Writing a reference grammar


Ideally, every language on earth should be documented with a completely inclusive reference grammar done by a professional linguist who is a native speaker of the language being described.

In reality, the linguistic world must be satisfied with compromise solutions. Many of the languages on earth will be documented with fairly inclusive reference grammars done by trained fieldworkers who are fluent speakers.

The fact that there are extensive helps now available, combined with the urgency of the task, makes it both possible and necessary for fieldworkers without graduate degrees in linguistics and who are not native speakers to write insightful and useful reference grammars.

Qualifications

Ideally, the linguistic fieldworker should be a native speaker of the language being described.

The nonnative speaker authoring a reference grammar should

Required training and courses

In order to write a reference grammar you should be trained in descriptive linguistics. The following courses combined with practical help will equip you to produce a suitable reference grammar: These courses are offered in the Department of Languages and Linguistics of the University of Jos and in every Nigerian university which has a similar department. If you cannot or don't want to attend university courses there is also the possibility to attend a very concise and practical three-month "Introductory Course for Applied Linguistics" (ICAL) which is offered by Nigeria Bible Translation Trust (NBTT) in Jos every other year. The next course should hold in the year 2000. 

Here is their course outline.

On the following page, you will learn about the parts of a reference grammar.
 
Following Page Home Page Previous Page

Dr. Uwe Seibert

Department of Languages and Linguistics
Faculty of Arts
University of Jos
Email address: seibertu@unijos.edu.ng
Date of last change: