Linguistics Fieldnotes

A web application that helps students store fieldnotes from interactions with a language consultant for later parsing

Features

• Enter phrases in the consultant's language, their corresponding English translations, and any comments
• Optionally, listen to audio recordings of the interaction while entering notes and log timestamps
• Store examples from narrative told naturally by consultant, with morpheme-by-morpheme glossing
• Built-in IPA keyboard with diacritics
• Students can easily copy or download contributions after submitting
• Entries in progress saved to local storage in case of computer crashes
• Automatic backups after every submission (optional)

Setup

1. Requires access to a web server with PHP >= 5.6 (tested primarily with PHP 7)
2. Place all files in the web root, except for the sample configuration files
3. Place FieldnotesConfig.ini in the directory above the web root
   • If the web root is ~/public_html, place this file in ~
4. Edit FieldnotesConfig.ini to specify the directories you want each type of file stored in
5. Place the remaining configuration files and recordings in the directories chosen

Configuration files

• Annotations.txt: The contents of the Annotations box students see while making entries
• LanguageName.txt: The name of the consultant's language used in a few places throughout the app, crucially including determining the name of the fieldnotes file.
• Orthography.txt: Determines what IPA symbols correspond to what Orthography symbols
• StudentIDs.txt: A list of valid logins (could also use usernames, a shared class password, etc.) Note: Mistakes in configuration files may result in HTTP 500 errors

Recordings

• Fieldnotes recordings are named in the format 2020Apr1-Description.mp3
  • Description can be whatever you want (e.g. topics covered, name of the person who made the recording, etc.) or omitted entirely
  • The date format must match above (4 digit year, 3 letter month, and no leading zero on the date) or the recording will not be visible
  • The file format can be mp3, m4a, or wav
• Narrative recordings are named in the format NARR-Description.mp3
  • The same rules apply for the description and file format

Output file format

• Fieldnotes are stored in a file with the format LanguageFieldnotes-SemesterYear.txt
  • Example: TurkmenFieldnotes-Spring2020
  • The language comes from LanguageName.txt
  • The semester is Spring in January-May, Summer in June and July, and Fall in August-December
• Narrative examples are stores in files with the same name as their corresponding narrative recording