The first mini-project: sources of information

We will start by answering the following questions:

1. What sources of information on African languages are available?
2. What kinds of information are available?
3. Which of these information sources and kinds shall we concentrate on in class?
4. What do we mean by "language documentation"?
5. What examples of "language documentation" are available?

The first "mini-project" is:

Pick a West African language (from any of the categories listed above) and use the appropriate sources to prepare a brief illustrated report on the main linguistic characteristics of the language, its geographical distribution, its sociolinguistic status, its relation to other languages, and the culture(s) with which it is associated.

The reports will be held during the following three weeks, and processed into appropriate CD-ROM material.

If you have a web site of your own, you can put your report there, and I will include a link here.

Ega:

http://www.spectrum.uni-bielefeld.de/LangDoc/EGA/