Anthropology paper

Linguistic Anthropology Language and Culture

Today we’ll be talking about...

Frat Boys

Phineas and Ferb

Disney Movies

Spam Accounts Friends ...and more

What is linguistic anthropology? ● An ethnography of speech ● A study of human interactions through language ● Analysis of language, symbols, and gestures used in human communication ● Assessment of the ways in which individuals construct their identities

through speech ● Assessment of the ways in which social hierarchy is constructed through

language

Tools... ● Lexicon: a set of words used by an individual or group; a local vocabulary. ● Index: a word, symbol, or action which stands for a larger idea. ● Paralinguistic cues: postural, gestural, or facial modes of communication

(can also include intonation, tempo, volume, pauses, interruption). ● Interlocutor: someone with whom one has a conversation. ● Speech act or speech event: the term used by linguistic anthropologists

to refer to a conversation or any interaction involving speech (greetings, jokes, speeches, discussions).

● Discourse: the term used by linguistic anthropologists to refer to conversation or symbolic communication between interlocutors.

How linguistic anthropologists analyze speech: Gail Jefferson’s “transcription conventions”

From Kiesling, “Now I Gotta Watch What I Say”

What does this help us observe? ● The performance of age, gender, race, ethnicity, and other forms of

identity through language ● Whether or not someone positions himself as an authority, subordinate,

or equal to his interlocutors in discourse

How? Let’s find out...

An ethnography of speech: the use of silence in Apache culture (Basso 1970) In the reading, in what situations do the Apache keep silent?

An ethnography of speech: the use of silence in Apache culture (Basso 1970) In the reading, in what situations do the Apache keep silent?

1. Meeting strangers 2. Courtship 3. First seeing a family member after a long absence 4. Being “cussed out”/shouted at/criticized 5. Being with people who are sad/grieving 6. Being with people “for whom they sing” (who is undergoing a ceremony

for healing of an illness, but is not yet healed)

An ethnography of speech: the use of silence in Apache culture (Basso 1970) The linguistic anthropologist’s job: put together the pieces and look for common themes

What do these situations have in common?

An ethnography of speech: the use of silence in Apache culture (Basso 1970) The linguistic anthropologist’s job: put together the pieces and look for common themes

What do these situations have in common?

Social ambiguity or uncertainty

Language Ideology What do we assume about people based on how they talk? These assumptions constitute language ideology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjiNa3wIdNM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8wgXRNYcPM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NAzwLI37ac

https://youtu.be/6piv99N-WP4

Language Ideology and Code-Switching Studies show that Americans who speak a dialect or possesses a lexicon which is associated with femininity, youth, immigrant status, or minority race, they engage in code-switching when moving between different social groups.

Code-switching happens when a speaker changes the lexicon, style, or even dialect used in speech when shifting between different interlocutors or situations.

● Eliminating features of youth vernacular when speaking with older adults ● Lowering the pitch of speech, using direct language when speaking to men ● Transitioning between AAE and SAE depending on the race of the audience ● Switching between SAE and elements of one’s native tongue

Two Dialects In American English Linguistic anthropologists recognize two major dialects of American English.

AAE (African American English) or AAVE (African American Vernacular English)

SAE (Standard American English)

In order to be recognized as a dialect, all speakers should agree on syntactical rules, as in AAE.

Source: Janet McIntosh, Brandeis University

Source: Janet McIntosh, Brandeis University

If AAE follows a set of grammatical rules, why is it considered “improper English” rather than “proper AAE?”

If AAE follows a set of grammatical rules, why is it considered “improper English” rather than “proper AAE?” It does not fit into the grammatical standards of SAE, which is recognized as the most correct form of English by American hegemony.

Language ideology associated with AAE: African Americans are less educated or intelligent than White Americans.

Thus, code-switching is advantageous.

Linguistic Markers of Women WOMEN USE MORE: PMRs (positive minimal responses like “uh-huh, “mhm,” “wow,” “that’s tough,” head nod, etc.), tag questions, hedges, questions, polite speech, dynamic intonation contours (including question intonation).

MEN USE: less of all the above …and more declarative speech, more uncooperative interruptions, etc. (US)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGoC8FTLKSI

Do you code-switch? Different linguistic markers - style, lexicon, paralinguistic cues - serve as indexes, or symbols of the speaker’s identity.

You may use certain words, or make certain choices about the pitch and speed of your speech, to index your identity as a woman, a Black person, a young person, an educated person, etc.

What linguistic features do you use to index your youth (or use speech to show your generational membership)? Ex. slang, pitch-bending or “question intonation,” “medialect” (language from social media)

IN-CLASS ACTIVITY: In groups or alone, develop a lexicon of “youth language.”

Metalinguistics Commentary on our own use of language: metalinguistics

A metalinguistic phenomenon: members of the “Millennial” (Gen Y) or “Gen Z” generations commenting on their use of trendy language and “medialect” (language derived from social media) using a “Finsta” or “Spam Account” on Instagram

(Mocking or exaggerated use of medialect)

But are emojis part of language use? Emoji - The New Global Language

Language Ideology and Linguistic Gatekeeping How can language be used to let certain groups in and keep other groups out?

Types of language: “arcane” language used by professionals vs. “colloquial” language used by lay people

Use The Flesch-Kincaid Scale to test readability http://www.readabilityformulas.com/flesch-grade-level-readability-formula.ph p

Mary Bucholtz: “The Whiteness of Nerds” (2001) What is “superstandard English,” and how is it associated with…

a) whiteness, and b) nerds?

“Anthropological research has shown that identities that are “not white enough” may be racially marked. Yet marking may also be the result of being “too white.” California high school students who embrace one such white identity, nerds, employ a superstandard language variety to reject the youth culture norm of coolness. These practices also ideologically position nerds as hyperwhite by distancing them from the African American underpinnings of European American youth culture.”

Mary Bucholtz: “The Whiteness of Nerds” (2001) “One characteristic of superstandard English is its lack of current slang. By avoiding particular linguistic forms, speakers can separate themselves from the social category indexically associated with such forms; thus the absence of slang in nerds’ speech symbolically distanced them from their cooler peers. When I asked nerdy students to discuss current slang, which other students usually found the most enjoyable part of the interviews I conducted, most expressed dismay at the task and professed unfamiliarity with the terms (one of the rare instances when the nerdy teenagers I spoke to were willing to admit to ignorance). They also removed themselves from the slang terms they did know in various ways, such as providing literal, nonslang definitions for the slang terms I presented to them on slips of paper (Example 1) or offering nonslang terms that convey the same meaning (Example 2).”

Who has the floor? Stance taking: positioning oneself in discourse…

As superior or inferior, certain or uncertain, a professional or a layperson...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIGaVUO1kLI

http://digg.com/video/another-great-wisdom-tooth-video

Who has the floor? Aged stances

What age groups have the floor in discourse?

Western Non-Western

Does language shape thought? Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: the language we speak shapes how our brains process information. Is it true?

Boroditsky TED Talk

Map of genders in speech

Ubang society - gendered speech

How do you say “smartphone” in Lakota?

Ambiguous Phrases “You’re good”

“Help yourself”

Thanksgiving Break Assignment I will be gone on: Wednesday 11/20, Monday 11/25, and Wednesday 11/27.

Instead of coming to class, you will turn in your class work on Blackboard.

The Thanksgiving Assignment will be worth 20 points, or 4 class day grades: one for each day of class canceled + an extra day of credit.

There are three options for the Thanksgiving Assignment: a project based on today’s material, a medical ethnography, and a paper on race.

Please see the “Thanksgiving Assignment” page in Blackboard for specific guidelines, instructions, and grading criteria.

Exemplification Paper #3 Due date: Wednesday, December 4, 2019 (the last day of class before finals)

Prompt: Choose any one concept from this course and propose one clear example of a way to apply this concept, based on our discussion of applied anthropology. Is there a problem in society you would like to see fixed? Is this a healthcare disparity, a discrimination problem, a class-based inequality, or an issue with a system like hospitals or public schools? You can choose a problem in your neighborhood or town, in another locality in the US, or abroad, that you think anthropology could be useful in solving. (500 words + )