Creatively combining equipment for language documentation while swimming and boating

Methods of language documentation have shifted over the decades from pencil-and-paper notations to include digital audio-video recordings and internet-farmed surveys. A bigger toolbox has enabled linguists to record real-time data from a variety of locations; however, some locations still limit which tools can be employed. These limitations can include extreme heat and cold, high winds, heavy moisture, and salt or other mineral accretion. This is a problem for my research in particular, which documents canoeing cultures in the Pacific Ocean. Interviews on land were easy to conduct, but it took several attempts to find a combination of equipment that could adequately record audio and video language data of speakers who were paddling a canoe or swimming in the ocean. My presentation will explain the challenges of documentation in an ocean environment, review the limitations of various equipment, and demonstrate the equipment combination that eventually succeeded in producing live language documentation suitable for use in research. My solution for recording on the water involves utilizing two different types of digital recorders, marketed recorder mounts, and materials available at hardware stores. Samples will be provided of recordings made on canoes near a Polynesian island as proof-of-concept. My self-written user manual will be available for those looking to replicate my equipment methods, and is clear enough for community members to apply without professional oversight. I will also explain how to transfer the data files to a smartphone or to a computer for integration with software such as ELAN. This presentation will be of interest to those documentarians working in oceanic, atoll, rainforest, and other humid environments who may still be seeking workable solutions. It will also be helpful for equipment designers and technologists to better understand the types of products linguists and anthropologists are looking for.