Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Fieldwork

Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Fieldwork
Name	Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Fieldwork
Language	English
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Pub date	2012

Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Fieldwork is a comprehensive collected volume addressing methods, ethics, and practices for field-based linguistic research. The work situates contemporary fieldwork within broader intellectual lineages and institutional contexts, engaging with both practical techniques and theoretical implications. It brings together contributors from diverse academic locales to discuss data elicitation, documentation, community collaboration, and cross-disciplinary connections.

Background and Publication

The handbook was published by Oxford University Press and edited to reflect emergent priorities in descriptive and documentary linguistics as practiced in the early 21st century. Its appearance followed methodological debates associated with projects at institutions such as Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies, and University of California, Berkeley, and intersects with initiatives from funders like the National Science Foundation and the Endangered Languages Project. Editors and contributors draw on fieldwork traditions linked to figures associated with Edward Sapir, Franz Boas, Leonard Bloomfield, Roman Jakobson, and movements connected to Structuralism and Generative Grammar communities.

Scope and Content

The volume covers topics ranging from elicitation strategies and phonetic transcription to archiving, metadata standards, and ethical protocols. Chapters reference standards such as those promoted by the Open Language Archives Community and institutions including the British Library, Library of Congress, and Yale University. Case studies span regions and language families documented in projects tied to Australian National University, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Oxford, Harvard University, and field sites in locales like Papua New Guinea, Amazon Basin, Siberia, Sahel, and Andaman Islands. Discussions engage with corpora produced under programs like DoBeS and with technological platforms related to software developed by groups at Max Planck Digital Library and collaborations with Microsoft Research teams.

Organization and Contributors

Chapters are organized thematically, with editorial oversight drawing on scholars affiliated with departments such as SOAS University of London, University of Cambridge, Australian National University, University of Toronto, and University of Chicago. Contributors include field linguists who have worked with communities represented by languages documented by teams associated with Alan Lomax-style archives, researchers linked to projects funded by the European Research Council, and scholars who have published monographs with presses like Cambridge University Press and Routledge. The roster connects to established researchers whose careers intersect institutions such as Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Smithsonian Institution programs.

Methodological Themes

Recurring methodological themes include rigorous transcription practices referencing the International Phonetic Association, protocols for morphosyntactic elicitation grounded in work associated with Noam Chomsky and responses from typologists aligned with Joseph Greenberg and Bernard Comrie, and approaches to language documentation influenced by fieldwork legacies of Edward Sapir and Franz Boas. Ethical engagement with communities draws on frameworks promoted by organizations like UNESCO and guidance from local governance structures such as Māori iwi institutions and indigenous bodies in contexts like Nunavut and Amazonas (Brazilian state). Technological themes treat portable recording gear used in projects related to Smithsonian Folkways and methods for corpus building comparable to initiatives at Linguistic Data Consortium.

Reception and Impact

The handbook has been cited in reviews in venues connected to Language, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, International Journal of American Linguistics, and referenced in grant proposals to agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities and the European Commission. Its influence is evident in training curricula at universities such as University of California, Los Angeles, University of British Columbia, and University of Auckland, and in methodological guidelines adopted by field schools organized by SOAS and Leipzig University. The book contributed to conversations alongside works by authors like Kenneth Hale and organizations such as SIL International and sparked debates in forums tied to conferences like the Linguistic Society of America annual meeting and the International Congress of Linguists.

Editions and Reprints

The initial edition was issued by Oxford University Press with subsequent printings used by academic courses and reference libraries including holdings at the British Library, New York Public Library, and university collections at University of Michigan and University of Sydney. Reprints and paperback variants circulated through distribution channels maintained by publishers such as Oxford University Press USA and were incorporated into syllabi alongside companion resources produced by research centers like Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and archives affiliated with the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme.

Category:Linguistics books Category:Oxford University Press books