The Linguists: Fieldwork Techniques - Documentary Film Analysis Essay

The documentary The Linguists is a film produced in 2008 by Ironbound Films that expounds on the distinction and documentation of languages. The film follows two scientists David Harrison of Swarthmore College and Greg Anderson of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages (Kramer, Miller and Newberger). The two linguists travel across the world to collect and document data on the last known speakers of moribund languages. The linguists race to collect this data takes them deep into the heart of communities, culture, and knowledge on the verge of losing their languages (Kramer, Miller and Newberger). As such, Anderson and Harrison target the study of language in areas that were under colonialism where a dominant language and culture was imposed on the natives. Therefore, The Linguists follows the journey of Anderson and Harrison into the heart of Siberia, Bolivia, India, and Arizona to study Chulym, Kallawaya, Sora, and Indian Chemehuevi respectively. In Siberia, the racist Soviet Union silenced the Chylum language and had not been heard by outsiders for over three decades. Also, in India, the tribal children are subjected to boarding schools to study English and Hindu. Likewise, the Kallawaya language of Bolivia is under the threat of extinction because only a few hundred people speak the century-old language (Kramer, Miller and Newberger). The documentary is a perfect example of teaching linguistic fieldwork techniques. After critically watching the documentary, I learned about elicitation, staged communication interview, and a mix of observation and participation in fieldwork.

Linguists and ethnographers use elicitation a term derived from elicere, a Latin verb meaning summon, entice, provoke, induce or call forth (Vaux, Cooper and Tucker 42). In fieldwork, linguistic scientists use the term for the corpus collection of and the analysis of language data. While embarking on fieldwork, linguists should make prior arrangements on how to secure an informant or native familiar with the language, culture, environment and the context of the study. In Siberia, Anderson and Harrison find a driver who speaks both Chylum and Russian. The driver Boris takes them into the Chylum village where he helps to dialogue with the residents in the native tongue. Anderson and Harrison stipulate that elicitation should start with basic things such as naming body parts, colors, and numbers (Kramer, Miller and Newberger). Linguists should have preliminary information about the informant to help in the decoding of native data. Likewise, the documentary further teaches that scientists should have prior research on the language of the study. It helps in the transcription, analysis, and maintaining the correct phonology of the data, such as recording the consonants, vowels, pitch, and stress of native words. Through elicitation, linguists familiarize themselves with the native language by enriching their vocabularies, morphology, syntax pattern, and sentence structure (Vaux, Cooper and Tucker 43). Most importantly, recording and documenting data is crucial to the success of fieldwork, especially during elicitation. Therefore, to record the articulation of words in the native tongue, the linguists should request the informant to read the words on a microphone for formal documentation.

A staged communication interview is an essential aspect of the fieldwork study of language. In Siberia, the linguists Anderson and Harrison interview two aged couples at the comfort of their home with the aid of the informant where they interview the couple. The couples give a narration of their adventures, for instance when they had gone for deer hunting in the native tongue of the Chylum language (Kramer, Miller and Newberger). During the interview, the linguists record both audio and video of the interactive session. I couldnt help but enjoy the scene as it was breathtaking. As a future researcher, I gained a lot of information not only about the general aspect of fieldwork but the practical and logistical perspective. The Siberia trip was rewarding because the informant had even invented the Chylum writing style using Russian alphabets. In the documentary, I learned the importance of using both monologue and lingua franca to collect data. A monologue yields phonological, semantic, syntax and cultural insights while using both indigenous and dominant language helps in the translations and informed judgment on the side of the linguists (Sakel and Everett 101).

The combination of observation and participation is the last fieldwork technique I picked from the film, The Linguists. In India, Anderson, Harrison, and their team observe Sora language tribal villages engage in native songs and dances. They also participate in the dances even though they were unfamiliar with the dancing styles. Similarly, in Bolivia, the two linguists participated in a traditional ritual ceremony performed by Max, a native Kallawaya healer (Kramer, Miller and Newberger). The observation aspect helps scientists create and record a natural interaction context. External interference is limited and spontaneous as well as naturalistic data is recorded. Furthermore, during the participation of a ritual ceremony, scientists document language and ritual cues. They also learn about the ritual objects and materials that give a clear picture of the culture, beliefs, and customs. Participation is essential because it instills confidence in the native and shows the respect of the culture and the indigenous community (Sakel and Everett).

In conclusion, The Linguists is a documentary spearheaded by two scientists Anderson and Harrison in the quest of studying languages on the verge of extinction. The film records and documents these rare languages to create awareness on the importance of maintaining them. On the other hand, the documentary teaches essential fieldwork techniques importance for the study of languages. Finally, the film was very educative and interesting. I would recommend it for other linguistics students.

Works Cited

Kramer, Seth, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger. Directors. The Linguists. Performance

by Gregory D.S. Anderson, and David Harrison, Ironbound Films, 2008. sockshare.net/watch/Nx4mjKGz-the-linguists.html

Sakel, Jeanette, and Daniel Leonard Everett. Linguistic Fieldwork. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2012. Print.

Vaux, Bert, Justin Cooper, and Emily Tucker. Linguistic Field Methods. Eugene: Wipf and Stock

Publishers, 2006. Print.