Anthropology 28: Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology
Prof. Jennifer Dickinson
Williams 301 T/Th 9:30 to 10:45
Mailbox: Anthropology office – 509 Williams Hall
Office: 514A Williams
Office phone: 656-0837
Office Hours: I am available after class for brief questions, by appointment, or in my office
T and Th 11:30-12 and and W 12-2
Email:
Course website:
Course Description:
This course offers students an introduction to the field of linguistic anthropology, which examines the close relationship between language and culture. Focusing on work that has been influential in anthropology, we will consider several key questions: How is language distinctly human, and how does it relate to other forms of communication? What is the relationship between the language we speak and the way we see, understand, and act in the world? Beyond communicating “facts” to one another, what role does language play in the way we live our lives as cultural beings? How do conversations, language choice, language learning, and so forth, contribute to the way people recognize and act in accordance with larger cultural patterns and values in society? Throughout the course, language as people actual use it, imagine it, or talk about it, will be our primary topic for reading and discussion as we draw on examples from languages and cultures throughout the world. Among the topics we will consider from the perspective of language and culture are: linguistic structure and cultural expression; language and gender, language and power, bilingualism, and language as a means of social action.
Course Requirements:
Reading:
There are two textbooks for this course, available for purchase at the UVM Bookstore and on reserve in the Bailey-Howe Library:
Ottenheimer, Harriet. The Anthropology of Language
Agar, Michael Language Shock: Understanding the Culture of Conversation
In addition, several REQUIRED articles have been placed on electronic reserve through the library. To find the course reserves, go to and click on “Course Reserves.” You may also go to the course website, where direct links to the library readings are available ( Either way, you will have to log in with your netid and password. You can print the articles at the library directly for 7 cents a page.
In general, reading should be done in the order indicated in the syllabus, and all of the reading should be completed by class time on Thursday. All of the readings on the syllabus are required.
Writing assignments:
Over the course of the semester, students will write 4 two-page essays on assigned topics related to the readings. One of the assignments will include some library research. Detailed instructions for each assignment are posted on the course website and handed out in class. ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE IN CLASS. Late assignments will have points deducted from the grade. THE PROFESSOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST, STOLEN, OR CORRUPTED ASSIGNMENTS. The assignment due dates are: 9/20; 10/4; 10/18;11/15. Copying/plagiarism will not be tolerated and instances of academic dishonesty will be pursued, with the possible outcome of an XF grade – failure due to academic dishonesty – for the course.
Exams:
*******THERE WILL BE NO FINAL EXAM FOR THIS CLASS.*******
There will bethree in-classexams, each covering approximately 1/3 of the material from the course, and each worth 25-26% of your final grade. The exams will not be cumulative. Students will have one full class period to complete each of the exams. Exams may include multiple choice, short answer/definitions, and short essays. Exams will include materials from both readings and lectures. For this reason, students are strongly encouraged to attend lectures and take to advantage of office hours and review sessions when preparing for exams. Review sheets will be available on the course website at least one week before the exam.
Grading Policy
Grades will be calculated as follows (NO “extra credit” will be given):
Grade % / Total Points**Assignment 1 on 9/20 / 6% / 60
Assignment 2 on 10/4 / 6% / 60
Assignment 3 on 10/18 / 6% / 60
Assignment 4 on 11/15 / 6% / 60
Exam #1on 9/25 / 25% / 250
Exam #2on 10/23 / 25% / 250
Exam #3 on 12/6 / 26% / 260
Total: 100% 1000
** When discussing your grades with me, please keep in mind that a single “point” on an assignment or exam is only worth 1/10% (1/1000th) of your final course grade. Changing your grade on an assignment or exam by one or two points will not significantly affect your final grade. To improve your final grade in the course, I encourage you to come discuss your work with me in office hours to determine how you can improve your overall performance on exams. Late or missing assignments will also negatively impact your final grade. I am always happy discuss your current performance/grade in the class during my open office hours or by appointment.
The following grade ranges will be used in this class. Please note that it is NOT my policy to “round up” from one letter grade range to another (e.g. C+ to B-). This is especially true for students with a B+ average, which will NOT be rounded to a final grade of “A-“
0 to 59 F 60-63 D- 64-66 D 67-69 D+ “Failing” or “Poor”
70-73 C- 74-76 C 77-79 C+ “Fair”
80-83 B- 84-86 B 87-89 B+ “Good”
90-93 A- 94-98 A 99-100 A+ “Excellent”
Course Website
Copies of this syllabus, scheduled assignments, exam review sheets and in-class handouts, as well as some practice multiple-choice questions and a weekly list of class readings are all available on the course website: At the beginning of each week I will post a summary of the PowerPoint slides to be used in lecture on our site. Copies of the slides will also be available from the secretary in 509 Williams Hall for 10 cents a page. The PowerPoint slides are a good resource for studying, but I can not guarantee that they will cover all the information that appears on the exams. I strongly recommend that you attend lectures and keep up with the readings.
Schedule of topics, readings and assignments:
Week 1 –August 28, 30: Introduction: What is Linguistic Anthropology?
Topics: What is linguistic anthropology and how is it related to other fields like cultural anthropology, linguistics, and cognitive science? Areas of linguistics.
Readings: Ottenheimer – Chapter 1 “Linguistic Anthropology” (pp. 1-12)
Language Shock – “Culture Blends” (pp. 13-30)
Week 2 –September 4, 6: Linguistic Form
Topics: Why do linguistic anthropologists study linguistic form?
How do we identify the components of a language? What are phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics?
Readings: Ottenheimer – Chapters 3 “Sounds of Language” and 4 “Words and Sentences” (pp. 33-88)
Language Shock – “The Circle and the Field” (pp. 49-60)
Film: The Human Language Evolves
Week 3 – September 11,13 Language Origins and Nonverbal Communication
Topics: Is human language different from other kinds of animal communication systems? Why and how did human language evolve? What can chimp language studies tell us?
Readings: Ottenheimer – Chapter 6 “Nonverbal Communication”Chapter 7 “Writing and Literacy” and Chapter 8 “How and When is Language Possible?” pp. 120-202
***Assignment #1 on Neologisms is due THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20th IN CLASS
Week 4 – September 18, 20Language Change and Social Change
Topics: How and why do languages change? What is an “endangered language”? What are “pidgins” and “creoles”?
Readings: Ottenheimer – Chapter 9 “Language Change” (pp. 205-245)
[ONLINE RESERVE]Lee, Margaret. 2001. “Out of the Hood and into the News: Borrowed Black Verbal Expressions in a Mainstream Newspaper.” American Speech 74(4): 369-388
[ONLINE RESERVE] Bonner, D. 2001 “Garifuna Children’s Language Shame” In Language in Society 30:1 pp. 81-96.
Film: Next Year’s Words
***Exam #1 WILL BE TUESDAY September 25th
Week 5 – September 27: Language and Worldview
Topics: What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis? Can the way we talk about experiences actually create experience?
Readings: Ottenheimer – Chapter 2 “Language and Culture” (pp. 14-31)
Language Shock – “Cultural Signifieds” and “Similarities and Differences”
pp. 61-88
[ONLINE RESERVE]Excerpt from Leanne Hinton’s Flutes of Fire: Essays on California Indian LanguagesBerkeley: Heyday Books. Pp. 60-69
****ASSIGNMENT #2 on Cultural Metaphors is due THURSDAY 10/4 IN CLASS
Week 6 – October 2, 4: Language, Dialect and Community
Topics: What is the difference between a language and a dialect? What is a speech community? Is linguistic variation good or bad?
Readings: Language Shock – “Situations” and “Culture” (pp. 89-139)
[ONLINE RESERVE]Bailey, Benjamin. 1997. “Communication of Respect in Interethnic Service Encounters.” Language in Society, 26(3), 327-56.
Film: American Tongues
Week 7 October 9, 11: Language as Social Action
Topics: How can language use be a form of social action? What is conversational collusion, and why do we need it?
Readings: Ottenheimer – Chapter 5 “Language in Action” (pp. 89-118)
Language Shock – “Speech Acts” (pp. 140-163)
[ONLINE RESERVE] Basso, K. “Chapter 2: Stalking with Stories: Names, Places and Moral Narratives among the Western Apache” From Wisdom Sits in Places.
*** ASSIGNMENT #3 on Collusion/Socialization is due Thursday October 18th ***
Week 8 – October 16, 18 Language Socialization
Topics: What is language socialization? Is collusion part of socialization, and if so, how? What do we learn when we are socialized into a group? How can socialization contribute to language death or language revitalization?
Readings: Language Shock – “Speech Act Lumber and Paint” (pp164-191)
“Coherence” (pp. 192-210)
[ONLINE RESERVE] Ochs, E. and Schieffelin, B. 2001 “Language Acquisition and Socialization” In A. Duranti, ed. Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader. London: Blackwell. 263-301
Films: “Esther Shea: The Bear Stands Up,” and “The Right to Be Mohawk”
***** Exam #2 WILL BE TUESDAY OCTOBER 23rd
Weeks 9 and 10– October 25, 30 and Nov. 1: Language Ideology and Social Difference
Topics: What is language ideology? How does ideology “work”?
NOVEMBER 1 there will be an in-class presentation on the library assignment
Readings: Language Shock – “Variations on a Frame” pp. 211-241
[ONLINE RESERVE] Hill, J. 1993 “Is it really ‘no problemo’?: Junk Spanish and Anglo Racism.” in Salsa 1, Proceedings of the first annual symposium about language and society. Austin: U. TX pp. 1-12
[ONLINE RESERVE] Nevins, Eleanor. 2004. “Learning to Listen: Confronting Two Meanings of Language Loss in the Contemporary White Mountain Apache Speech Community” Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 14(2): 269-288.
Film: Excerpts from the Muppets; Excerpts from “Do You Speak American?”
Week 11 – November 6, 8 Language and Race in the US
Topics: What is AAVE? Is AAVE a different language, or an English dialect?
Readings: [ONLINE RESERVE] Lippi-Green, Rosina. 1997. “The Real Trouble with Black English” in English with an Accent. New York: Routledge. Pp. 176-201.
[ONLINE RESERVE] Cutler, Cecilia. 2003 “Keepin’ It Real”: White Hip-Hoppers’ Discourses of Language, Race and Authenticity. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 13:2 pp. 211-233
****Assignment #4, LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT is due Thursday Nov. 15th IN CLASS
Week 12 – Nov. 13, 15: Language and Gender across Cultures
Topics: Are there “male” and “female” forms of speech, and if so are these biologically determined? Are stereotypes of male and female speech the same across all cultures?
Readings: [ONLINE] Kulik, D. 1998 “Anger, Gender, Language Shift and the Politics of Revelation in a Papuanew GuineanVillage” In Schieffelin, Woolard, and Kroskrity, eds. Language ideologies: Practice and Theory. Oxford: University Press. Pp. 87-102
[ONLINE] Tannen, Deborah 1994 “How to Give Orders like a Man” New York Times Magazine. August 28, 1994. Pp 46-49
Week 13 November 20, 22 – NO CLASS THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 14 – November 27, 29 Language and Identity in Global Perspective
Topics: Is monolingualism really the norm? How do multilingual societies negotiate which languages are used in which contexts?
Readings: Ottenheimer Chapter 10 “Doing Linguistic Anthropology” (pp. 248-253 only)
[ONLINE RESERVE] Zentella, A. 1997. “The Hows and Whys of ‘Spanglish’” in Growing Up Bilingual. London: Blackwell. pp. 80-114
[ONLINE RESERVE] Spitulnik, D. 1998. “Mediating Unity and Diversity: The Production of Language Ideologies in Zambian Broadcasting.” In B. Schieffelin, K. Woolard and P. Kroskrity, eds. Language Ideologies: Practice and Theory. Oxford: University Press. pp. 163-188.
Film: Multilingual Hong Kong
Week 15 – December 4, 6 Wrap-up and Review, Exam #3
Reading: Language Shock – “Sailors and Immigrants” (pp. 242-258)
December 4: Finish week 14 topics and review topics for last exam
DECEMBER 6: EXAM #3 IN CLASS
REMINDER: THERE WILL BE NO FINAL EXAM FOR THIS CLASS!!!!
Have a great break!