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THE LINGUISTICS STUDENT’S HANDBOOK 88
phenomenon, even when it would be useful to the reader. Even with the best
descriptive grammars, therefore, the reader often has to work quite hard to find
an answer to any specific question, and with brief descriptions it is frequently
impossible. That is why multiple descriptions and journal articles focusing on
particular structures or functions in a given language are often a useful support
for a grammar of that language.
Possible benefits of this type of data include:
• They provide the most efficient way to gain data on a range of languages
which the investigator does not speak; the alternative of eliciting
information from native speakers is frequently not available.
• They allow access to a wide range of languages.
Possible disadvantages of this type of data include:
• A descriptive grammar may presuppose familiarity with the writing
system of the language concerned.
• A descriptive grammar may presuppose some familiarity with the language
concerned, or may require access to a dictionary.
• The data may be patchy or insufficient for the investigator’s purposes.
• Different models of description and terminologies may make individual
grammars difficult to interpret or to compare with descriptions of
other languages. In the phonetics/phonology sections of such grammars,
different theoretical presuppositions may provide incompatible
analyses of even fundamental material.
Introspection
Introspection is probably one of the most useful and one of the most condemned
ways of collecting data in linguistics. In phonetics, introspection about
what one’s articulators are doing in a particular utterance is usually encouraged.
In syntax, introspection about marginal syntactic constructions is often
vilified. Introspection about matters of discourse is probably even more
difficult. In either case, it should be pointed out, experience makes for better
introspection. But it is probably always safer to verify the results of introspection
in some independent way if at all possible.
Possible benefits of this type of data include:
• It makes it possible to consider very rare constructions.
• It is an efficient mode of data collection.
• It provides an efficient way of examining alternatives.
• It provides a good way to start an investigation.