Paraphrase

1. Hi all, the semester is drawing to an end and I am thinking already about designing my courses for the Fall. I would like to ask for your thoughts and comments about what you have found most valuable, what you liked about the course in general. This will help me preserve its strengths and build on them for another semester of FYLI certification. Thank you in advance for your comments :)

I found the Culture in Communication course to be very interesting and gave me a solid foundation in the world of linguistic anthropology. What I found most valuable was learning the differences in language across cultures. The rice tradition in Nepal was very interesting, as was the anthropologist studying the culture without any numerical or grammatical systems in place.  If anything is to be improved, it would be easier access to due dates.  The format of the schedule on the syllabus was confusing. As I am a Senior, I felt the FYLI aspect of the course was somewhat unnecessary.  Other than these issues, I enjoyed listening to Professor Fenigman's lectures and style of speaking. I hope the course continues to educate on the importance of language in the world.

2. In his book, Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes, Everett describes a way of life, worldview, language and culture that are dramatically different from our own.  What are some of the most interesting things that you learned about the Pirahã from Everett's book? Why do you find them interesting? Do you think that Pirahã language and culture allows us to see ourselves from a different perspective? How so? 

Although you don't have to respond to all of the above questions and you are very welcome to take the conversation in other directions that may interest you, for maximum 10 bonus points credit make sure to include some specific information from the book; that is, do not limit your post to noting, for example, that the  Pirahã ways are different :). The forum will be open to 11:59 PM on the last day of class. 

The Piraha culture or people are very interesting in regards to conserving their beliefs within their traditions. The Piraha people have a lot of interesting things that I never knew about before, they live in an Amazonian part of brazil and are separated from everything. They practically live and rule the land and not just anybody can step foot on the land. To begin the Piraha people hunt for their meals and they do that by using certain tools for certain types of animals. The book states that bow and arrows are one of the most common tools used amongst them with the bow being over two yards in length and the arrow being two-three yards in length. These tools take about three days to make depending on what it will be used for. Aside from the fact that they hunt their food, the Pirahas live a “free spirit” type of life meaning that these individuals don’t focus on the past or future rather the present appreciating everything around them and it is also stated that these individuals do not believe in a certain god as most other cultures do. The Piraha also have their own form of language and ways of communicating with each other. Unlike our form of language, they do not have a structure for numbers, letters, or colors they simply communicate by stating the amount there is (few, many). I can go on about the difference in the life we live compared to the Pirahas however, that would not be enough to demonstrate how different their lives are. I do believe that the Piraha culture and language allows us to see their world from a different perspective because in the U.S we have a structure that we follow for almost everything but, it is a good to know that the Piraha people are okay with living that way and that they will do whatever it takes to keep their culture or traditional ways growing.

3. Researchers who study endangered languages (Ahearn, Chapter 11, and "The Linguists" video in "films" folder under "content"), report that it is notoriously difficult to prevent a language from disappearing even in cases where there is a real commitment to the language within the community of its speakers. Do you know an endangered language? What is lost when a language is lost? Do you have any thoughts about how its loss could be prevented?

In the past I’ve taken an Ethnic Studies class here at NAU and one of the languages that we discussed that has and is disappearing over time in the Cherokee and other Native American Languages. The things that are lost when the language begins to disappear is mainly the history about it and the spoken language. Once it starts to slowly fade out the history behind it also follows because as it is there already isn’t enough people who speak the language therefore, the history starts to be forgotten. I believe this is a very sad situation to occur among a population however, I believe that a loss could be prevented by keeping the language alive within the new and newer generations, making sure that the individuals learn the history and keep it going. It can also be prevented if they teach these individuals about the history or roots of the language that way these people can be proud of their roots and share it with other individuals who are not from or part of that culture. The more people use/ talk with the language that has a higher possibility of keeping it alive.

4. I was the only child and perhaps because of that I learned reading and writing very early. At first, I learned reading upside-down by watching my father read his newspaper in the evening and asking him about the headlines! 

In Chapter 7, Ahearn presents to us the research of Shirley Brice Heath on the socialization to literacy of preschoolers in three communities. How did you learn to read and write? Was your experience similar to that of the children from Maintown? From Roadville? From Trackton? Do you think the way literacy events and practices took place at your home helped you or hindered you when you started school? Make sure to address all the components of the topic in your post :)

I learned to read and write from these books that I use to read that ranged from easy to difficult. I remember every week trying to move on to the next book that got harder and harder and more complex woods in them. From reading those and understanding the words in there, I would be able to write and use words that I learned in the books into my own writing. My experience was similar to Trackton kids because it was my parents who I read the books to and they also bought me the books, but on purpose they did not help me a lot with reading them because they wanted me to work it out on my own by opening a dictionary and looking up what a word meant, which at the time as very frustrating, but looking back helped me out a lot with my vocabulary. The ways I learned to read and write defiantly helped me when I started going to school because I almost felt like I was a step ahead because I practiced a lot.

5. As you know from reading about Jane Hill's research on "Mock Spanish" (Ahearn, chapter 10), Hill argues that "Mock Spanish" usage (see chapter 10 for details) ends up racializing Spanish speakers, regardless of whether it has been the intention of the person using "Mock Spanish" or not. Rather, argues Hill, the usage is racist because it feeds into racializing ideologies and social institutions that support them. What do you think? 

For my point of view, I never thought that mock Spanish might be racist, but at the same time, I can see Hill argument that it feeds into racializing ideologies and social institutions. I believe that most people using and participating in mock Spanish, do not have the intention of it being racist. I think though, that because of this, it is important to educate those around us on the fact that the use of mock Spanish could be viewed as racist. I don’t see it as that big of a problem, but I believe that it is important to respect everyone, and be sure that when using Spanish, that to be sure you are not offending anyone with any intentions.

6. If you were to do research in linguistic anthropology, what topic would you like to do it on? How would you gather your data?

YOU CAN MAKE UR OWN TOPIC

If I were to do research, I would research why Canadians have such a distinct accent in certain words compared to Americans. I would collect data from old documents and research already done. I would also conduct interviews and do a participant observation. 

7. This forum is available to students who posted on "Research in Linguistic Anthropology (1)." Now that you are more familiar with linguistic anthropology, how would you change your oringinal project idea? Why?

YOU CAN MAKE UR OWN TOPIC

8. Watch "Speaking in Tongues" video ("content" => "films"). What are some of the arguments in favor of multilingualism in the United States? Why do some people feel that English should be the only language used and taught in schools? What do you think?

In the film "Speaking Tongues," there were arguments for and against multilingualism in the United States. The various arguments in favor of multilingualism believed that it was good for well roundedness in society as well as beneficial for any and all social interactions. On the other hand, however, some people have a strong regional pride; they believe that their specific dialect is superior to other dialects of English and others languages as a whole. This being said, they are not in support of multilingualism. Some people feel that English should be the only language taught in school which comes back to regional/national pride. They believe that children should focus on their countries native language rather than others'. I personally believe that every student should have to learn another language (in part at least). Learning a new language helps one connect with foreigners coming to the United States. If everybody has been in the shoes of an individual learning taking on a new language, there would be less discrimination and far more acceptance.

9. Note: Please answer all three questions to receive 10 bonus points.

View "The Linguists" film, available in the "films" folder, under "content" on BBLearn. In your post, answer the following questions:

1. List three reasons why we should be concerned about the disappearance of languages.

2. What factors, in your view, lead to the disappearance of languages?

3. Can the disappearance of languages be prevented? How?

1. List three reasons why we should be concerned about the disappearance of languages.

 First off, we should be concerned about the disappearance of languages because we begin to forget the roots and culture of the language and where it came from. Although language changes over time if we completely start to leave the important roots out over time new generations won't have that advantage that older generations did.  

Secondly, we should be concerned about the disappearance of languages because diversity plays a huge role in expanding our society therefore, if languages start to disappear then we will only be limited to what we know and what we've learned throughout the years.

Lastly, we should be concerned about the disappearance of the languages because not only does that die but all the knowledge behind it as well. People should have the ability to expand and learn within in each culture because that is another plus side when communicating with people. We won't have to rely on translators because if we try to learn a language we are already somewhat familiar with it and can get around certain conversations if we really need to.

2.  What factors, in your view, lead to the disappearance of languages?

 The factors in my opinion that lead to the disappearance of languages for example can be seen for example, when a child is growing up and maybe one of the parents is bilingual and the other isn't but the problem here is when the parent does not teach their child lets say "Spanish" therefore, the child grows up at a disadvantage because the parent did not give them the opportunity to learn a new language. In the end, that is a problem because then that child grows up not knowing the language if he/she does not try to learn it over time and then if they have kids that's another generation that might not have the advantage of being bilingual.

3. Can the disappearance of languages be prevented? How?

The disappearance of languages can be prevented by having the family keep the upcoming generations in tact with the language over the generations to come. Even if that does not happen the disappearance of language can be prevented by seeking out resources such as classes pertaining to that language