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