EDWARD H. SPICER AS LJNGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
by
Philip J. Greenfeld
San Diego state Univers~ty
Paper Read at the Arneriyan
Anthropological Association
Meetings, 1985, washington
Hilton Hotel, washington, DC
GREENFELD, Philip J. (San Diego state) EDWARD H. SPICER AS
LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
The four field Boasian paradigm for
anthropology produced two generations of anthropologists who "did
it all."
E. H. Spicer was one of those who researched and
published in all four fields.
He viewed language not as some
disembodied structure, but as an integral part of a cultural
system.
In so doing he utilized linguistic data to support his
four major ethnological themes: ethnography, culture history,
acculturation, and structural-functionalism.
I.
II.
III.
The Boasian paradigm and Linguistics
Linguistic Expertise, Language Abilities, and Field
Work
Ethnological Themes
IV.
The Relation of Language to Culture
v.
Ethnographer, Descriptive Linguist
VI.
Language and Culture History
VII.
Language and Culture Change
VIII.
IX.
Language and structural-Functionalism
Conclusion
EDWARD H. SPICER AS LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
LINGUISTICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY-THE BOASAN LEGACY
Many
current students of anthropology,
and not a few
practicing anthropologists seem to question the place of
linguistics in the anthropological paradigm.
Its place was of
course defined by Boas as "part and parcel
of a
thorough
investigation of the psychology of the peoples of the world" (Boas
1911 reprinted in Holder 1966:59).
Judging from
clear that the
the breadth and content
of Ned's record
Boasian paradigm was not only
where he took his doctoral degree,
it is
accepted at Chicago
but accepted by him personally
as part of his own approach to the discipline.
Many of
within the
us today
who specialize
discipline of anthropology
in the
are more
the designation "linguistic anthropology"
term includes not
study of
language
comfortable with
for our subfield.
only the descriptive study of
This
the languages of
peoples studied by anthropologists, but also ethnographic semantic
studies,
approaches
sociolinguistic
to
language and
studies,
culture.
concerns with language define him
and
a
As
variety
we shall
of
other
see,
Ned's
as ·alinguistic anthropologist.
LANGUAGE, LINGUISTICS, FIELDWORK
His training in linguistics of course reflected the emphases
and ideas of American structural linguistics.
He and his wife
.
Rosamond took phonetics from Manuel Andrade, various courses from
Harry Hoijer,
studied the writings of Benjiman Whorf and,
according to Rosamond "almost wore out" Bloomfield's Language when
it was published in 1933 (R. Spicer, personal communication).
The fruits of his studies are
which he conducted field work, and
make
sometimes
the
distinction
apparent in both the manner in
in his published research.
in
linguist--someone who can describe and
polyglot--someone who can speak several
when he and
at that time spoke
between
a
analysize languages, and a
languages.
Rosamond began their first community
in 1936-37 neither could speak Spanish
few Yaquis
linguistics
We
Ned was both.
study of Pascua
well, yet alone Yaqui, but
English so it was
imperative that
Spanish be mastered, and for field checks and controls, some Yaqui
as well.
This he did.
In Potam, Sonora in 1941-42 all of the data collection was in
Spanish or Yaqui
and Rosamond reports that,
of the villages Ned
so,
seemingly quite
"~t
was asked to give a speech
to the
satisfaction of
Spicer, personal communication).
one
point in
in Yaqui.
on~
He did
the listeners"
(R.
ETHNOLOGICAL THEMES
Of course anyone who knows his work realizes that Ned was not
primarily
interested
emphasizes were
in
language and
ethnography, culture history,
structural-functional analysis
Nevertheless his work
~.~
system.
Chicago
His
major
acculturation, and
and Radcliffe-Brown.
in each one of these involved
or another an appreciation of the
of a cultural
linguistics.
at one level
role of language as a component
I will consider Ned's view
of language in
relation to each of these themes below after we consider just what
Ned felt was the general relation of language to culture.
THE RELATION OF LANGUAGE TO CULTURE
It is clear that Ned had a definite conception of the
relation of language to culture. He did not consider the two to be
synonymous or that language determined culture in a Whorfian
sense.
He notes in his discussion of
the type "persistant
peoples" in 1980 that, "It is not at all apparent that there is a
causal connection between a language and a persistant cultural
system as a whole.
The idea that there is such a connection seems
plausible, because so much of a given way of life appears to be
tied to its expression in a particular language, -but there are too
many contrary- instances'! {p.
Instead what is important is
34-4).
to look at "whatever language is-- used by a people at a given time,
:---
not a particular language that is maintained continuously through
time" (1971:799).
3
It thus seems ev ident that Ned, al though exposed to Whorf's
ideas on the pivotal role of language in structuring culture
(Spicer, personal communication) did not accept them literally.
He apparently respected Whorf's ideas (Spicer 1960:461), but he
was no linguistic relativist.
Language for Spicer was simply one
component of a cultural system which played its role in cultural
maintenance and definition.
What would seem to be the key is his concern with lexical
items as symbolic and linked into systems of association and
meaning which make up culture.
This view is not Whorfian.
Culture is not defined by nor dependent upon certain linguistic
structures, but instead uses language and particularly lexical
items as symbols.
ETHNOGRAPHER, DESCRIPTIVE LINGUIST
Spicer the ethnographer had two areas where he became the
"linguistic anthropologist."
One was his concern with the lexical
designation for cultural concepts and categories, what we now call
ethnographic semantics;
and the other was outright
language
description, or anthropological linguistics proper.
In my introductory cl asses I try to get the point across that
do!ng'~descriptive
linguistics is a part of ethnography.
That is
the description of the language system is just as much a part of
4
doing ethnography as describing ritual, kinship, or technology.
JUdging from the way he conducted field work, and his descriptive
linguistic work I am sure Ned
felt the same.
Descriptive Linguistics
Much of the linguistic work that Ned did is unpublished.
The
Arizona state Museum Archieves has a number of Seri word lists and
linguistic studies; Papago· linguistic notes and texts; and a
variety of word lists, language notes, texts, and manuscripts he
compiled on Yaqui.
The major published work of a purely descriptive nature that
Ned did was the jointly authored A Brief Introduction .t..Q Yagui
Natiy~
Language Qf Sonora.
li
This was done in cooperation with
William Kurath, a professor of German at the University of Arizona
(Kurath and Spicer 1947).
This work is typical of structural linguistic descriptions
common to the period of time in which it was written.
After a
discussion of the phonology there is extensive description of the
morphology of the language with many of the closed classes of
bound forms being listed along with paradigmatic examples.
Sentence structure is described in terms of being primarily
SOV and then some exarnpl es are gi ven, and some attention is paid
to other sentence types.
After a brief discussion of vocabulary
focusing on Spanish loan words there are some sample texts.
5
Although his actual published descriptive linguistic
materials are slight Ned's legacy in this area goes beyond his own
published and unpublished works.
He directed at least one
master's thesis in Yaqui descriptive phonology (Crumrine 1961),
and also was Ed Dozier's replacement on my own doctoral
committee, approving my dissertation on White Mountain Apache
phonology (Greenfeld 1972).
He also aided another linguist, Jean
which was
on Yaqui
B. Johnson, in his book
published in Mexico,
and advised
Carroll G.
Barber in work of a sociolinguistic nature in Pascua (Barber 1952;
1973).
Ethnographic Semantics
It is in the area of
that
Spicer's
noticable.
what we now call ethnographic semantics
ethnographic
In his
linguistic
studies of
work
Pascua (1940)
is
particularly
and Potam
(1954a)
every page is sprinkled with native terms.
The reason for this is
to be found
better cultural system
in his concept of culture, or
~
which he explicates in the book
worlds
of
the
Yaquis,
Yagu1s. There he writes, "The
the Spaniards,
the
Anglo-Americans, that have remained bounded
Mexicans,
and
the
and separate from one
another through
the centuries, are- worlds of--meaning (1980:303,
empasis mine)."
These worlds of meaning
on two
kinds of associations:
are webs whicp are based
1) associations with
and between
formal elements such as material artifacts, words, and segments of
6
and
(1980:305) 1
actions
2)
associations
sentiments about these formal elements.
must be concerned with "meaning" and
This
he
illustrates
kohtumbre
ya'ura or
with
followed in
brings one
This
of
the
is the
term
name of
two
controlled the ceremonial
all of
its countour
and depth
all the distinctive
Yaqui tradition and cultural interests" (1980:305).
include waehma,
Pilate's lance and
Yaqui
"The word alone is the tip of an iceberg,
into an awareness of
the associations
between
Thus describing a culture
a consideration
ceremonial societies which collectively
which if
and
with the things that "mean."
just kohtumbre.
activities during lent.
with
the lenten
horse; and sentiments or
ultimately
elements of
For this term
period; Pilate
and
feelings about these
things.
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE HISTORY
In culture history his approach is to chronicle language
history, and to utilize language as a means of reconstructing
culture history.
The Chronicling of Culture History
His concern
with culture history
two works: Cycles .Qf CQnguest, an
the Southwest, nand
.~
Yagyis; A
there is concern for estaplishing
time of
contact and
through time.
7
primarily in
overview of the ethnohistoI'Y of
Cyltyral History.
In both \'wrks
the linguistic situation at the
a chronicling of
This of course not
is reflected
changes in
that situation
only relates to which languages
were used at which
function
time period, but how they changed
in form and
through time.
Another part
definition
of
of his interest in
a culture
"persistant" peoples.
type
culture history was
(he
calls
It is clear
it a
"human"
that he considered
in his
type),
in detail
the linguistic history of each. of these groups (Spicer 1971; 1972;
1980) •
Reconstructing Culture History
He
also
utilized
reconstruct culture
evidence
history.
In
from
linguistic
his paper
on Yaqui
sources
to
linguistic
acculturation (1943) he utilizes the degree of phonological change
in loan words as an indicator of
cultural items.
and Yaqui
the sequence of the borrowing of
He utilizes the type
into Seri to
suggest a
of words borrowed from Pima
chronology of contact
in that
case (Spicer 1953:40).
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CHANGE
In his acculturation studies he looked at language as a gauge
of degree
and kind
of culture change
(Spicer 1962:
Chap.
1943), as part of culture change itself (1943; 1953; 1954b:
and
as
an
instrument
of
culture
.- 1962:423).
8
change
(Spicer
15;
678),
1958:439;
Language as a Guage of Culture Change
His seminal work in this area is of course the 1962
Congyest.
~~u
Q!.
In that book he devotes all of chapter 15, "Linguistic
Unification," to language change.
He is particularly interested
in how language change reflects other kinds of culture change
which he has been documenting.
He points out that there were two
major changes relating to conquest:
1)
There had been a
significant change in the role native languages played in the life
of the people.
He writes, "...by 1950 the Indian languages for
most Indians were only al ternati ve means of communication; most
such speakers were bilingual, using Spanish or English in addition
to their native tongue (p. 422)."
2) The languages themselves had
changed both because of Spanish or English contact and because of
inter-tribal contact.
This change in the languages themselves is
by definition a type of culture change, but also the way in which
the languages changed and the areas of vocabulary involved, guage
change in the rest of the cultural system.
These changes go both
ways as part of the acculturation process and he is interested in
both the change in native languages and in changes in English and
~panish
from Indian sources.
Language Change As Culture Change
The chapter in
~cles
gives a general overview for the entire
Southwest, but his most detailed work
found in
Yaqui and
two. papers
published earlier
Seri, one on Spanish
on language change is to be
specifically relating
influence in Yaqui
and the other on Papago influence on Seri (1953).
to
(Spicer 1943)
Materials found
in
the
former are
also
incorporated
in
his study
(1940:8-11) and in his Yaqui culture history (1980:
As with other "formal" elements
on
Pascua
21).
to which meaning is assigned
in a cultural system, language or parts of language, can diffuse
or be borrowed where they either replace in whole or in part
the original language system.
paper illustrates this
The Yaqui linguistic acculturation
(1943).
He notes not only
volume of vocabulary items which
the way
in
whic~
through sound
they
the nature and
Yaqui borrowed from Spanish, but
were accommodated phonologically
shifts in
the borrowed
forms and
in Yaqui
morphologically
through affixing.
It is not just the borrowing
of words which is involved with
culture change, but also the meanings of these words which are the
essential part of culture change.
or narrowed meanings as they are
The
words corne to have widened
incorporated in the new cultural
structure.
Language
different
like
other
processes for
cultural
different
these processes
is of course the
American Indian
Culture Change
systems
groups.
changes
The description
major theme in
(Spicer,ed.
through
of
persgectjyes in
1961).
Ned pointed
out the parallelism in the language change
pro~ess
change process.
of the Pueblos resulted
in only
about 5%
The compartmentalization
of their
vocabulary having
and the culture
a Spanish
source,
where as the Yaqui with their fusional response to change added as
10
much as 30% in terms of
in
morphology
and
basic vocabulary items along with changes
syntax
as
well
(Spicer
1943;
1954b:678;
change is
approached
1962:451-435).
Language as an Instrument of Culture Change
Language as
in instrument
of culture
when he considers how the Jesuits
the Yaquis, and
the
~outhwest
implement a
accomplished what they did with
how the spread of Spanish
produced a new basis
and English throughout
for divergent Indian tribes to
new framework for thinking
about the region
and the
world (1962:430).
The way
required
to
in which
learn
this happened
the
native
languages
missionized (1958:439; 1962:423).
either taught
Spanish or
was that
of
the Jesuits
were
the
they
groups
Secondly, selected Indians were
at least
the terms
for items,
roles,
concepts etc. which the missionaries brought with them were spread
in an ever widening circle from
those who had direct contact with
the missionaries (1980:21).
The result was
that concepts spread, but
were reinterpreted
wi th in the context of the nativ.e culture and language.
their meanings were virtually
peri.od-of time-(1943 :424).
~nrecognizable
One example
with a mix of
roles themselves
in some cases after a
of this is the complex of
social roles known in Spanish as cornpadrazgo.
the Yaquis
Words and
This was adopted by
Spanish and Yaqui terminology,
and the
were interpreted in terms of an already existing
11
fictive
kinship
institution
present
in
Yaqui
and
other
Southwestern societies (Spicer 1962:22-23).
Finally, the
idea
that
new
indeas
communicated in
knew them.
whole process
to
be
the native languages
But, they
with new words
have
of culture
change involves
communicated.
They
where the agents
were also communicated
in a
to both natives who had learned
the
were
of change
new language
the new language,
and to natives who had only a vague idea of what they were hearing
(Spicer 1980:21).
who learned
the ideas
At times the very prestigue of the missionaries
to speak the native
spread, and
languages aided
in other
languages added to the
cases the
the diffusion of
speed of
natives learning
new ideas and
new
concepts (Spicer
1958:439; 1980:21).
LANGUAGE AND STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM
In terms of
functioned
family
functionalism he was interested
at several
life
and
"sociolinguistics"
levels:
community
language as
life,
(1940:10); language
integration of a cultural
- ana
the role
it
in how language
of. language in
what
and its
we
now
function
~n
daily
call
the
system (Spicer 1980:343-346; 1962:422);
functioned as
a
maintenance mechanism
cultural systems (Spicer 1962:430; 1980:343-349).
12
for
Language and Its Function in Daily Life
Very early
in his
description of
Pascua Ned
considers the
linguistic situation and points out that it is a trilingual speech
community.
Yaqui, heavily penetrated
as the home language of all
where one parent
used with
language
unmixed marriages (1940:9).
does not speak Yaqui both Spanish
respect to which pa!ent
used on
by Spanish loans, functions
the job
and
English is used only by a few
is spoken to.
in most
In homes
and Yaqui are
Spanish
is the
economic affairs,
while
and then not often (1940:10).
This
bilingualism thus functions to define situations and relationships
of
different
types.
Where
as
at
one
point
in
time
all
communication was in the native language, Yaqui, this language had
changed its
function to
a more
restricted one
than it
had had
earlier (Spicer 1962:422).
Language
community.
not
only
functions
in
the
home,
but
in
the
Language in both its written and spoken form functions
as a channel of tradition, along with other symbols (1940:239ff.).
Language and its Function in Cultural Integration
One of the main functions of language in a cultural system is
in
terms
of what
he
called
linkage.
achieved in two ways, one where
a group, a set of lexemes)
functional linkage
different
was
settings, thus
linkage
was
some formal element (an artifact,
appeared together- in a single
and thus were linked with respect
of
Functional
to this setting.
where a
formal
linking things
13
~etting,­
A second form ..
element appeared
separated
in time
in
and
space together (Spicer 1954:191).
One of
the formal elements
which serve
cultural system are sets of terms.
that the
status terms
to link parts
of a
In his study of Potam he notes
for kinship, the
military, and
the civil
governments are three sets of status terms which are used in three
.
or more different social structures.
the elementary
family are
also
members
for
the
supernaturals
(1954 :191) •
who
of
used not only
companies
dominate . and
They are
also
For example, terms
of
lead
used in
for the
ritual
household, but
kin,
ceremonial
standard
used for
and
for
activities
speeches by
both
church and civil officials so they formally link the church, civil
government, companies, and households
(1954:191).
In those cases where several different cultural systems may
utilize the same sets of terms they provide the basis for linkage
and
therefore
integration at
a
higher
This was
level.
particUlarly the case where English and Spanish spread throughout
the Indian societies of the Southwest and provide a common set of
geographic and tribal names.
"What the Spaniards had done was to
lay solid foundations, by means of a common language
~esignation,
for the 1. in-kage of the smafl tr ibal wor 1 ds with- one-another and
with the wider world of
~~~tern
civilization" [Emphasis mine]
(Spicer 1962:430).
Finally, in an earlier section of the paper I have mentioned
language's
function
as
the
formal
symbol
which
is
the
manifestation of meaning, sentiments, and associations of which
culture is actually composed.
It is perhaps its function in this
respect which Ned considered most important.
Language as a Maintenance Mechanism
Closely related to these ideas is language's function as a
maintenance mechanism.
In Ned's later writings one of his major
concerns was with ethnic groups, boundaries, and " Persistent" or
"Enduring" peoples.
topic.
He wrote at least three major papers on this
One in Science in 1971, a chapter in plural Society in
southw~st
in 1972,
History in 1980.
and a chapter in
~
A
Yaguis:
~
~~tural
In these three pieces he especially considers
the role of language as a boundary maintenance mechanism, and as
one of the identity symbols which serve to support the persistence
of an ethnic group through time.
The linguistic
key is not to
which persists through
be found in a
time as the marker of a
single language
single group, but
in what he labels "ethnic terminology" (1972:22ff; 1980:349). This
functions
in two
we/they boundary.
ways:
~eanings
This
~xc1udes
for
to
exclude outsiders
Particular terms (it may
a particular dialect
have
1)
them,
and
defines
outsiders
a
themselves
as
contrasted
349-351).
Language is
also
with
do not
An
understand.
especially
is the group's name for
that- for
important
is not essential)
boundary.
important part of this ethnic terminology
a
also be a language or
of language although this
insiders which
and define
outsiders
for labeling
(1980·:
particular
places which have significance to the group.
2) Such ethnic terms, not only define current boundaries, but
also
evoke sentiments
entire historical
which a
people share,
experience which
prese~t
continuity between the
such
that
makes
It
unnecessary
language, and explains
has, and
and events which
that people's history (1980:349).
as
a people
and symbolize
the
thus give
have constituted
is the "ethnic terminology"
the
retention
why in some cases
of
an
it is just at
entire
the time
that a language is being lost, that ethnic sentiment may become so
strongly
focused.
Just
some words
become symbols
of the
lost
whole (1971:798).
CONCLUSION
The striking thing about Ned's concern with language over the
years
is
approach.
meaning,
both
The
the
consistancy
intense focus
is clear
Attention to details
from Pascua
and
on sets
through
the
completeness
of terms,
of
his
their form
and
Potam and
of phonetic form, systematic
up to
changes in the
borrowing process, and completeness of the ethnographic
hallmarks of each of these studies; and
language in a
books.
This
Edward H.
consistancy, breath, and accuracy
current usages.
a linguistic
~ecord
are
a concern for the role of
variety of ways characterizes his
Spicer as
Yagui.
other papers and
certainly defines
anthropologist in
all of
its
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barber, Carroll G.
1952 Trilingualism in Pascua: The Social Functions of Language
in an Arizona· Yaqui Village. M.A. Thesis, Department of
Anthropology, University of Arizona.
Barber, Carroll G.
1973
Trilingualism in an Arizona Yaqui Village.
.In
Bilingualism in the southwest, Paul R. ~urner, ed.
Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Boas, Franz
1911
Introduction, HandboOk of American Indian Languages,
Bulletin 40, Part I, Bureau of American Ethnology.
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. pp. 1-83.
Crumrine, Lynne S.
1961
The Phonology of Arizona Yaqui with Texts.
Tucson:
Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona, No.
5.
Greenfeld, Philip J.
1972 The Phonological Hierarchy of the White Mountain Dialect
of Western Apache. Ph. D. Dissertation, Department of
Anthropology, University of Arizona.
Holder, Preston, ed.
1966 Franz Boas, Introduction to Handbook of American Indian
Languages J. W. Powell, Indian Linguistic Families of
America North of Mexico. Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press.
Kurath, William, and Edward H. Spicer
1947 A Brief Introduction to Yaqui a Native Language of Sonora.
Tucson: University of Arizona Bulletin, Social Science
Bulletin No. 15.
Spicer, Edward H.
1940
Pascua: A Yaqui Village in Arizona.
University of. Chicago Press.
Chicago:
1943
Linguistic Aspects of Yaqui Accul turation.
American Anthropologist 45:410-426.
1953
Parentescas Uto-Aztecas
~
lA
Lengua~.
The
Yan 1:37-40.
1954a Potam, A Yaqui Village in Sonora.
Menasha:
Anthropological Association Memoir, No. 77.
American
1954b Spanish-Indian Accul turation in the Southwest.
Anthropologist 56:663-678.
American
17
1958
Social structure and the Acculturation Process.
Anthropologist 60:433-441.
1962
Cy~les of Conquest: The Impact of Spaih, Mexico, and the
united States on the Indians of the southwest, 1533-1960.
Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
1971
Persistent Cultural Systems. Science 1974:795-800.
1972
Plural Society in the Southwest. In Plural Society in the
Southwest, Edward H. Spicer and Raymond H. Thompson, eds.
New York: Interbook, Inc.
1980
The Yaquis: A Cultural History.
Arizona Press.
Tucson: University of
Spicer, Edward H., ed.
1961 perspectives in American Indian Culture Change.
University of Chicago Press.
Spicer, Rosamond B.
1985 Personal Communication
18
American
Chicago: