As is the case with most linguistic projects which are based on data collected in the field by the linguist himself, this project must begin with data collection. But much work needs to get done before data can actually be collected, without counting the experience from earlier fieldwork which is of invaluable advantage to the fieldworker. So, as I write this text my preparations for fieldwork are already well advanced, as should they be since I leave for the field next month.
At a first glance the task of mounting a linguistic field project may seem quite straight forward: speakers of the language under study must be consulted in order to extract lexical and grammatical information which may then serve as the object of linguistic analysis. There are an array of guides, manuals and handbooks available for consultation on all aspects of linguistic fieldwork and language documentation making aspiring as a language documenter more attractive and accesible than ever before.
At a second glance, when viewing the acutual operationalization of the theory of the above mentioned books of reference, mounting a linguistic field project appears much more daunting than at first; the guides to fieldwork give all sorts of good and very valuable advice on the countless tasks of linguistic fieldwork such as: asking good questions during elicitation sessions, making high quality portable audio and video recordings, beheaving in an ethically responsible way, involving the speech community in decisions affecting the documentation / conservation of their own language, making practical arrangements in the field in the areas of logistics as well as food and board etc. But as far as I am aware there is no guide to the nitty gritty nuts and bolts, behind the scene, before the show prep work that just needs to get done and which always gets done without anybody paying much attention to it - it's simply not interesting because it doesn't involve any theory or any data - it doesn't even take place in the field! It's like you're interested in rock music and you like going to rock concerts and you play in a band and you're really into everything that had to do with rock music - you read Rolling Stone and watch MTV 24-7, and then some guy comes up to you and starts yapping about budgets for concerts, leases on concert arenas, fire escapes etc. etc. OK maybe its not exactly the same, but what I mean is that all of this "boring" stuff is not easy to do if it's the first time.
One of the tools that I have used and am also using for the present project is a spread sheet that works as an advanced to-do-list which is based in part on Language Surveys in Developing Nations - it is an older publication and much of the advice is not directly applicable to smaller projects like my own, but one of the authors, Ferguson I believe (I don't have the book with me in this moment), sets up an administrative apperatus based on 3 seperately manageable parts: 1) Professional, 2) Technical and 3) administrative. The professional part treats everything that has to do with academic content; linguistic theory and method and linguistic data - in short, everything that has to do with analysis; the technical part treats everything that has to do with purchase, testing and maintenance of equipment, i.e. recorders, microphones, wires, headsets, computers, software and recording / transcription workflows (in this last respect this intersects with the Professional part.) The Administrative part deals with research permits from national and local authorities, informed consent forms, application for and handling of funds (receipts and books), travel arrangements, insurance etc. Within each spread sheet one can make several sheets; one entitled "tasks", one for "workflows", one for "shopping list" etc. As you start making these spread sheets, you will notice that there are a lot of intersecting points - e.g. does computer software such as Toolbox go into Technical or Professional? It is a piece of software that has technical sides to it but learning how to use it and making decisions about the files one creates in it is a Professional issue.
I think this is a practical way to prepare for fieldwork because it allows me to isolate one part of preparation which makes immediate sense to me, although without completely forgetting about the other parts. Make sense? If not, then maybe a different system works for you.
