Consultants and Field Locations

Abstract

There are two important guidelines for choosing a field site. First, go somewhere you want to be: since it’s you who are going to go there, you should have some reason for going, even if it’s a fairly vague reason. Secondly, go someplace where people would like to work with you, or at least wouldn’t mind if you do language work.¹ There are enough endangered and underdescribed languages on the planet where speakers want to work with linguists, that there’s no point going someplace where a linguist isn’t welcome.