LFG and Language Documentation

The field of language documentation (e.g. Gippert, Himmelman and Mosel 2006) has gathered momentum over the last 10 years, with a focus on recording and preserving a comprehensive range of primary language data in the face of ever increasing global language endangerment (Evans 2009). In this paper I discuss recent developments in language documentation and consider the potential for interaction with LFG research, drawing on my own fieldwork on Murrinh-Patha and other language documentation projects. While LFG has a long history of typologically-informed theoretical work, I argue for greater engagement with the field of language documentation for the mutual benefit of both research paradigms.