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15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS-15)Barcelona, Spain |
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Working with native speakers to find out about a language is one of
the most rewarding and enjoyable activities in which linguists engage.
Much of the crucial work to ensure a successful fieldwork experience
is conducted in advance of actually collecting data in the field.
Background work on the language should include locating all possible
sources of data. Digital recorders and laptop computers provide enhanced
opportunities for collecting accurate acoustic data. Acoustic and aerodynamic
data can be supplemented with simple techniques for accessing articulatory
data, such as palatography. Phonetic fieldwork is especially important
given the endangered status of the majority of languages in the world.
Bibliographic reference. Gordon, Matthew (2003): "Collecting phonetic data on endangered languages", In ICPhS-15, 207-210.