can you follow the assignment instructions carefully? ANTH

ANTH 213 – Language and Culture

Endangered Language Research

Assignment & Paper Guidelines

Proposal (Language + potential sources) due Friday, February 15th by midnight

Workshop Day, Wednesday, February 27th Come to class prepared to talk about your language.

Partial Draft due Friday, March 8th by midnight 1200-1600 words expected length

Final Draft due Friday, March 22nd by noon 2500-3200 words expected length

Format: 12t. font, 1.5- spaced; in-text citations and references in Chicago style.

Your final research paper should consist of the following components. Note: the partial draft due March 6th should include just the first two sections outlined below. All sources used in writing the draft should be cited in Chicago format and a reference section included in all assignments.

1. Introduction to the language you studied and its community of speakers.

a. Give some basic facts about your language, including: geographic location, speaker demographics, and level of endangerment.

b. What are some distinctive features of the language and/or the way it’s used—particular linguistic features, linguistic routines and practices, language ideologies held by speakers, etc.?

c. Briefly introduce the main themes or ideas you will focus on in your paper.

2. Describe the situation facing your chosen language and its community of speakers. While your sources—and your paper— may focus on a few specific aspects of the situation, you should include at least a little bit of information about each of the following aspects of its status (not necessarily in this order):

a. Historical – When did your language begin to shift? What historical events or trends have affected the community of speakers and the status of the language?

b. Social, economic, political, institutional and other factors affecting the status of the language and its speakers. What is the socioeconomic status of the community? Is there cultural prestige or stigma associated with the language? Is there official support for the language? Is it taught in schools? Etc.

c. How do particular behavioral patterns or practices of language use—whether in the context of everyday talk, intergenerational interaction, language socialization, language teaching in school or non-school settings, employment, encounters with the state, etc. – affect the process of language shift, endangerment or revitalization?

d. Is there an active language revitalization movement around the language? Has there been in the past? If yes, how successful has it been? What particular challenges and/or advantages does it face?

3. Compare the situation your language is facing with that of Kaska. As with the section above, you do not have to give equal weight to all of the possible points of comparison between your chosen language and Kaska. In fact, I expect you to focus on particular points of comparison that you find most interesting or enlightening. These should also be points that are well-covered in your sources, so that you have a strong basis for the comparison.

a. Are the factors that have led to endangerment similar or different, and how?

b. Are the social, economic, political and other factors affecting the language and its survival similar or different?

c. Do the cultural and linguistic practices and ideologies of the community affect the everyday use and intergenerational transmission of the language in ways that are similar to the Kaska case, or do they have different effects?

d. Are the factors affecting prospects for revitalization or revitalization efforts similar or different?

e. Summary: what do we learn about one (or more) aspects of the problem of language endangerment and revitalization in general through the comparison between the language you have studied and Kaska?

4. Conclusion. By way of summing up what you learned in the course of your research and your comparative analysis, you may take a one of two different approaches.

a. What have you learned about the problem of language endangerment and revitalization in general through your research, and through the comparison between the language you have studied and Kaska? Be as specific as possible.

b. Based on what you know about the situation of your chosen language and drawing from other readings we’ve done, what questions remain about the challenges facing your language and its long-term prospects? How would you propose to investigate these questions through a long-term, ethnographic study?

i. What features of the language and its community would you focus on?

ii. What would you do in order to answer your questions?

iii. Would you get involved, like Meek, or stand back and observe?

______________________________________________________________________________

Grading criteria. A successful paper will be one that meets all of the following criteria:

Content:

1. It will cover all of the areas listed in the assignment guidelines above.

2. It will draw on evidence and examples to support its ideas. Examples will be specific, effective and relevant and contextualized in relation to the community from which they are drawn.

3. It will demonstrate a strong grasp of the ideas covered in the course by relating specific cases to general concepts and appropriately using course vocabulary when relevant.

4. All evidence and examples will be properly attributed and their source cited.

5. While claims and arguments should be grounded in evidence drawn from sources, a good paper will demonstrate originality by putting ideas together in new ways, finding apt and non-obvious points of comparison, and by identifying new implications, practical applications or future directions for research.

Writing, Structure and Format:

1. The writing will be clear and appropriate for an academic assignment.

2. The ideas will be coherently and logically organized with well‐ developed paragraphs and effective transitions.

3. It will be well-edited with few errors in grammar, punctuation or spelling.

4. Sources will be cited in the correct style with complete reference information provided.