Linguist on the Loose: Adventures and Misadventures in Fieldwork

by Lyle Campbell, Wade Davis (Foreword)

A vivid memoir of life in the field that highlights the importance of documenting indigenous languages

Lyle Campbell’s linguistic fieldwork has taken him to numerous countries, sometimes in challenging circumstances. It has led to exciting discoveries including a new language in southeastern Guatemala, a unique speech sound, unknown in any other language, in the Nivaclé language of Paraguay and Argentina, and unusual and unique features in several other languages. Along the way, he has experienced dangers and challenges, the joys and excitement of fieldwork, and encountered first-hand the importance of collaborating with indigenous groups to help document and revitalize their languages.

Genres: Linguistics

304 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

About the author

Lyle Richard Campbell is an American scholar and linguist known for his studies of indigenous American languages, especially those of Central America, and on historical linguistics in general. Campbell is professor emeritus of linguistics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Reviews

[Sam Malschaert]

Very enjoyable book for people/linguists who want to learn more about the practical side of doing linguistic fieldwork. It's one thing to work on a linguistic analysis sitting at home on the couch, but actually being out there if often a whole different ball game. Campbell does a great job sharing accounts that shed light on these various kinds of trials and tribulations that a linguist might face while in the field, while also showcasing the incredibly rewarding and adventurous nature of this work.

[Ellie J.]

4/5 stars
Recommended if you like: linguistics, fieldwork

Overall a pretty decent introduction to what it's like to do linguistic fieldwork. It doesn't go much into method, but Campbell does provide a good description of what it's like to be on-the-ground and the kinds of things you'll have to consider when conducting fieldwork. There were definitely some odd points in the book (Campbell kept bringing up the Western Code, which was just bizarre and kind of annoying), but it was published fairly recently so the technical/experiential information is still relevant.

[Milo Campbell]

A funny and interesting book about the trials and tribulations of Linguistic fieldwork. Provides a good explanation of what Linguistic fieldwork is and what it is for as well as providing useful tips and advice about how to conduct it along with some funny anecdotes to accompany them. The book gave me a better understanding of how fieldwork is carried out and the difficulties involved in it as well as being a well written and cosy read. The author is clearly of the older generation and some of the things he says sounded a bit cringe/old fashioned to me now, but besides that his narration was funny and well written.