COURSE TOPICS
ANTH L200
Below is a list of the main points we will cover in class. You may use it to prepare for
class or as a study guide for the exams. It is subject to change, depending on what we
end up covering in class.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL LINGUISTICS – HISTORY OF THE FIELD
CORE LINGUISTICS
Phonetics and Phonology
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Fieldwork in Linguistic Anthropology
THE BIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE
The Vocal Tract – Larynx, Pharynx, Oral Cavity, Nasal Cavity
Language and the Brain
Parts of the Brain – Cerebrum, Hemispheres, Corpus Callosum
Lobes – Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, Occipital
Lateralization
Language Areas – Broca’s Area, Wernicke’s Area, Arcuate Fasciculus,
Angular Gyrus
Animal Communication
Characteristics of Language – Displacement, Discreteness…
Invariant Systems – Crabs, etc.
Dancing Bees
Birds – Calls, Songs
Wolf Communication
Primate Communication
Chimpanzees and Humans
Experiments in Teaching Language to Animals
Language Evolution
Evolution of the Vocal Tract
Evolution of the Brain
Hominid Evolution
Theories of Language Evolution
Neanderthals and Language
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND SOCIALIZATION
Theories of Language Acquisition – Socialization, Nativist, Connectionist
Critical Age Hypothesis
Stages of Language Acquisition – Babbling, One Word, Two Word, Telegraphic
Caregiver Speech
Language Socialization in Different Cultures
WRITING SYSTEMS
Types of Writing Systems – Pictographic, Ideographic, Logographic,
Syllabic, Alphabetic
Examples – Cuneiform, Egyptian, Mayan, Western Apache
Development of the Alphabet
The Rebus Principle, The Acrophonic Principle
HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS
The Family Tree Model
The Wave Model
The Comparative Method
Internal Reconstruction
Indoeuropean and the History of English
Languages of the World
Major Language Families
Linguistic Isolates
Typology and Areal Linguistics
WORLD VIEW AND THE SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS
Major Figures: Boas, Sapir, Whorf
World View and the Lexicon
World View and Grammar
Time and Tense
Space
Relative and Absolute Space
Guugu Yimidhirr; Koyukon, Tzetal
Color Terms
Universalist vs. Relativistic Approach
Berlin and Kay
Foci
Classification
Taxonomy
Classifiers
Metaphor
Poetic vs. Conventional Metaphor
The Embodied Mind
Connectionism
Western Apache Wise Words
Koyukon Riddles
NAMES/KINSHIP
Types of naming systems
Kinship systems
Western Apache Place Names
LANGUAGES IN CONTACT
Multilingualism – Diglossia, Lingua Franca
Borrowing – Loan Words, Loan Translations
Linguistic Convergence
Language Shift and Language Death
Pidginization and Creolization
Language Planning
SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGE VARIATION
Idiolects
Dialects
Style – Formal, Informal, Slang
Variation and Socioeconomic Status
Gender
Age
ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION
Speech Community
Levels of Communication – Speech Act, Speech Event, Speech Situation
Aspects of the Ethnography of Communication – Setting, Participants, Goal…
Levels of Formality
Participants – Terms of Address; Honorifics
Politeness
Robin Lakoff’s Approach
Brown and Levinson’s Approach – Face, Positive and Negative Politeness