Linguistic Anthropology
Anthropology 317
2018
T, Th
9:30-11
Lasserre 104
Prof. Patrick Moore
Office: ANSO 2209
Office Hours: 1-2 Tuesday
and 3:30-4:30 Thursdays
Phone 604-822-6359
patrick.moore@ubc.ca
TA Heather Burge
Office: ANSO 142
Office Hours:
Th 11:30-12:30
hdburge@mail.ubc.ca
The goals of this course are to familiarize students with contemporary approaches in
linguistic anthropology and to develop their ability to use standard forms of linguistic
description. Students will learn how language data is used to document culturally situated
language use. They will gain an understanding of theoretical issues relating to the origins
of human language, formal descriptions of language, universal and language-specific
features of language, the role of culture in language use, language and gender, language
and social class, language and identity, language ideology, the language of space and
place, literacy, and contact induced language change.
Students will develop the ability to describe languages through the study of
phonetics, phonology and morphology. The approach to these subjects will be data
oriented, and students will have an opportunity to build their skills in exercises and
problem sets from a variety of languages.
Readings:
Course Readings online on Canvas
Links to on-line journal articles in syllabus on Canvas
Websites:
Place of articulation
https://www.mimicmethod.com/ft101/place-of-articulation/
IPA Chart
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/IPA_chart_2018.pdf
IPA Chart with sounds http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/index.html
IPA sounds (from the UCLA Phonetics Laboratory):
http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/chapter1.html
Assessment:
Grades may be scaled to conform to the Faculty of Arts and Departmental guidelines.
Midterm Examination (February 12th-14th)
Research Paper (due March 21st)
Final examination (Scheduled exam date)
Attendance
Short response paper, short in-class assignments
30%
30%
20%
10%
10%
Week 1, January 3rd
Course Information
Issues
-What linguistic skills do linguistic anthropologists require in their work?
-How will this course be designed to address needs for a broad base of both skills
and theory?
Week 2, January 8th
Introduction: What is Linguistic Anthropology?
Duranti argues that the field of linguistic anthropology in North America is best
construed in terms of three dominant research paradigms. We will discuss these three
approaches to the study of language in cultural context and consider how they relate to
contemporary research in the field of linguistic anthropology and to the structure of this
course.
Issues
-What approaches in Linguistic Anthropology are relevant for anthropologists,
including those trained in anthropology who are working in other
professions?
Reading
Duranti, Alesandro. 2003. Language as Culture in US Anthropology: Three
Paradigms. Current Anthropology 44(3):323-347.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/10.1086/368118.pdf?acceptTC=true
International Phonetic Alphabet, Description of Consonants
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a widely-used system for representing
speech. Knowledge of this system is essential, both for recording unfamiliar languages,
and for using language data recorded by others. Consonants are identified in the IPA
according to their air stream mechanism and their place and manner of articulation.
Issues
-What is the International Phonetic Alphabet, and why was it developed?
-How is a knowledge of phonetics useful for anthropologists?
-How are speech sounds identified in this system?
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Description and Transcription of Consonants
Consonants are described in the IPA according to airstream mechanism (pulmonic,
glottalic egressive and ingressive, and velaric), place of articulation (bilabial, apicoalveolar, dorso-velar, glottal etc.), and manner of articulation (stop, fricative, affricate,
approximant voiced, voiceless, aspirated, unaspirated etc.). Using this system, consonants
can be identified and recorded in any language.
Issues
-What details of the human vocal tract are identified in the description of
consonants?
-What are the active and passive articulators?
-How are voicing and aspiration produced and what do they sound like?
Readings
IPA Chart
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/IPA_chart_2018.pdf
IPA Chart with sounds http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/index.html
IPA sounds (from the UCLA Phonetics Laboratory):
http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/chapter1.html
IPA Chart http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/index.html
Reference
Ashby, Michael and John Maidment. 2005. Place of Articulation. In Introducing
Phonetic Science, 33-67. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
January 10
Introduction: What is Linguistic Anthropology?
Nakassis argues that Linguistic Anthropology is not focused on the study of Language.
What does he mean by this? In this week students will seek out one recent journal article
or book chapter relating to their interests that can also serve to identify the current
interests of linguistic anthropologists.
Reading
Nakassis, Constantine. 2016. Linguistic Anthropology in 2015; Not the Study of
Language. American Anthropologist 118 (2):330-345.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/aman.12528/ep
df
Assignment due
January 10 Provide a full reference for one current journal article or book chapter from
within the last five years relating to linguistic anthropology and summarize the topic and
main argument. Be prepared to present on this in class.
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Week 3, January 15th-17th
The Evolution of Human Language
There are significant differences between human language and animal languages, such as
those of other primates, dolphins, or birds. These relate to such features as the arbitrary
association between sound and meaning in words, the ability to talk about things removed
from the immediate context of communication, and the ability to combine words to
produce large numbers of sentences. The subject of human language origins is
characterized by speculation since tangible evidence is lacking. We will consider the
ways human language differs from the communication systems of other animals and what
research paradigms in this field reveal about disciplinary approaches to language.
Assignment
Research paper assigned January 17th, due March 21st
Issues
-What are the “languages” or call systems of primates like?
-What differences exist between human language and the
communication systems of primates and other animals?
Podcast
Midgley, Daniel and RTRFM 92.1 Perth
Posted October 24, 2016 Talk the Talk 265 Universal Grammar 2
(featuring Dan Everett and Lynne Murphy) (49:36).
https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/talk-the-talk/id436133392
Reading
Pinker, Steven. 1994.The Big Bang. In The Language Instinct, Pp. 332-368. New
York: Harper Collins.
Video Documentary (YouTube)
Big Think
Posted April 23, 2012 Steven Pinker on Language (6:03)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_kOzdRqC24
Description and Transcription of Consonants
Consonants are described in the IPA according to airstream mechanism (pulmonic,
glottalic egressive and ingressive, and velaric), place of articulation (bilabial, apicoalveolar, dorso-velar, glottal etc.), and manner of articulation (stop, fricative, affricate,
approximant voiced, voiceless, aspirated, unaspirated etc.). Using this system, consonants
can be identified and recorded in any language.
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Issues
-What details of the human vocal tract are identified in the description of
consonants?
-What are the active and passive articulators?
-How are voicing and aspiration produced and what do they sound like?
Readings
IPA Chart http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/index.html
IPA sounds (from the UCLA Phonetics Laboratory):
http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/chapter1.html
Reference
Ashby, Michael and John Maidment. 2005.Place of Articulation. In Introducing
Phonetic Science, 33-67. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Week 4, January 22-24
Structuralism: Formal Descriptions of Language Structure
Important advances in the study of language were facilitated by attention to its structure.
Charles Pierce investigated the use of three sorts of signs: indices (indexes), icons, and
symbols. The work of Ferdinand de Saussure also contributed to the formalization of
linguistics as the study of linguistic signs. Some researchers have also criticized
Saussure’s advocacy of the formal study of linguistic signs as leading to a lack of concern
in linguistics for the social uses of language. The field of semiotics, which is the study of
signs, has applications in many fields including the study of ethnicity and gender.
Issues
-What types of signs exist and how are they used?
-Why is the study of signs important?
-Why are social and cultural features of language use important?
Readings
Peirce, Charles. 1991. One, Two, Three: Fundamental Categories of Thought and
Nature. In Peirce on Signs: Writing on Semiotic by Charles Sanders
Peirce, edited by James Hoopes, 180-185. Chapel Hill and London:
University of North Carolina Press.
Hanks, William.2001. Indexicality. In Key Terms in Language and Culture, edited
by Alessandro Duranti, 119-121. Oxford: Blackwell.
Bruce Mannheim. 2001. Iconicity. In Key Terms in Language and Culture, edited
by Alessandro Duranti, 102-105. Oxford: Blackwell.
Hillewaert, Sarah. 2016. Tactics and Tactility: A Sensory Semiotics of
Handshakes in Coastal Kenya. American Anthropologist 118 (1) 49-66.
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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/aman.12
517/epdf
January 24, Library workshop in class
Description and Transcription of Vowels in the IPA
Vowels are described according to tongue height (close, close-mid, open-mid, and open),
the location of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, and back), and lip rounding
(rounded or unrounded). Using this system, it is possible to describe and record vowels in
any language.
Readings
IPA Chart
IPA Chart http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/index.html
IPA sounds (UCLA Phonetics Laboratory website):
http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/chapter1.html
Reference
Ashby, Michael and John Maidment. 2005. Place of Articulation. In Introducing
Phonetic Science, 33-67. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Week 5, January 29th and 31st
Contemporary Topics in Linguistic Anthropology
We will examine some current approaches in Linguistic Anthropology.
Topics
-performance
-performativity
-kinship
Readings
Ahearn, Laura. 2011. Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology,
Chapter 8 Performance, Performativity and Communities. Wiley Blackwell
https://onlinelibrary-wileycom.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781444340563.ch8
Bell, Christopher. 2018. Language of Kin Relations and Relationlessness. Annual Review
of Anthropology 47:47-60. https://www-annualreviewsorg.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-anthro-102317-050120
Description and Transcription of Vowels in the IPA continued
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Week 6, February 5th-7th
Linguistic Relativity
One of the main themes of linguistic anthropology over the last century has been that
different languages provide different views of the world. Franz Boas and others argued
that different types of grammars are not inherently more or less sophisticated, but that
each language has its own unique grammatical categories. Recent research in linguistics
has pointed to universals in grammatical structure as well as a greater awareness of the
ways that languages differ. We will examine the development of the linguistic relativity
hypothesis and its application in language studies.
Issues
-How do the grammatical categories of American Indian languages
differ from European languages?
-What evidence is there that no languages are more advanced in an evolutionary
sense than other languages?
-What are the philosophical foundations of relativism?
-What are the implications of relativism for translation and descriptions of
cultural systems including language?
-What are the implications of relativism for language rights?
-What is the role of language in structuring thought?
-Do differences in grammatical categories imply differences in modes of thought
as well?
Readings
Duranti, Alessandro. 2001.Relativity. In Key Terms in Language and Culture,
edited by Alessandro Duranti, 216-218. Oxford: Blackwell.
Levinson, Stephen. 2003. Language and Mind: Let’s Get the Issues Straight! In
Language in Mind: Advances in the Study of Language and Thought, 2546. Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press.
Martin, Laura. 1986. ‘Eskimo Words for Snow’: A Case Study in the Genesis and
Decay of an Anthropological Example. American Anthropologist
88(2):418-423. http://www.jstor.org/stable/view/677570
Zenker, Olaf. 2014. Linguistic Relativity and Dialectal Idiomatization: Language
Acquisition in the Irish Language Revival of Northern Ireland. Journal of
Linguistic Anthropology 24(1):63-83.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jola.12037/epdf
The Transcription of Tone
The IPA provides a system for the transcription of tone based on five levels of relative
pitch. Changes in the relative pitch over time are also indicated in this system. We will
practice hearing and transcribing tone differences in several languages.
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Week 7, February 12th-14th Midterm examination
February 12th
Phonetics part of the midterm examination
February 14th
Essay and multiple choice part of the midterm examination
February 18-22 Midterm Break
Week 8 February 26th-28th
Language Ideology
Language ideology refers to the situated, partial and interested conceptions and uses of
language. Linguistic anthropologists have become increasingly interested in the language
ideologies of individuals and groups. We will examine how language ideologies are
expressed in specific contexts.
Issues
-How can language ideologies be identified?
-How does language ideology relate to other aspects of culture?
-How do approaches to language ideology relate to approaches to ideology more
generally?
-How are language ideologies connected to social and economic power, and to the
relationships between powerful and less powerful groups?
Readings
Errington, Joseph. 2001. Ideology. In Key Terms in Language and Culture, edited
by Alessandro Duranti, 110-112. Oxford: Blackwell.
Webster, Anthony. 2010. Imagining Navajo in the Boarding School: Laura Tohe’s
No Parole Today and the Intimacy of Language Ideologies. Journal of
Linguistic Anthropology 20(1):39-62.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1548-1395.2010.01047.x/pdf
Schieffelin, Bambi and Rachel Charlier Doucet. 1994. The “Real” Haitian Creole:
Ideology, Metalinguistics, and Orthographic Choice. American Ethnologist
21(1):176-200. http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/646527.pdf?acceptTC=true
Phonemes and Phonemic Analysis
The identification of phonemes, functionally significant phonological units in a language,
marked a major advance in linguistic understanding. This concept is applied in the
analysis of sound systems and the development of alphabetic writing systems.
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Issues
-What is the significance of phonemes for the perception of sound?
-What is the significance of complimentary distribution of sounds?
-What are minimal pairs of words, and what do they indicate about the contrasting
sounds?
-How are phonemic distinctions used in developing writing systems?
Reading
Danesi, Michael. 2004. Sounds. In A Basic Course in Anthropological
Linguistics, 47-67. Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press. (online book)
http://gw2jh3xr2c.search.serialssolutions.com/?sid=sersol&SS_jc=TC000010899
7&title=A%20Basic%20Course%20in%20Anthropological%20Linguistics
Assignments
Problems identifying phonemes in various languages
Week 9, March 5th-7th
Language and Gender
Researchers have documented many gender differences in language use and in language
ideologies. There is a widespread pattern in many cultures to accord male uses of
language greater prestige. The documentation and analysis of gender differences in
language has led to more general investigations of gender roles in diverse languages.
Issues
-What differences exist in men’s and women’s language use in different cultures?
-Why is male speech accorded greater prestige in many cultures?
-How are children socialized to gendered patterns of language use?
Readings
Takano, Shoji. 2005. Re-examining Linguistic Power: Strategic Uses of
Directives by Professional Japanese Women in Positions of Authority and
Leadership. Journal of Pragmatics 37(5):633-649.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378216604001882
Briggs, Charles. 1998. “You’re a Liar—You’re Just Like a Woman!” Constructing
Dominant Ideologies of Language in Warao Men’s Gossip. In
Language Ideologies, edited by Bambi Schieffelin, Kathryn
Woolard, and Paul Kroskrity, Pp. 229-255. New York and Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Phonemic Analysis (continued)
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Week 10, March 12-14
Some cultures have traditions of literacy, while others do not. Cultures also vary in the
uses they make of written materials. Some researchers have found that literacy leads to
cognitive changes, while others emphasize that literacy is a social force, empowering
some groups more than others, and facilitating the propagation of dominant ideologies.
We will examine literacy practices in several communities.
Issues
-What are the differences between oral cultures and literate cultures?
-What types of writing systems exist and how do they differ?
-How are writing systems developed?
-What is the significance of literacy as a social force?
-How is literacy associated with schooling?
Readings
Besnier, Niko. 2001. Literacy. In Key Terms in Language and Culture, edited by
Alessandro Duranti, 136-138. Oxford: Blackwell.
Howe, Nicholas. 1992. The Cultural Construction of Reading in Anglo-Saxon
England. In The Ethnography of Reading, edited by Jonathan Boyarin, 5879. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Jonsson, Rickard. 2014. Boys’ Anti-School Culture? Narratives and School
Practices. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 45(3):276-292.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aeq.12068/epdf
The Identification of Word Parts
In order to analyze words it is necessary to identify the parts of the word and their
relationship to the word as a whole. Parts of the word that are essential to its meaning
may be identified as roots or stems. Other parts may be considered suffixes, prefixes or
infixes. We will identify the parts of words in data from several languages.
Issues
-How do languages differ in the form of words?
-How can word parts be identified?
-What cases pose problems for the identification of word parts?
-How do lexical classes differ in their morphology?
Reading
Bauer, Laurie. 2001. Introduction. In Introducing Linguistic Morphology, 3-53.
Washington: Georgetown University Press.
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Week 11 March 19th-21st
Ethnopoetics
Scholars concerned with ethnopoetics argue that features of language structure and
performance should be represented in written form. There have been extensive debates
about what features are most important to represent.
Issues
-What aspects of language and narrative structure should be included in written
language?
-What is the relation between oral and written language?
-How can written forms reflect non-western poetic structure and expressive
forms?
-How are does the depiction of space relate to poetic structure and expression?
No class March 19th Work on research papers due March 21st
Readings
Urrutia, Anselmo and Joel Sherzer. 2000. “The Way of the Cocoa Counsel” from
the Kuna Indians of Panama. In Translating Native Latin American Verbal
Art: Ethnopoetics and Ethnography of Speaking, Kay Sammons and Joel
Sherzer eds. Pp141-157. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution
Press.
Assignment Due
Research Paper due at the start of class March 21st
The Identification of Word Parts (continued)
Week 12, March 26th-28th
Pidgins and Creoles, Contact Induced Language Change and Language Contact
Phenomena
Pidgins and Creoles are two types of contact languages. We will explore how pidgins and
creoles are created and how they relate to other languages. We will also consider
arguments that have been made that there are common features of Creole languages that
relate to universal features of language. We will also consider code-switching and its
relation to language ideologies and power.
Issues
What are pidgin languages, and how are they created and used?
What are Creole languages and how do they differ from pidgin languages?
What features do Creole languages share?
What is code-switching and why does it interest linguists and anthropologists
Readings
Siegel, Jeff. 2010. Pidgins and Creoles. In Sociolinguistics and Language
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Education, Nancy Hornberger ed., Pp 232-262. Bristol, Buffalo:
Multilingual Matters.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/reader.action?docID=10393251
Heller, Monica. 1995. Code-switching and the Politics of Language. In One
Speaker, Two Languages: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Codeswitching, edited by Lesley Milroy and Pieter Muysken. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Types of Affixes
Affixes can be classified in various ways based on their meaning, their order relative to
the root or stem, and their form. We will look at some languages with rich systems of
affixes to determine what distinctions may be useful in the description of these languages.
Issues
-How can the order of morphemes be described?
-How can affixes be classified on the basis of meaning?
-How can affixes be classified on the basis of form?
Week 13, April 2nd-4th
Language Shift and Language Revitalization
The processes of colonization, nationalism, and globalization have resulted in declining
use of many languages. We will examine the processes that have contributed to language
shift around the world and what is being done to maintain the languages that have been
affected by language shift.
Issues
What factors have contributed to language shift?
How many languages are being affected by language shift?
What is lost when languages are no longer spoken?
What is being done to maintain languages that are affected by language shift?
Reading
Hinton, Leanne. 2010. Language Revitalization in North America and the New
Direction of Linguistics. Transforming Anthropology 18(1):35-41.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/j.15487466.2010.01068.x/epdf
Video Documentary (YouTube)
Ted x Talks
Posted December 19, 2013
Preserving Endangered Languages: Barry
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Mosses at TEDxCCS (10:53)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHlBJGM-XyQ
Review for the final exam
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