Kielikuvaus

Kielikuvaus, literally meaning language description in Finnish, denotes the systematic description of a language’s structure, use, and variation. It is a central practice in descriptive linguistics and language documentation, often conducted for languages with limited or endangered documentation. The goal is to produce an explicit, analyzable account of how the language operates in real communication, including its regional and social variation.

Scope and components include phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, lexicon, discourse, and writing system. It covers phoneme inventories, word formation, sentence structure, tense and aspect, case marking, agreement, word order, and meaning relations. It also describes sociolinguistic variation, dialects, speech styles, and language contact effects. Documentation may include morphosyntactic patterns, semantic fields, idioms, and pragmatic usage.

Methods and data involve fieldwork, elicitation, naturalistic observation, and the collection of texts, translations, and oral narratives. Researchers use transcription (often IPA), glossing (interlinear glossed text), and annotation. Data management and metadata, ethical considerations, consent, collaboration with language communities, and the creation of open linguistic resources and language archives are typical components of kielikuvaus projects.

Outputs and applications include descriptive grammars, dictionaries, text corpora, orthography development, and educational materials. Kielikuvaus supports language revitalization, literacy, and technology development, and informs typological research and historical linguistics. It emphasizes transparency, replicability, and collaboration with language communities to ensure useful and enduring documentation.