Survey chapter guidelines
From Apics
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The APiCS survey chapters will contain concise prose descriptions of the sociohistorical context of each language (history of settlement, population movements etc.), as well as synchronic grammatical surveys highlighting the major structural features (max. 5000 words excluding references and glossed text). There will also be a narrative text (ca. 300-500 words) of the relevant contact language plus glossing and English translation. The corresponding sound file will be available on CD-ROM and in the web version.
Model chapters and template
Three model chapters are available for download:
- Principense (by Philippe Maurer)
- Seychelles Creole (by Susanne Maria Michaelis & Marcel Rosalie)
- Ghanaian Pidgin English (by Magnus Huber)
The authors are welcome to use the following MS-Word template: 
Survey-Template (updated May 6 2010).
This template contains some very specific proposals for the tables, which can of course be freely modified.
Please note that it's very important to use a Unicode font.
Please keep in mind that you don't have to stick to the definitions of concepts which we proposed in the APiCS questionnaire (e.g. Adjective, serial verb construction, passive), but feel free to describe your language with any language-specific category which you find useful.
Sections
The chapters will have a uniform structure (allowing readers to orient themselves easily) and consist of the following sections:
- Introduction
- Sociohistorical background
- Sociolinguistic situation
- Phonology
- Noun phrase
- Verb phrase
- Simple sentences
- Complex sentences
- (Other features)
- Glossed text
- References
The first eight sections should be present, even if they are short. Additional sections on topics of special interest to the author may be added. The glossed text is required as well, and the References should list the most important published works on the language (but not more than 25)
Infobox and map
Each article contains an infobox with some of the most important sociohistorical information as well as a map showing the location of the language. (The maps will be designed by the editors with the help of assistants, but input on them from the authors is desirable.)
Tables
Each article should contain tables with the following kinds of information:
- vowels
- consonants
- personal pronouns
- tense-aspect-mood markers (especially if these are preverbal and are similar to the well-known creole prototype)
Examples
All example sentences should be accompanied by interlinear glosses (unless they are really short). All examples from spontaneous speech or writing should be accompanied by an indication of their source. For the remaining (constructed) examples, their empirical basis should also be mentioned in some place (a footnote, e.g. explaining that they are based on the author's first-hand knowledge of the language).
