7.1 Backgroud information

It is always good to acquire as much knowledge about a community as possible. By being acquainted with certain conventions one can avoid much trouble and learn to understand and interpret linguistic behavior much better (cf. Milroy 1987a: 17). Knowing about the history, the region, the speakers and their neighbors can be a major asset to one's research as all these factors influence people strongly. In addition, a good fieldworker needs to be proficient in the lingua franca, so that he/she can communicate with his/her informants. Should this not be the case, he/she may have to rely on a translator which in turn could lead to frequent miscommunication (cf. Crowley 2007: 62-64). Moreover, sometimes the lingua franca strongly resembles the language under investigation, thus having mastered the former may help the researcher with understanding the latter (cf. Crowley 2007: 93). But generally, learning the area of interest's local language for good measure has many advantages. It will enable the fieldworker to engage in social life and become a fully accepted participant of the respective community (cf. Crowley 2007: 154).

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