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ANTH 250
Language, Empire, and National Identity
Spring 2006:
M W
12 PM - 1:15 PM
BH 305
(REVISED)
Professor David Tavárez
Blodgett 319, x 5508
tavarez@vassar.edu
Office hours: M 2 – 5 PM, W 12 – 1 PM, and by appointment
How have colonial and post-colonial states formulated language policies, and to what degree have their
subjects conformed to or resisted these attempts? How does language use relate to a sense of belonging to a
national or local entity? What aspects of language use represent and reproduce such forms of collective
identity? This course proposes a selective survey of anthropological, historical, and linguistic approaches to
these questions, through a consideration of language contact in colonial and neo-colonial situations, a
comparison of linguistic policies imposed by empires and nation-states on their subjects, and the conflict
between official languages and linguistic minorities—such as the “English Only” movement in the U.S., or
linguistic conflicts in Spain, Canada, and the former Soviet Republics. The course addresses a number of
case studies—drawn from cultural localities in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia—that cover
the range between institutional language reform and individual strategies of accommodation and resistance.
Students may elect to pursue a short research project informed by these approaches.
Required books
 Cohn, Bernard. 2000. Colonialism and its Forms of Knowledge (henceforth CFK). Princeton: Princeton
U. Press.
 Fabian, Johannes. 1986. Language and Colonial Power (LCP). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 Schieffelin, Bambi, Kathryn Woolard, and Paul Kroskrity, eds. 1998. Language Ideologies (LIPT). New
York: Oxford University Press.
 Sonntag, Selma. 2004. The Local Politics of Global English (LPGE). New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
Evaluation
Participation and quality of discussion questions
Position paper
Midterm take-home exam
Group presentation (collective grade)
Final project OR take-home exam
30 %
10 %
25 %
10 %
25 %
General participation and quality of discussion questions (30%)
You should prepare for class by taking notes on the readings, and coming to class prepared to discuss them.
Do not be afraid to ask questions about terms that are freely bandied about in the readings or in class
discussions. Your participation grade will reflect quality, relevance, and willingness, rather than frequency.
After our first two sessions, the class will be divided, much like many Amazonian and Andean societies, into
two halves, A and B (“moieties” in anthropological parlance). Each class participant will be individually
responsible for preparing 3 discussion questions in an alternating fashion: on Mondays, members of moeity
A will provide us with questions, which will be directed towards moiety B, and this arrangement will be
reversed on Wednesdays (this arrangement may be suspended when one of this course’s major assignments
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is due). Each moiety may choose a name more descriptive than “A” or “B” if its member so wish. After a
lecture-style introduction to the day’s topic, any member of the appropriate moiety will be welcome to pose
one of his/her questions; if no one volunteers (or if the same two or three people volunteer time and time
again), I may go down a list of moiety members. You will be provided with suggestions as to how to draft
good questions, and I will collect your questions at the end of each class.
Position paper (10 %)
You will write one position paper (minimum length 4 pages) due on Feb. 27 in response to one of several
essay-format questions regarding theory and colonial linguistic projects.
Midterm take-home examination (25%)
This exam will cover the readings and discussion for the first half of the course. You will choose two out of
four essay questions, and write two short essays with a combined page length of at least 8 pages, excluding
your (brief) bibliography. This exam is due in class right after Spring Break on March 27.
Final project OR final take-home examination (25 %)
After consulting with me, you may develop a final research project that examines any topic of your choice
that is pertinent to this course. If you choose this path, you will turn in a brief (2-page) outline and tentative
bibliography on April 17, and a final draft of your project (8-10 pages) on May 18.
If you cannot decide on a topic or do not want to pursue a final project, you will complete a final
examination similar in format to your midterm. You will choose from a variety of essay questions, and
address two questions in two short essays with a combined length of 8-10 pages. You need not refer to any
materials beyond assigned readings, lectures, and class discussions in order to complete this exam, but I will
give extra credit for the appropriate use of additional sources. This final examination will be due on May 18.
Individual OR group presentation (10 %)
If you are working on a final project, you will prepare a brief and informal (6-8 minute) presentation, and
deliver it on either April or May
If you are not engaged in a final project, you will be part of a small group formed after Spring Break. Each
of these groups will choose a topic combining the study of language use or language ideologies with
colonialism or nationalism, notify me of their choice and turn in a 2-page outline by April 17, select a short
reading (circa 20 pp., excluding bibliography) that will be assigned to the class, and prepare a 20-30-minute
presentation. You may select a reading from a list of relevant sources located either at library reserves or on
Blackboard (in “The Vault”), or do a periodicals search. The rest of the class will prepare questions for the
exponents ahead of time.
Attendance and extension policies
Attendance and lateness will be noted at each session. You should aim to have, at most, one unaccounted
absence. After two unaccounted absences, your final grade will be adjusted downward at the instructor’s
discretion. Contact the Dean of Students if you have any personal or health emergency; they will notify all
of your professors, and your grade will not suffer as a result. If you have a disability, you should identify
yourself and discuss your needs with me so special arrangements may be made well ahead of time.
Please note that extensions for turning in your work will be given only under exceptional circumstances
(i.e., family emergencies or illnesses corroborated by the Dean of Students) and on a case-by-case basis. This
means that most extensions and all requests for an incomplete grade are, in practice, granted at the
discretion of the Dean of Students.
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Course schedule
Readings marked with () are available at the ANTH 240 Blackboard site under “Course Documents.”
DATE
SESSIONS
WEEK 1
W Jan 25
WEEK 2
Introduction: Linguistic anthropology and the study of ideologies
I. THEORETICAL AND ANALYTICAL TOOLS
M Jan 30
Phonemes, morphemes, and units of analysis in linguistics
 Duranti, Alessandro. 1997. Meaning in linguistic forms (parts 6.1-6.5). In
Linguistic Anthropology. Pp. 162-181. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
W Feb 1
Linguistic relativity: Does language influence how we perceive the world?
 Lucy, John & Suzanne Gaskins. 2003. Interaction of Language Type and
Referent Type in the Development of Nonverbal Classification Preferences. In
Language in Mind. Dedre Gentner & Susan Goldin-Meadow, eds. Pp. 465-492.
Boston: The MIT Press.
WEEK 3
M Feb 6
(A)
What are language ideologies (and where are they)?
 Friedrich, Paul. 1989. Language, Ideology and Political Economy. American
Anthropologist 91:295-313.
Woolard, Kathryn. 1998. Language ideology as a field of inquiry.
In LIPT. Pp. 3-27.
W Feb 8
(B)
Bourdieu on legitimate language, symbolic authority, and the marketplace
 Bourdieu, Pierre. 1991. The production and reproduction of legitimate
language. Pp. 43-52; Price formation and the anticipation of profits. Pp. 66–81. In
Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
NOTES
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II. LANGUAGE AND COLONIAL RULE IN THE
SPANISH, BRITISH, AND BELGIAN EMPIRES
WEEK 4
M Feb 13
(A)
Colonial rule, truth, and the production of knowledge
 Cummins, Thomas. 1995. From Lies to Truth: Colonial Ekphrasis and the Act
of Crosscultural Translation. In Reframing the Renaissance. Claude Farago, ed. Pp.
152 – 174. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Cohn, Bernard. 2000. Introduction. In CFK. Pp. 3-15.
W Feb 15
(B)
European writing and linguistic colonization
 Mignolo, Walter. 1992. On the Colonization of Amerindian Languages and
Memories: Renaissance Theories of Writing and the Discontinuity of the Classical
Tradition. Comparative Studies in Society and History 34(2): 301-330.
WEEK 5
M Feb 20
(A)
Language change under colonial rule: the case of Nahuatl
 Lockhart, James. 1994. Sightings: Initial Nahua Reactions to Spanish Culture.
In Implicit Understandings. Stuart B. Schwartz, ed. Pp. 218-248. Cambridge:
Cambride U. Press.
 Selections from the Florentine Codex, translated by James Lockhart: omens
and first encounter between Cortés and Moteuczoma.
W Feb 22
(B)
British colonial linguistic projects in India
Cohn, Bernard. 2000. The Command of Language and the Language of
Command. In CFK. Pp. 16-56.
WEEK 6
M Feb 27
Belgian colonial rule and the refashioning of Swahili in the Congo (I)
Fabian, Johannes. 1986. Chapters 1 and 3. Pp. 13-41, 70-91.
In LCP.
W Mar 1
(B)
Belgian colonial rule and the refashioning of Swahili in the Congo (II)
Fabian, Johannes. 1986. Chapters 4 (selection), 5, 6. In LCP.
Pp. 106-162.
POSITION
PAPER
DUE
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III. LANGUAGE, NATION-STATES & STATELESS COMMUNITIES
WEEK 7
M Mar 6
(A)
National identity and the “imagined communities” model
 Anderson, Benedict. 1991. Imagined Communities. Chapter 4. Pp. 47-65. New
York: Verso.
 Kelly, John, and Martha Kaplan. 2001. Nation and Decolonization: Toward a
New Anthropology of Nationalism. Anthropological Theory 1(4):419-437.
W Mar 8
(B)
Decolonization and the legacy of colonial languages: Zambia and Rapa Nui
Spitulnik, Debra. 1998. Mediating Unity and Diversity: The Production of
Language Ideologies in Zambian Broadcasting. In LIPT. Pp. 163–183
 Makihara, Miki. 2004. Linguistic Syncretism and Language Ideologies.
Transforming Sociolinguistic Hierarchy on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). American
Anthropologist 106(3):529-540.
Mar 10-26
SPRING BREAK!
WEEK 8
M Mar 27
(A)
Linguistic minorities and autonomous aspirations in Europe
Blommaert, Jan and Jef Verschueren. 1998. The Role of Language in European
Nationalist Ideologies. In LIPT. Pp. 189-210.
 Urla, Jacqueline. 1993. Cultural Politics in an Age of Statistics: Numbers,
Nations, and the Making of Basque Identity. American Ethnologist 20(4):818-843.
W Mar 29
Linguistic homogeneity and the state: China and Estonia
 Bulag, Uradyn. 2003. Mongolian Ethnicity and Linguistic Anxiety in China.
American Anthropologist 105(4):753-763.
 Feldman, Gregory. 2005. Culture, State and Security in Europe: The Case of
Citizenship and Integration Policy in Estonia. American Ethnologist 32(4):676-694.
WEEK 9
M Apr 3
(A)
Nostalgia & linguistic standards for oral vernaculars: Nahuatl and Corsican
1998. Hill, Jane. 1998. “Today There Is No Respect:” Nostalgia, “Respect,” and
Oppositional Discourse in Mexicano Language Ideology. In LIPT. Pp. 68-86.
 Jaffe, Alexandra. 1996. The Second Annual Corsican Spelling Contest:
Orthography and Ideology. American Ethnologist 23(4):816-835.
W Apr 5
(B)
Education, elites, and language development: India and Indonesia
Errington, J. Joseph. 1998. Indonesian(‘s) Development. On the State of a
Language of the State. In LIPT. Pp. 271-284.
 LaDousa, Chaise. 2005. Disparate Markets: Language, Nation, and Education
in India. American Ethnologist 32(3):460-478.
MIDTERM
EXAM
DUE
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WEEK 10
IV. LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES IN THE GLOBAL SPHERE
M Apr 10
(A)
Codeswitching, bilingualism, and multiple identities
 Gal, Susan. 1987. Codeswitching and Consciousness in the European
Periphery. American Ethnologist 14(4):637-653.
 Bailey, Benjamin. 2001. The Language of Multiple Identities Among
Dominican Americans. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 10(2):190-223.
W Apr 12
(B)
Language loss and revitalization
 Errington, Joseph. 2003. Getting Language Rights: The Rhetorics of Language
Endangerment and Loss. American Anthropologist 105(4):723-732.
 England, Nora C. 2003. Maya Language Revival and Revitalization Politics:
Linguists and Linguistic Ideologies. American Anthropologist 105(4):733-743.
WEEK 11
M Apr 17
(A)
French language politics and global language ideologies
 Heller, Monica. 1999. Alternative Ideologies of La Francophonie. Journal of
Sociolinguistics 3(3):336-359.
Sonntag, Selma. Language Politics in France, or How Do You Say “Junk Food”
in Breton? In LPGE. Pp. 37-58.
W Apr 19
(B)
The rise and fall (and rise?) of the “English-Only” movement in the U.S.
 Heath, Shirley Brice. 1992. Why No Official Tongue? In Language Loyalties.
James Crawford, ed. Pp. 20-31. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
 Crawford, James. 2000. Boom to Bust. Official English in the 1990s. In At
War Withy Diversity. J. Crawford, ed. Pp. 31-51. Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.
WEEK 12
M Apr 24
No class (instructor at conference)
W Apr 26
(B)
Global Englishes: India, South Africa, and Nepal
Sonntag, Selma. Subaltern Language Politics in India (pp. 59-78); Language
Politics in Democratic Transitions (pp. 79-111). In LPGE.
WEEK 13
M May 1
PRESENTATIONS: Group & individual projects
W May 3
PRESENTATIONS: Individual projects
WEEK 14
M May 8
PRESENTATIONS: Group & individual projects
May 10-16
READING PERIOD
WEEK 15
MAY 18
FINAL PROJECT/TAKE-HOME EXAM DUE AT 5 PM
GROUP
OR
PROJECT
OUTLINE
DUE