The many meanings of collaboration: Fieldwork with the Elem Pomo

Traditional fieldwork methodology frequently focuses on documentation of the grammar of a language as spoken by an “authentic” speaker. Many linguists, however, find that their fieldwork experiences do not match their training, both in terms of the degree of linguistic knowledge of the speakers with whom they work, and in terms of the clear division of labor between speaker and analyst. This paper examines these tensions and uses the case of fieldwork done with members of the Elem (Southeastern) Pomo Tribe to offer solutions and to call for a reconsideration of fieldwork training in linguistics.