ANTH 14 - Language and Culture

Transfer Status

CSU/UC

Unit(s)

3.00

• Lecture: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
• Total: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)

Course Description: This course is a survey of the foundations of linguistic anthropology. Basic concepts, methods, and forms of analysis associated with linguistic anthropology are covered. Emphases will be placed on such areas of inquiry as the origins of human language and communication, language acquisition, how linguists describe and compare different language systems, how historical relationships among the world's languages are determined, understanding the use of language across social and situational contexts (sociolinguistics), and cross-cultural communication.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Identify, describe, and apply concepts associated with descriptive linguistic anthropology (e.g., comparative phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, discourse strategies, and culturally patterned language and communication).
2. Describe the basic methods, data collection techniques, and forms of analysis typically associated with ethnographic research as applied to linguistic anthropology.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of important theoretical arguments and models that pertain to linguistic anthropology, especially as these models address the assumed linkage between language and culture.
4. Apply their basic understanding of linguistic anthropological methods, concepts, forms of analysis, and theory to the solution of communication problems that emerge in situational and cross-cultural contexts (i.e. “Applied Linguistic Anthropology”).
5. Compare and contrast basic methods and assumptions of formal linguistics as juxtaposed to/with Linguistic Anthropology.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the foundations and historical development of Linguistic Anthropology.
7. Summarize various contemporary theoretical models used to explain the evolution and emergence of human language.

Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic

Lecture

1. Collaborative Group Work
2. Discussion
3. Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
4. Lecture
5. Multimedia Presentations
6. Reading Assignments

1. Exams/Tests
2. Quizzes
3. Research Projects
4. Papers
5. Homework
6. Written Assignments

Reading Assignments

1. Read chapter 2 of your text (it focuses on the historical development of linguistics as a discipline). Be able to contrast the general differences between formal linguistics and linguistic anthropology. How do the ideas of Noam Chomsky, for example, differ from those of William Hanks and John Lucy? Be prepared to discuss this in class.
2. Read the article dealing with ‘linguistic relativity.” While reading, contrast older views of this model with newer perspectives. For example, Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf viewed linguistic relativity as highly influential in terms of perceptual differentiation. Contrast their views with those more recent perspectives as outlined by John Gumperz and Guy Deutscher. Be prepared to present your findings/ position during class discussions.

Writing Assignments

1. Write a five page essay summarizing John Lucy’s views on Noam Chomsky’s model for language. Incorporate into your essay John Lucy’s analysis of Yucatec quantifiers and mass noun usage. How does Lucy’s body of data argue against Chomsky’s views on Universal Grammar?
2. Write a three page essay focusing on the relationship between language and culture. How might understanding this relationship provide a foundation for understanding cross-cultural communication? Include some discussion of structuralist theories and syntactic comparisons dealing with Athabascan/Apache verb process (described by Harry Hoijer and Keith Basso).

Out-of-Class Assignments

1. Record five minutes of a TV Sit-Com. Using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), transcribe 2 minutes of verbal text taken from the Sit-Com. Using the same transcription, discuss prosodic notation instead of IPA.
2. Observe a conversation in a public space or on a program. What information can you gather from the body language of the participants, and their use of the space they converse in? Be prepared to discuss this in class when we discuss our findings as a class.

Stanlaw, James, Nobuko Adachi, and Zdenek Salzman. (2018). Language, Culture and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. Westview, 7th. 9780813350608.

Catherine Anderson, Bronwyn Bjorkman, and Derek Denis. (2022). Essentials of Linguistics. OER, 2nd. Catherine Anderson, Bronwyn Bjorkman, and Derek Denis. (2022). Essentials of Linguistics. OER. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics2/.

Zero Cost Textbook

Language, Thought, and Reality https://archive.org/details/languagethoughtr00whor/page/n3/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater

Anthropology (Masters Required)