Word list for linguistic fieldwork in Southeast Asia
Author : Pain, Frédéric, Ferlus, Michel, Michaud, Alexis, Thị Thu Hà, Phạm
Publication date : 2016
Questionnaire URL : https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01068533
Bibliographical references :
Frédéric Pain, Michel Ferlus, Alexis Michaud, Phạm Thị Thu Hà, Ryan Gehrmann (2016). EFEO-CNRS-SOAS word list for linguistic fieldwork in Southeast Asia, version 2. Identifier: oai:halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr:halshs-01068533.
Goals
"This word list aims to allow researchers (i) to conduct in-depth lexical investigation when doing fieldwork on languages of Southeast Asia, and (ii) to navigate between languages and dialects, through the use of a unique identifier for each lexical entry." (Pain, Frédéric, Ferlus, Michel, Michaud, Alexis, Thị Thu Hà, Phạm & Gehrmann, Ryan, 2016: 1)
Protocol summary
This is a 2896 word-list glossed in French, English, Mandarin, as well as in Vietnamese. The word-list goes along with an explanatory document, and a detailed table clarifying the word-list structure (p.4).
Development context
" The earliest version of this word list was created by Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO, directed at that time by Georges Cœdès). The EFEO printed this list as a leaflet which was entrusted to civil servants of the colonial administration (Questionnaire linguistique, Hanoi: Imprimerie d'Extrême-Orient, 1938), aiming at extensive coverage of language varieties. The investigation was launched in 1938. Filled leaflets were gradually gathered at EFEO in Hanoi, until the process was interrupted by the war (in 1940). This collection constitutes one of the main bases of Haudricourt’s comparative linguistic research during his stay at EFEO in Hanoi at the end of the 1940s.
An enriched version of the word list was elaborated at the CNRS laboratory CeDRASEMI (Centre de documentation et de recherche sur l'Asie du Sud-Est et le monde insulindien). This version has an added digit for additional words: for instance, in addition to “11. lighting” were added “11.1 it lightens” (i.e. “there are flashes of lightning”) and “11.2 the lightning strikes”. This overhaul was supervised by Lucien Bernot, probably between 1960 et 1970." (Pain, Frédéric, Ferlus, Michel, Michaud, Alexis, Thị Thu Hà, Phạm & Gehrmann, Ryan, 2016: 1)