Learning a Field Language

by Robbins Burling

Learning a language is a major undertaking, but it does not have to be a daunting task. This concise, practical guide is written for motivated individuals planning to live among people who speak a different language, where there are no classes, textbooks, or trained teachers. Burling's straightforward approach assumes that learning a culture and learning a language go hand-in-hand, that the learner wishes to use the language as a tool, and that the language to be learned is not a widely spoken one. Burling emphasizes comprehension and vocabulary and offers useful techniques that make learning easier. His illuminating discussions help reduce the frustrations that often accompany a task of this magnitude. This small but powerful book can contribute to the personal joy of fieldwork as well as to the richer scholarship that comes from working in the language of the community under study.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1985

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning Bengali has been a real struggle in my PhD and has left me feeling often stupid, an impostor and guilty for committing to a project which required me to learn a language to complete it. At times the Dunning-Krueger effect has been an obstacle in me feeling nearer to the end goal than I thought and becoming frustrated as reality sets in. This book is brilliant in helping with this as it removes much of the judgement, and highlights clear steps towards how language works and the way this can support in learning them. In doing this Burling manages to dejarognify linguistics and show the commonality of language and the way difference manifests incredibly productively. While reading the book I find that many of the ways he sets up difference between languages perfectly capture the differences between English and Bengali, and through his description I understand many of the challenges I have a little better.

This book is essential reading if you find yourself in a position where you are learning a field language.