Spatial Visualization and Language Documentation

Kristine Hildebrandt

Maps and atlases can be a useful part of the toolkit for examining and interpreting variation and change in language documentation and in maintenance or revitalization. They allow for illuminating generalizations to be drawn from often unruly distributions of patterns. They also allow for a birds-eye view of patterns across populations or geographic and temporal spaces. Traditionally, map-making has been the domain of cartographers or those with large grant budgets, but with advances in free, shareable technology that is easy to learn, spatial visualization of language data is now possible. This course will introduce participants to the ways that maps have been used in language research and community outreach. You will get an overview of maps and map-making in the humanities and general linguistics, and then the course will transition to ways that digital maps are now being used in language documentation, with examples from the Americas and in other parts of the world. You will be guided through the manipulation of existing online digital maps, with an eye to the strengths and drawbacks, and also how you might design a map for your own work.