informant (n.)

Someone who acts as a source of DATA for LINGUISTIC analysis, usually a NATIVE-SPEAKER of a LANGUAGE. Linguists may act in this way, but more usually an attempt is made to construct or verify hypotheses by referring directly to a range of informants, who provide, it is hoped, a representative sample of the language one is investigating. In fieldwork on previously unstudied languages, the informant is of fundamental importance, and several sophisticated techniques for ELICITING relevant but natural data from informants have now been devised. Informants’ judgements about the ACCEPTABILITY of sentences are known as INTUITIONS (especially in GENERATIVE GRAMMAR). Since the early 1980s, some linguists have preferred to use the term consultant, reflecting the collaborative nature of the work.