ANT 3620 (2471) Language and Culture Spring 2008
Time & Place:Mon . periods 9,10 (4:05 - 6:00), Wed. period 10 (5:10 – 6:00)
Instructor:Prof. Gerald F. Murray
Office hours:(Grinter 331) M-W 1:00 – 2:30
Phone/email392-3830 X 302
Website:http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/murray
Teaching AssistantAlicia Peon
Office hours: M, Tu 11 – 12:30 Turlington B329.
Course content and objectives
This will be an introductory course to anthropological linguistics. Students will learn how to identify the major universal structures of human language, how to evaluate the possible evolutionary origins of language, how to trace the changes that come over languages through time, how children master their first language, how to identify the multiple uses (“functions”) that language serves in human cognitive and social life, and how to analyze the impact that the written word has had on human cultures.
In the first part of the course we will go back in time and deal with the possible evolutionary origin of languages. Students will then be introduced into standard linguistic techniques for analyzing certain basic universal structures found in every language: phonology (sounds), morphology (words),. and syntax (sentences). In later weeks students will learn how to analyze phonological and morphological differences among different dialects of American English (e.g. Southern English “y’all”, Bostonian English “pahk the cah”. ) They will also learn what produces a “foreign accent” in English or in other languages. Among other topics to be covered are the evolution of language families, the birth of new languages and the death of old, and the development of language in the individual.
We will also deal with the emergence of special languages such as the Creole languages of the Caribbean. We will also examine whether “Ebonics” and “Spanglish” are simply dialects of English and Spanish or should be classified rather as different languages. In the final weeks of the course students will learn to identify the multiple functions of language in human life: conversational strategies, information transfer, establishing solidarity, insults and other verbal aggressions, commercial advertising and political propaganda. In addition to matters covered in the textbook we will also look at language as it relates to three life-spheres that are of particular interest to anthropologists: kinship, race, and religion. As a parallel concern, readings in this section will focus on the functions and transforming impact of writing on human life.
Because of the great number of topics, our coverage will have to be selective. The course is intended to motivate students to pursue individual topics in greater depth.
Readings. There are three required books, available at Orange and Blue Textbooks 309 N.W. 13th St. (Books in Print indicates that the total cost for the three books will be under $60.)
How Language Works, by D. Crystal.
How Babies Talk, by A. Gorlinkoff and R. Hirsh
The Alphabet Effect: Media Ecology and… Western Civilization, R. Logan
The first book consists of 73 brief, lively, and incisive chapters of 6 or 7 pages each. This will be read throughout the semester, selecting chapters according to the lecture topics. The second and third books will be read in order. There will be an average of about 65 to 70 pages of reading a week, and exams will probe student knowledge of the content of the assigned readings.. . Students unwilling to spend three hours a week in careful reading for the course will have a hard time passing exams. If the requirement to absorb carefully the content of 70 pages of reading a week strikes you as excessive, this is NOT the course for you.
Exams. Because of the large number of students anticipated (150 maximum), exams will be objective and computer graded. The semester will be divided into three periods and there will be an in-class exam at the end of each period. The exams will be based on the classroom lectures and the readings assigned for that particular quarter, though an occasional question from a preceding section may be asked. As many as half of the questions on each exam may come from readings, even though the matter may not have been discussed in class. All students must take all four exams.
Tentative exam dates. Feb. 4th, March 24, April 23. The exam dates may be shifted slightly. If so students will be given a week’s notice.
Papers. Students with near perfect attendance in the first semester period may substitute one 2,000 word paper for the second exam. Students interested in this paper option should read the “procedures” on the course webpage and negotiate an acceptable topic, via email, with the instructor.
The final semester average will be the average of the four exams. If a student skips an exam without prior authorization, the grade for that exam is 0. No makeups will be given unless there is serious prior justification for missing the exam. Attendance adjustments for all three semester periods will be factored into the final grade. The grading curve is as follows.
90 + = A. 86-89 = B+ 80-85 = B 76-79 = C+ 70-75 = C 66-69 = D+ 60–65 = D 0-59 = E
Attendance. Regular attendance is expected and will be monitored with a sign-in system. A bonus point will be added to the final semester average for perfect attendance in any of the three periods of the semester. That permits a maximum of three bonus points added to the final average. Points will be subtracted from the final semester average for more than one unexcused absence during each quarter. Before signing up for this class, please read the following sentence. Students who miss more than three weeks of classes – i.e. are absent for 10 or more periods during the semester -- will not receive credit for the course, even if one or more of the absences have been excused. They should either withdraw from the course or be prepared for an automatic E. Students who receive permission to miss class for a religious, athletic, or personal reason will not lose points for those absences. But they are still bound by the three-week rule. Since Monday sessisons last for two periods, a Monday absence counts as two missed periods. For more detail see “procedures” on my website. Students uncomfortable with, or opposed to, attendance requirements should not sign up for this course.
Class procedures. On my website I have posted procedures for:
Sending me emails.
Arranging to visit me during office hours.
Conduct during exams.
Calculating attendance bonuses or deductions.
You should read these instructions carefully. There are point deductions for violations.
Lecture Topics and Readings
Jan 7,9 Language and animal communication. How is human language similar to and different from the communication systems of primates and other animals.
Read: How Language Works, chaps. 1-3, 25, 26
How babies talk, Intro, Chap. 1
Jan. 14Origins of human language. At what point in our evolutionary history did our ancestors develop language? And why? Parallels between the evolutionary development of language in the species and the maturational development of language in the individual member of the species.
Read: How Language Works, chaps 27, 54,
How babies talk, chaps. 2, 3
Jan 16-30
The universal structures of language: Phonology, morphology, and syntax. The universal, shared structures of language systems are internalized by individuals as rules to be followed. What rules do we follow (unconsciously) when we make sounds (phonology), construct words (morphology), and put together sentences (syntax)?
Read: How Language Works, chaps 4 – 12, 28
Exam 1 Feb. 4
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Feb. 4,6 Language change and language families. Why are there so many language families and individual languages today? What causes languages, like individual humans, to change and eventually to die, sometimes leaving daughter languages behind, but sometimes not.? Are new languages still evolving? Which existing languages are endangered or moribund?
Read: How Language Works chaps 52, 55 – 62, 69 – 73.
Feb. 11,13 Evolution of English. What special historical processes led to the emergence of modern English? Why is English spelling so irregular?
Read: How Babies Talk,chaps 4, 5
Feb. 18-25Dialects and styles. How does American English differ from British English? How and why do Southerners speak differently from Northerners? Is female speech different from male speech? If so, how and why?
Read: How Language Works chaps 45-51
March 3,5Pidgins, creoles, and ethnic dialects. What linguistic effects did African slavery have? What new types of languages – such as Haitian Creole – arose in slave groups? What is Ebonics? What is Spanglish? Are these distinct languages or dialects of other languages?
Read: How Language Works, chaps. 13 – 15, 53, 63 – 68
How Babies Talk, Chap. 6
March 8 – 16 Spring Break
March 17-19 The structure and manipulation of meaning: The science of semantics. What is “meaning”? How can language be used, not only to transmit information to listeners, but also to manipulate their emotions?
Read: How Language Works chaps. 29-40, 53
How Babies Talk, Chaps. 7, 8
Exam 2 March 24
March 26How to have a conversation: The science of pragmatics. Only humans “have conversations” with each other. What are the subtle and generally unconscious rules that they follow? Why are some people better at conversations than others?
Read: How Language Works chaps 41 – 44
The Alphabet Effect, chaps. 1-3
M.31-Apr2Writing and its impacts. What is writing and when and where did it emerge? What are the different types of writing systems that exist? What impact has writing had on the evolution of language? What impact can writing possibly have on the survival of endangered languages?
Read:
How Language Works chaps 16-24
The Alphabet Effect, chaps. 4-6
Apr.7,9Language, kinship, and race. Human kinship systems are intimately connected to language – i.e. to our ability to label people as family or non-family, and to subcategorize the family group into different sub-groups. As for race, scientifically speaking there are no clearly bounded races within the human species. “Races” are to some degree created or sustained by language; that is, they are a product of culturally determined labeling practices. We will examine how cultures differ in their kinship and racial labeling practices.
Read: The Alphabet Effect, chaps. 7-12
Apr.14,16Language and religion. We will examine how humans use language to portray, contact, and influence the invisible world of spirit beings. We will look at the language and other vehicles in which God and other spirits are believed to communicate with humans, and how humans in turn attempt to communicate with and influence the spirit world through prayers, incantations, blessings, curses, and other linguistic vehicles.
Read: The Alphabet Effect, chaps. 13-18
April 21. No class.
Exam 3 April 23
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