Studying and Describing Unwritten Languages by Lue Bouguinux Jacqueline M. C. Thomas transated by James Roberts AA Publication of ‘The Summer Institute of Lingulstes 1992Originally publihed in 1976 by Société d'Etudes Linguistiques et Anthropologigues de France as Enguive et description des langues a Iadiion orale. Lienguéte de tenain et Vanate grammatical, 1. Approche lingutigue, 2. Approche thématique, 3. English transition ©1992 by the Summer Insitute of Linguistics, Ine Library of Congress Catalog No: 92-80686 ISBN: 0-89312-81-4 All Rights Reserved [No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, ‘mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwite—without the express permission of the Summer Insutute of Linguistics, withthe exception of ‘nef excerpts in journal articles or reviews Copies of this and other publcstions of the Sommer Insitute of Linguists may be obtained from International Academic Bookstore Summer Institute of Linguistics 7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rosd Dallas, TX 75236 Contents Foreword Preface ‘Trandators Proface 1 Fieldwork and Grammatical Analysis Part I= Introduction to Fieldwork 1. General problems 2. Matenal aspects of the stdy 3. Gathering dats : 4 Using the questionnaires 5: Processing the data Part I~ Concepts of Linguistic Analysis 1. Phonology... 2. Morphology : 3. Wortlevel analysis 4 Grammatical categories 5. Phrase level analysis. 6 The level of grammatical functions 1. Utterance level (enoncemaic,clausematic) & Recapituition : Bibliography“ Bouquisux and Thomas 2 Linguistic Approach—Questionnares foe . 195 1. Istructions for the recording of linguistic data cee 2. Lingustic inventory questionnaire Solas ‘3 Questionnaire for an extensive survey. |.) : 199 4 Phonolopial guide be 231 5. Morphology: derivation and compounding : 239 6 Verb phrase . 257 7. The noun and the noun phrase vee : 25 & Sentence types... « : 303, 9. Sentence questionnaire 1) C12) 1 300 3 Thematic Approach—Questionnalres : 399 10, Traditional technologies 40. AL Ethnobotany : 313, 12 Ethnozoology | | : 31 33. Anatomy and physioiogy, animals and plants : 557 44 Instructions for collecting zoological and botanical specimens oan 18. Sceilogies! phenomena. : 653 436. Psychological phenomena 665 7, Names, measurement, and time | col 6s 18 Oral tradition 9 19, Language contact ns 20, Socolngustc questionnaire... : Dillons Foreword to the Second Edition (1976) by Late Bouin “The first edition of these questionnaires was exhavsted within three years. This is surprisingly quick for a work of this ‘ype, given the rate of sale of descnptive monographs of unemiten languages, whose study 1s meant to be facilitated by these (questionnaires. This andiates that they responded to a real need. The authors, ‘Afrcanists for the mos part, were able to enwsion the problems posed by research ‘and deseription in a sufficiently general way, 39 that workers in other areas— specialists in Oceanis, Amencan, Oriental, and even Europeon langoages—could use them profiaby. The questionnaires were inlended to be an indispensable working too] of field regesreh, the only book needed together with notebooks, especially in ‘outofthesway places where luggage must he kept to & minimam. In order to complete the resources of the ethnolingus, one last working tool was sil lacking (the only one that could not be diponued sath at the beginning, f we intend to do sientife work), tht i, 8 practcal manual of phonetics. This wid has how been flee, Three among the authors of this work hve put together an Introduction t0. Phonetics (articulatory and diincive), published by the Presses ‘Univenitares de France. The book comes with a record of the sounds deseibed. The author: showed the same care asin the eompilation ofthe questiontares in making & Practical manual which allows for resolution of notation problems and which opens ‘onto phonological analysis, a preliminary indispensable to any description. While [Benerativsts have come to think that the phonemic leve i not useful im passing from ‘2 more of les abstract syniaetic form to the full phonetic realzation, itis good t0 feiterate that the authors i contrast, feel that the phonemic system dees correspond to a reality forthe speakers of a gen language. Especially the introduction, which has only been modified sight, sets forth o strongly structuralist position, in’ which the Phonological mode is extended to the totality ofthe lingusuic fact, This viewpoint is partcusey evident in the Part 2 of this first volume, ented Conceps of Lingusic Finals. Akhough the generative outlook i orginal in some respects and places reat