The advantage of a research project on a community where everyone has the same last name is that you can spam everyone with that name on Facebook and find out some very useful information...
The bad news is that I didn't get the grant I applied for on the cool blog researchy topic.
The good news is that I have an Even Better PlanTM.
There's a language that is like it was invented just to fit in with my research interests, skills and background. In fact, I am one of only a few people in the world qualified to work on it.
It's spoken in a community where fieldwork would be like a lengthy holiday in paradise.
It has never been properly described.
It's so endangered that a bunch of funding agencies would be falling over themselves to provide resources for describing it.
The islanders themselves have good reason to welcome a linguist into the community.
Any project on this language would also require (and therefore probably attract funding for) trips to Germany and New Zealand.
I WANT.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Being cryptic
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8 Comments:
I press you my thumbs! I press you my thumbs!
you have no idea how excited I am about this plan. it is awesome and I hope with everything I have that you get funding for it.
I think they should give it to you!
I just love the idea of wanting your own language here!
Now, this is only sort of related, but: how many languages do you speak/know?
NK, that is the one question you aren't allowed to ask a linguist :)
But because I love you, I'll try to give you an answer. (Though first: define "language". Define "speak/know".)
I can pass as a native speaker in two. I can carry on a sensible conversation about a wide range of topics in another three. I can read another two or three quite quickly as long as I have a dictionary on hand (I look up one or two words per sentence). And then there are maybe another 5-10 that I could bore you at length about, explaining how the grammar and phonetics of the language works, but not actually speak because I don't know enough of the vocabulary.
"I can pass as a native speaker in two"
Styley, you have just betrayed your extraplanetary origins!! Busted!!
:-D
Seriously though, the project sounds fantastic and I hope they give you pots of money!
Germany AND New Zealand? A mutated version of Swabian? Please exploin!
:-D
Any chance you'd need a special assistant on this island? Because I'd like to volunteer! (It looks warm!)
Talk to me! (You know you want to!)