languages documentation and archiving.

Language Documentation and Description 6: 101-16.

Activity: Recording your own audio and video

Description: In this class, we will learn to record our own audio and video.

For the audio component of the activity (first 30 min), we will work in groups of 3-4 people. With a

Zoom H4n and following the E-MELD best practice guidelines for audio recording, each group will

make a recording of one of its members narrating a one-minute long story. This recording is worth 5%

of your final mark and needs to be handed in at the end of class.

For the video component of the activity (second 30 min), we will all work with one camera. The goal is

to learn to set up the camera in an optimal way and make a video recording of one volunteer reading

short passage from a book.

The audio recorders and the camera, tripod, batteries, SD card, etc. will be provided by the instructor.

WEEK 9

TUESDAY March 11

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 8: Changing valency. pp.226-247

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 6: Fieldwork methods. (6.3). pp. 104-112


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WEEK 10

TUESDAY March 18

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 9: How to know things: evidentials in Amazonia. pp. 248-278

Sakel and Everett. 2012. Chapter 6: Fieldwork methods (6.4). pp. 113-128

LEXICAL DATABASE AND DICTIONARY MAKING


Hinton, Leanne, and William F. Weigel. 2002. A dictionary for whom? Tensions between academic and

non-academic functions of bilingual dictionaries. In Making dictionaries: Preserving indigenous

languages of the Americas, eds. William Frawley, Kenneth C. Hill, and Pamela Munro, 125-154.

Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Activity: Making our own mini-dictionaries: Working with FLEx & Lexique Pro

Description: In this class, we will be making a short thematic dictionary. Pick a language you know and

choose a semantic field, e.g. clothing, fishing, cooking, etc., then select 10 to 15 words that you would

put in that semantic field and for each of them:

- write a short definition

- find a picture

- find a synonym (if possible)

- transcribe it in IPA

- create an example (i.e. use it in a sentence).

Together we will be entering these words in a lexical database using the software FLEx, which we will

then export to Lexique Pro to make a short dictionary. Both FLEx and Lexique Pro can be downloaded

for free on the internet @ http://fieldworks.sil.org/flex/ and http://www.lexiquepro.com/ respectively. If

you are eager to start working on your mini-dictionary, there are demo videos on both websites that

show you how to use the software. Watch them and have a go at it!! Your mini-dictionary is worth 10%

of your final mark and a print copy needs to be handed in by the end of Monday, March 24.

WEEK 11

TUESDAY March 25

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 11: ‘We can’t say it with one word’: multiverb constructions. pp.300-325

Sakel and Everett. Chapter 6: Fieldwork methods (6.5-9). pp. 128-138

WEEK 12

TUESDAY April 1

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 12: Putting a sentence together. pp.326-349

Sakel and Everett. Chapter 7: The outcomes. pp. 139-151

http://fieldworks.sil.org/flex/

http://www.lexiquepro.com/


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METADATA AND ARCHIVING


Conathan, Lisa. 2011. Archiving and language documentation. In The Cambridge handbook of

endangered languages, eds. Peter K. Austin and Julia Sallabank, 235-254. Cambridge [U.K.]; New

York : Cambridge University Press.

Nathan, David. 2011. Digital archiving. In The Cambridge handbook of endangered languages, eds.

Peter K. Austin and Julia Sallabank, 255-274. Cambridge [U.K.]; New York : Cambridge

University Press.

Activity: Preparing metadata for your audio and video recordings

Description: Remember those group recordings we made in Week 8? Well, it is time to archive them. In

the first half hour of this class, each group will take a critical look at different language archives through

exploration of their submission requirements as specified in their websites (ELAR, PARADISEC,

AILLA). You will then as a team choose an archive where you can deposit your recording. In the second

half of the class, we will prepare a brief description of the recording (who’s in it? What is the story

about? etc.) and the accompanying metadata. For our metadata, we will use some of the IMDI categories

which can be found at:

www.mpi.nl/IMDI/documents/Proposals/IMDI_MetaData_3.0.3.pdf

The metadata and description of your recording is worth 10% of your mark and needs to be handed in

before midnight on Friday, April 4.

WEEK 13

TUESDAY April 8:

Required readings:

Aikhenvald. 2012. Chapter 13: The art of speech. pp. 350-381.

Course Policies

Attendance & Participation: This is a seminar course and attendance is very important as is

participation. If you cannot come to class, please email me beforehand (if at all possible) and make sure

you contact your academic counsellor who can provide me with the required documentation. As for

discussion, please make sure you have done the day’s readings before we meet and be prepared to

participate in the discussion.

Extensions, Late Assignments & Grade Reassessment: Extensions will be granted at the instructor’s

discretion. If you would like an extension on one of our assignments, please email me explaining why

you need one or come see me during office hours so we can discuss it in person. Late assignments will

be penalized with a 2% off per day late. If you would like to have a grade reassessed, please write a

half-page long explanation of why you think your grade should be different and hand it in to me (via

email or in person). I will read your explanation and contact you to schedule an appointment to discuss

the assignment and grade in question.

http://www.mpi.nl/IMDI/documents/Proposals/IMDI_MetaData_3.0.3.pdf


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Technology Use: Laptops are allowed in class for note-taking but please make sure that you participate

in our discussions. Please turn off your cell phone when you come into class. If you absolutely need to

have your cell phone on, please come and see me after our first class or during office hours so I am

aware of your special circumstances.

Course modifications: The timeline provided above for the course is only tentative, as class dynamics

may lead me to spend more or less time on individual topics. If I modify elements of the course, I will

notify you in class and post any changes to the course website.

Special Needs: If you have special needs regarding note taking, recording lectures, or completing

assignments, please let me know by the end of the second week of classes. If you have an

accommodation agreement through the Student Wellness Center (http://wellness.mcmaster.ca) or

Student Accessibility Services (http://sas.mcmaster.ca), please bring it to me (or inform me that it is

coming) by the second week of classes. I will do everything I can to accommodate you, but I need to

know what you need first.

University Policies

Academic Integrity: You are expected to exhibit honesty and use ethical behaviour in all aspects of the

learning process. Academic credentials you earn are rooted in principles of honesty and academic

integrity.

Academic dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or could result in unearned

academic credit or advantage. This behaviour can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero

on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned

for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.

It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the

various types of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, located at

http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity

The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:

1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has been

obtained.

2. Improper collaboration in group work.

3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

Turnitin.com: In this course we will be using a web-based service (Turnitin.com) to reveal

plagiarism. Students will be expected to submit their work electronically to Turnitin.com and in hard

copy so that it can be checked for academic dishonesty. Students who do not wish to submit their work

to Turnitin.com must still submit a copy to the instructor. No penalty will be assigned to a student who

does not submit work to Turnitin.com. All submitted work is subject to normal verification that

standards of academic integrity have been upheld (e.g., on-line search, etc.). To see the Turnitin.com

Policy, please go to www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity

http://wellness.mcmaster.ca/

http://sas.mcmaster.ca/




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Disclosure of personal information: In this course we will be using Avenue to Learn. Students

should be aware that, when they access the electronic components of this course, private information

such as first and last names, user names for the McMaster e-mail accounts, and program affiliation may

become apparent to all other students in the same course. The available information is dependent on the

technology used. Continuation in this course will be deemed consent to this disclosure. If you have any

questions or concerns about such disclosure please discuss this with the course instructor.

The Struture of Amazonian Languages -- LING 4LX3

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