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1-3.3 Methodology and data

Methodology for the present study was based on
that of Pike (1947), Nida (1965), and Samarin (1967)
as interpreted and applied by Hardman. Two complementary
kinds of data were sought: (1) free texts recorded on
tape, and (2) materials obtained through an elicitation
list of words, phrases, and sentences presented orally
in Spanish to Aymara-Spanish bilinguals for translation
into Aymara.

Free texts included messages of greeting; tradi-
tional folk tales, riddles, songs, and sayings; and con-
versations among native speakers, or monologues, on such
topics as life in the community, festivals, local agri-
culture, education, illness, and other personal experi-
ences. Recordings were also made of a Baptist sermon
in Aymara, of Baptist and Catholic hymns, and of several
Aymara radio broadcasts in La Paz.

The elicitation list in Spanish was developed
to obtain a body of data readily comparable from one
site to another. Based on the longer Swadesh list, it
included words, phrases, and sentences originally
elicited in Aymara or one of the other Jaqi languages
in earlier research by Hardman and associates and sub-
sequently translated back into Spanish as spoken in the
Andean area. In the course of the field work for this

study, these materials were modified in order to elicit