Toworkasalinguisticanthropologist,itisimportanttodo fieldwork.Thismightmeantravelingtoaremotelocationtohearpeoplespeaklanguage.Inmycase,itmeansactual“field” work.Iherdsheeporalpacas.Othertimes,Iplantorharvestcrops.IworkalongsidethepeopleIam studying.

Forme,thisisperfect.IlistenfornewwordsandanysignthatwhatpeoplearesayingisdifferentfromthelanguagesIalready know.

Whenherding,mynewneighborsandIwouldtaketheanimalstothehillsidewheretheycouldgrazeallday.Ontheselongwalks,IlearnedalotaboutthepeopleIwaswith.Ialsolearnedaboutthelandscapeswheretheyhavelivedtheirentire lives.

Allfamiliesheregrowtheirownfood.InSeptember,familiespreparetheirfieldstoplantthecropstheyneedfortheyear.Myunderstandingofthesepeoplegrew,asdidthe crops.

WhenIstudyalanguage,Iliketointerviewpeople.Iaskthemtospeakforme.It iscalled elicitation.

Iaskpeopletosayspecificwordsorsentencesintomyrecorder.Later,Icanstudythesetounderstandthecharacteristicsofhowthey’respoken.
Othertimes,Idofree‑forminterviews.Duringthesesessions,peopletalkaboutwhatevertheylike.Theytellmeabouttheirlives.Theytellmelocalfolktalesortalkaboutthenews.Somecommentonthechangesintheregionandintheir languages.

Mostofthepeoplewhospeakwithmeare50yearsoldorolder.Theyhavelivedinthesehillsidevillagestheirentirelives.Manyspeaktheirlanguagesfluently,buttheyareworriedabouttheyoungergenerations.Youngerpeopledon’tspeakthelanguages.Manyyoungerpeopleonlyspeak Spanish.

Thepeoplehereoftenlookforwaystocelebratelife.IaminvitedtotheannualreenactmentofthearrivalofMancoQhapaqandMamaOcllo.TheyarethemythicalcouplewhoaresaidtohavefoundedPuno.Irealizethiscelebrationisachancetolistentotheindigenous languages.

Duringmystudiesinthisregion,Ilistenedclosely.Ihadhopedtoheara
newlanguage,onethatIdidnotknow.WhilethepeopleheredospeakvarietiesofQuechuaandAymara,Ididnotdiscoveranew language.

Iconsidermytimeherewellspent,though.Ilearnedhowmuchmorethereistodiscoveraboutthesepeopleandtheirwonderful words.