1.

Language, society and culturePresentation Transcript

1. Language, society and cultureBy Camilo Saavedra 2. LanguagevariationSpeakerSituationFactorsthat come fromthesituationorcontext of communicationFactorsthatbelongtothe speaker, thepersonwhospeaks a certaindialectsfeatures

3. AnthropologySociologyPsichologySociolinguisticsLanguageSocietyImporta nttoform social organisations

4. Social DialectsClassVariety of languageusedbygroupsdefinedaccordingtoEducationAgeSexOtherparamet ers

5. PrestigeOvertprestigeCovertprestigePositivelyvalued in social communitiesNon-standardforms and ways of speakingNotveryvaluedbythelargercommunity

6. Importantfactorsto determine social varietyordialectUpperclass and more educatedTendto use more complicatedformsSocial Class and EducationTendtosimplifytheyway of speakingLowerclass and lesseducatedDiffer in form and pronounciation

7. Are alsofactorsthat can determine languagevarietyordialectEldersmayspeak a bit differentfromyoungersAgeAge and

GenderGenderFemalespeakersMalespeakersTendto use more sofisticatedlanguageTendto use simplerways of speaking 8. Iseasytoidentifypeoplesbelonging placeEthnicBackgroundImportant factor to determine dialectsPeople living in a place thatisnotwhere he/shewasborn has a specialway of speaking 9. Differentgeographicalareasmayaffectthelanguagecausing a variation of a language 10. IdiolectA personal dialectorway of speaking a languageVoicequalityPhysicalstateHelpidentifyinganindividualsspeechfeat ures 11. SpokenWrittenStyleInformalFormalA talkingwith a friendA job interview 12. JargonA variationaccordingto use in specificsituationsRegisterTechnicalvocabularyassociatedwith a specialactivityorgroupLegalReligious

2. Language, society and culturePresentation Transcript

1. Language, society and culture Yule, G (1996) The study of language UK, Cambridge University Press By Ingrid Bello A 2. How the language is influenced by society and culture? Speak Regional accent or dialect Social factor But also Not only How to Is influenced 3. Scientific discipline researching the language that is actual y used by native speaker or foreigners It`s a branch of linguistics which investigates the individual and social variation of language It`s concentrates on variations arising from social various factors It`s study of language in social

contexts such as social groups or speech communicatives It has to do with the inter-relationships between language and society It has strong connections to anthropology 4. varieties of language used by groups defined according to class, education, age, sex, and a number of other social parameters Overt prestige: Positively valued ways of speaking in social communities Covert prestige: non-standard forms and expressions by certain sub-groups Interaction between social values and language use 5. Factors in the investigation of social dialects Not only the education influences in dialects surveys for example people who have left their education system tend to adopt forms which are not frequenty in the speech but also social class is a issue such as in occupation and socioeconomic status, the most common differences are in pronunciation 6. Variation according to age is most noticeable across both of them, time span Variation according to gender: Female tend to use more prestigious forms and speak their personal feelings and male tend to use with the same general social background , non-personal topics Examples: (M)I done it, it growed and he ain`t / (F) I did it, it grew and he isn`t Examples: (G) icebox, wireless, rules, sucks /(Y) we`re getting ready, he`s like, let`s go 7. Any society, diferences in speech may come about because of different ethnic background. The speech of recent immigrants, and often of their children, will contain identifying features Social point of view: Its critized by educators as bad speech (BEV) Examples: absence of the copula they mine You crazy Use double negative constructions he don`t know nothing 8. Each person used a personal dialect of individual speaker of language and it`s called idiolect A idiolect is the linguistic system of one person differing in some details from of other speakers of the same dialect of

language Factors: Voice quality Physical state Social factors These contribute to the identifying features in an individual`s speech 9. Register It`s according formal level language and according to the situation, it`s determined by relation of speakers E.G esta noche ir al culto Reference to Evangelical people Style It could be very informal or formal, depend on the situation E.G a interview for get a job a football game Jargon Technical vocabulary associated with a special activity or group E.G The Snodgrass Muff Bleeders, bloops, and squibs Play byplay Reference to baseball Fall 2012

LANGUAGE in CULTURE and SOCIETY

Introduction to the Study of Language in Culture and Society

ANT 325m (31220),

LIN 373 (40805), SOC 352m (45635)

TTH 11-12:30 in WAG 420 Instructor: Brian Stross

bstross@mail.utexas.edu Office Hours TTH 12:30-1:30 & by appt in SAC 4.124

Web Page: http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/ant325m_files/ant325m.htm

FINAL EXAM Wednesday, December 12, 7:00-10:00 pm in WAG 420

Goals - The goals of this course are to introduce students to the study of language use from a sociocultural perspective and to develop skills (through fieldwork and data analysis) in analyzing the role that language plays in the structure and interpretation of human interaction. Students will collect language data from a "speech community" in a setting of their choice, and will use this data: 1) collectively as a basis for examining and questioning concepts discussed in lectures and readings, such as ethnicity, identity, power, and gender as they are constructed through language, and 2) individually as a basis from which to generate an analytical paper, which shows an understanding of the major ideas covered in the course but which is specific to student interests. Description - This course is an upper division introduction to topics in linguistic anthropology. Languages, like other communication systems, are adapted to new and different

environments in which they are spoken, creating and maintaining social realities, reproducing cultural traditions, and conveying messages in a complex interplay of new and old information, sometimes necessary and sometimes frivolous, packaging meaning in various ways that generally conform to standards that can be articulated, As speech is an important mode of human communication, we start by outlining basic concepts allowing for the description of linguistic form, In the end we will focus as much on language use as on language structure, and in the process we will examine various expressive speech genres, metaphors that we live by, the power of language, gender preferences in communication, language learning, proverbs, jokes, and multilingualism, among other topics. We will examine these forms, processes, and contexts in an effort to deliver the tools necessary for describing and understanding the multiple ways in which language, culture, and society interact.

Requirements / Exams, Paper, Attendance

The course grade will be based on two midterm exams (25% each), a 10 page analytical paper based on fieldwork due on the last class day (25%), and one final exam (25%). The final is comprehensive. Plus and minus grades will be used for the final grades. No penalty for one unexcused absence, but further such absences can lower ones course grade by two and a half percentage points for each instance. Exams include information from lectures, readings, and films.

Texts:

Required: Susan Blum (ed.) 2009 1st ed. Making sense of Language. Oxford

The Analytical Paper

WEEKS

Film info may be revised during the semester

WEEK 1. 8/30 Introduction - Culture, Language, Communication, Meaning Topics: culture, communication, language, ( semiotics and the theory of signs), (sociolinguistics), ethnography of speaking, discourse, reality and its social construction, the speech act and its functions, Homework: Read Blum 1-4, seeing the other (click on this URL) (watch this Video on Malinowski *or here+, and come to class prepared to say what impressed you most) Optional Further Background: The Silent Language (Hall), Portraits of the Whiteman (Basso) Film on Thursday A World of Differences (Audio-Visual library video 30 min.), WEEK 2. 9/4, 6 Message Form - Sounds, Words, Sentences Topics: What are (phonemes, morphemes, lexemes, sentences; meaning), AmyCuddy-TED Homework: read Blum 5-8;

revisit the phoneme; study this notes link for the midterm exam. Film on Thursday Secrets of Body Language (100 minutes shown) WEEK 3. 9/11, 13 Message Form II - More Sounds, Words, Sentences Topics: Manual language, (nonverbal communication. Documentary film.*) IM-ing. Twitter. Walling (facebook) Homework: , Read Blum 9-12; read online essay on documentary film Film on Thursday Do You Speak American: Up North WEEK 4. 9/18, 20 Language and Cultural Meaning - The Expression of Meaning Topics: linguistic Moonhawk on Sapir-Whorf, Deutscher on S-W lexical and semantic components, classification, markedness/implicational universals, fuzzy sets and focal meanings, cultural presuppositions (D. Jensen), language as a theory of reality (S. Pinker), metaphor and metonym, Homework: read Hotchkiss, Children & Conduct (PDF on Blackboard), Frake, How to Ask for a Drink (PDF on Blackboard) Film on Thursday Do You Speak American: Down South WEEK 5. 9/25, 27 Contextual Components: Ethnography of Speaking Topics: Evolution of language (autonomous, non-autonomous; rhetorical style; (involvement vs non-involvement) bad words Participants: Power and solidarity, performance, respect, Homework: Read Youssouf et al, Greetings in the Desert (pdf on Blackboard) First Midterm Exam - Thursday Sept 27 (covers weeks 1-4) WEEK 6 10/2, 4 Communicative Interactions Topics: interactional synchrony; conversational structure, conversational postulates, (directives and responses), routines (greetings, apologies), politeness, social networks,* networking,* verbal art* Homework: read Blum 23-25. Start thinking about the topic of your 10 page analytical paper, due the last day of class Film on Thursday 10/4 Do You Speak American: Out West WEEK 7 10/9, 11 Societal Segmentation and Linguistic Variation: Language and Class Topics: social stratification (class, caste); phonology, morphology, syntax. What is an accent?

Homework: read Blum 26-29, and Labov (pdf on Blackboard). Film on Thursday - American Tongues (dept. video, 56min) WEEK 8 10/16, 18 Societal Segmentation: Language and Ethnicity Topics: Black English in the US, the structure of AAVE. Romani language, Roma people; settings and contexts. Homework: read Blum 30-34 Film on Thursday Language of the Body (D Morris 48 min)

Now is a good time to start work on 10 page analytical paper (due on last day of class)
WEEK 9 10/23, 25 Societal Segmentation: Language and Gender Topics: English and English Speakers: Pronunciation, intonation, grammatical Variation, vocabulary, conversational style, gender bias. Cross-Cultural: power, complexity of form, linguistic marking of gender, Gender-exclusive vs gender preferential patterns, linguistic and stylistic preferences, Images of gender in linguistic form. Homework: read Blum 35-37 Film on Thursday Gender Issues WEEK 10 10/30, 11/1 Language Learning and Language Change Topics: language acquisition, LAD, rule vs. rote, sequences in sounds, Grammar, vocabulary, speech socialization, change. (instructional strategies) (feral children 1, 2) Homework: read Blum 38-40, Watch Learning from Advertising What can be learned from this? and/or watch Smile or Die (Barbara Eherenreich) Second Midterm Exam on Thursday Nov. 1 (exam covers weeks 5-9) WEEK 11 11/6, 8 Acquisition of Communicative Competence Topics: learning communicative styles (functional categories, politeness, Expressing feelings, disputing), learning status and role, learning The rules of conversation (turn taking, affirmations, narration), speech play and verbal art, gossip (see week 5). Homework: read Blum 13-15, 20, 21 Film on Thursday Teaching Sign Language to the Chimpanzee Washoe (48 min) WEEK 12 11/13, 15 Societal Multilingualism Topics: linguistic diversity, language standardization, language minorities, attitudes Towards other languages and speakers, bilingual education, indigenous/

Native languages, Creole languages. (Ignorance Speaks Up) Homework: read Blum 16-19, 22 Film on Thursday : First Contact (dept. video 54 min) WEEK 13 11/20, (no class on 11/22 Individual Multilingualism Topics: language change (contact, innovation), language use in bilingual speech communities, bilingual conversational strategies, code switching, (language revitalization), (language shift), (intercommunity miscommunication). Homework: read Blum 41-45; think about an encounter youve had recently in an educational, media, legal, or medical institutional setting, and come prepared to discuss it in class. Watch video at this URL, or this one, or this. WEEK 14 11/27, 29 Language and Institutional Encounters Topics: language labels and status, institutional contexts. (Literacy), (Salasaca: magical writing, literacy and power), (education, health, law, military) Homework: Watch the video at this link *Spin+ and come to class Prepared to discuss the language ideology that it reveals. Watch the video at this link (or ordering pizza) and come prepared to discuss it in class. Film on Thursday : Im British, but (dept. video, 30 min.) WEEK 15 12/4, 6

Language and Institutional Encounters II

Topics: language ideology and institutions - the media ; Media 2; Media3; Homework (suggestion only): Rewrite your lecture notes as an aid To study for the final exam. Make sure you have the 10 page analytical paper ready to turn in on last class day

Final Exam will be held at the scheduled time (Wednesday, December 12, 7:00-10:00 pm in WAG 420)

SAMPLE EXAMS

The exams will cover lectures, reading assignments, and films. Participation is appreciated, attendance is expected, and both can affect the course grade.

The following books will be useful to those who would like to pursue some of the course topics in more depth.

BOOK RESOURCES Keith Basso. 1979. Portraits of the Whiteman. ISBN: 0-521-29593-9 Deborah Tannen 1986. That's Not What I Meant ISBN: 0-345-34090-6 Deborah Tannen 1998. The Argument Culture Nancy Bonvillain. Language, Culture, and Communication. Joel Sherzer 2002. Speech Play and Verbal Art. Zdenek Salzmann. 2007 Language, Culture, and Society. Robin Lakoff 1990. Talking Power: The politics of Language Robert L. Young. 1999. Understanding Misunderstandings. Phil Agre Information Studies (home page) S.U. Philips, S. Steele & C. Tanz. 1987. Language, Gender & Sex in Comparative Perspective.

VIDEO RESOURCES That's Not What I Meant (AV library video VIDCASS 9706 ) of Tannen The Human Animal Language of the Body (Desmond Morris) The Adventure of English The Tailenders (Melvyn Bragg) a tv series, has a few bright moments a taped lecture

INTERNET RESOURCES
WEBSITES (for the curious)

VARIOUS Modes of Communication, how to: Teach someone something technical Approach Graduate School Make contacts and network Organize a conference Design effective e-mail action alerts

Find your voice Be a leader in your field Host a speaker

The following information comes from official UT policies Please, read carefully
Academic Integrity

Each student in this course is expected to abide by the University Code of Academic Integrity. No plagiarized work will be accepted. Sources consulted from books, journals, or web pages should be acknowledged. Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. Papers bought online or otherwise plagiarized will receive a zero. You are encouraged to study together and to discuss concepts covered in lecture and sessions. However, this permissible cooperation should never involve one student having possession of a copy of all or part of work done by someone else, in the form of an e mail, an e-mail attachment file, a diskette, or a hard copy. Should copying occur, both the student who copied work from another student and the student who gave material to be copied will both automatically receive a zero for the assignment. Penalty for violation of this Code can also be extended to include failure of the course and University disciplinary action. [During examinations, you must do your own work. Talking or discussion, comparing notes, and copying from others are not permitted during examinations. Any such behavior will result in failure of the exam, and may lead to failure of the course and University disciplinary action.]
Accommodations for students with disabilities

In compliance with the UT Austin policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required for student with disabilities. Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the first three weeks of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students who require special accommodations need to get a letter that documents the disability from the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Office of the Dean of Students (471-6259- voice or 471-4641 TTY for users who are deaf or hard of hearing). This letter should be presented to the instructor in each course at the beginning of the semester and accommodations needed should be discussed at that time. Five business days before an exam the student should remind the instructor of any testing accommodations that will be needed. See Web site below for more information: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd/providing.php
University Electronic Mail Notification Policy

(Use of E-mail for Official Correspondence to Students)

All students should become familiar with the University's official e-mail student notification policy. It is the student's responsibility to keep the University informed as to changes in e-mail address. It is recommended that e-mail be checked daily, but at a minimum, twice per week. The complete text of this policy and instructions for updating your e-mail address are available at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html. In this course e-mail will be used to communicate with students. You are responsible for checking your e-mail regularly for class announcements.
The University of Texas Honor Code

The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
Religious Holidays It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that you must notify each of your instructors at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates you will be absent to observe a religious holy day. If you miss an examination, work assignment, or other project due to the observance of a religious holyday you will be given an opportunity to complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence.

The instructor reserves the right to amend this syllabus

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