Linguistic Anthropology Commons^™

Process-Based Modelling Shows How Climate And Demography Shape Language Diversity, Michael C. Gavin, Thiago F. Rangel, Claire Bowern, Robert K. Colwell, Kathryn R. Kirby, Carlos A. Botero, Michael Dunn, Robert R. Dunn, Joe Mccarter, Marco Tulio Pacheco Coelho, Russell D. Gray

Biology Faculty Research

Aim

Two fundamental questions about human language demand answers: why are so many languages spoken today and why is their geographical distribution so uneven? Although hypotheses have been proposed for centuries, the processes that determine patterns of linguistic and cultural diversity remain poorly understood. Previous studies, which relied on correlative, curve-fitting approaches, have produced contradictory results. Here we present the first application of process-based simulation modelling, derived from macroecology, to examine the distribution of human groups and their languages.

Location

The Australian continent is used as a case study to demonstrate the power of simulation modelling for identifying processes shaping …

Black-Americans In Michigan’S Copper Mining Narrative, Brendan Pelto

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis details the Phase 1 archaeological investigation into Black-Americans who were active on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan during the mining boom of the 1850s-1880s. Using archaeological and archival methods, this thesis is a proof-of-concept for future work to be done that investigates the cultural heritage of Black Americans in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Pro-Islamic State Twitter Users In A Post-Suspension Era, Colby Grace

Theses and Dissertations

Twitters efforts to silence pro-IS users has been largely unsuccessful. I apply discourse analysis techniques to better understand why that is. The findings demonstrate that Twitter’s account suspension campaign is outmatched by a community that now values account suspensions as a right of passage. I propose a new method.

Discourses Of "Cruelty-Free" Consumerism: Peta, The Vegan Society And Examples Of Contemporary Activism, Andrea Springirth

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper draws upon the principles of critical discourse analysis in order to examine the production of capitalist and consumerist discourses within contemporary nonhuman animal rights activism. The analysis presents evidence to suggest that the discourses being produced via the websites of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and The Vegan Society are consistently being constructed through market-centric ideologies that treat activists mainly as middle-class consumers. This paper argues that the consistent presence of neoliberal discourse signals an instructive entanglement with broader sociopolitical issues. Specifically, there are concerns as to how this discourse relates to what is thought …

A National Bilingual Education Policy For The Economic And Academic Empowerment Of Youth In St. Lucia, West Indies, Gabriella Bellegarde

Capstone Collection

This campaign portfolio argues the case for a national bilingual education policy on the island of St. Lucia, where youth speak both St Lucian Creole and St. Lucian standard English. The portfolio consists of a policy paper and brief, an advocacy plan, a communications plan, monitoring and evaluation plan. The Bilingual Education Taskforce (BET), made up of teachers, parents and principals, is an advocacy organization that discovered the need for a bilingual education intervention when they observed, assessed and analyzed the written work of struggling readers at their school, the Anse la Raye Infant School on the west coast of …

The Price Of Cosmopolitanism: Globalization, Class Structure, And Language Endangerment In Shanghai, Fang Xu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Over the last two decades, Shanghai has experienced an unprecedented transformation, as China’s economic globalization and urban expansion have increased rapidly. Looking beyond statistics and architectural spectacles, I examine a seemingly personal choice in Shanghai, speaking Putonghua Mandarin, the official language, or the Shanghai dialect. This study contextualizes the contested urban linguistic space, and illustrates the political, social, and cultural conditions in this China’s globalizing city.

Through archival research, fifty in-depth interviews, two hundred and fifty survey questionnaires, and ethnographic fieldwork in Shanghai in the fall and winter of 2013, I document the impact of three sets of state policies …

Satuan Lingual Pengungkap Kearifan Lokal Dalam Pelestarian Lingkungan, Hari Bakti Mardikantoro

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study aims to reveal the type and the function of linguistic units as the proof of the local wisdom in preserving environment towards society of Javanese Talk. The data on the study are gathered and analyzed based on two procedures; they are the analysis on the process of collecting data and the analysis after the data are collected. The result of the study shows that the type of linguistic units consist of word, phrase, sentence, and expression. Meanwhile, those linguistic units function in expressing local wisdom such as in giving name, commanding/advising, praying, and teaching sesorah values.

The Biosemiotics Of Aldo Leopold, Rebecca Potter

English Faculty Publications

Responding to Jean-Claude Gens’ article “Uexküll’s Kompositionslehre and Leopold’s ‘land ethic’ in dialogue,” which appeared in Sign Systems Studies in 2013, this article further develops a direct connection between Aldo Leopold’s approach to ecology and Jakob von Uexküll’s umwelt theory. The connection between Uexküll and Leopold is especially evident in Leopold’s descriptions of animal behaviour that he presents in the first part of his seminal work, A Sand County Almanac. In this work specifically, Leopold illustrates the biosemiotic processes described by Uexküll, and does so with a purpose: to reshape our understanding of the biotic community as a place …

Talking Back, With Reawakened Voices: Analyzing The Potential For Indigenous California Languages Coursework At California Polytechnic State University, Logan Cooper

Ethnic Studies

The legacy of colonialism in the United States, including genocidal practices and cultural assimilation, has left Indigenous languages endangered. Native peoples, scholars, and activists have been working to revive and heal the languages of America’s first peoples, and the cultures those languages speak to, yet more work remains in the field of language revitalization. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo currently does not offer any course specifically teaching or discussing Indigenous languages, even those of the Chumash people who know the San Luis Obispo area as their ancestral homelands.

By synthesizing revitalization and Indigenous activist literature with the narratives …

Community Identity In "The Granada Pioneer", Jessica P. S. Gebhard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My research examines how the writers of the Granada Pioneer, a newspaper published in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, used the editorial column of that publication to shape the community identity of that camp. The newspaper was published by Japanese America internees living in that camp, but their readership was composed of Japanese American internees and also non-interned non-Japanese Americans. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, I found that the internee writers were using the editorial column to shape a community habitus within the internment camp while at the same time attempting to reshape the imagined community …

Presence-At-Hand, Eric Lyle Schultz

Graduate School of Art Theses

Abstract

The writing that follows is intended to provide a theoretical framework for the motives behind my practice. The primary concerns addressed are the reception, transmission, and physical shape of knowledge. I will discuss a human condition that exists as a byproduct of both the legacy of representation as well as the innate biology of the brain. I will argue that as a society we are governed by the residue of an extreme logic, and that this condition places severe margins on our potential for creative solutions. I will propose that our ability to create meaning is stifled by the …

An Exploration Of Gender Roles And The Traditional Dual Gendered Parenting Model Within Co-Fathered Families, Zoe Dearborn Geyman

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

In this paper I develop a working theory of gender as a constantly performed state of social mimicry that evolves in response to one’s lived experience. Through analysis of transcript selections from the daily lives of two co-fathered families and relevant literature, I explore the gendered realities of gay parents, and introduce work, in this case referring to professional labor and its associated identities, as key to the gendering process. In the paper I also address the malleability of family units, and explore the ways in which gay fathers negotiate pressures to conform to the traditionally gendered family model. Ultimately, …

The Effect Of Cultural Competence On The Acquisition Of French T/V Pronouns, Stacey C. Latimer

Open Access Theses

The appropriate use of Tu/Vous French pronouns in everyday situations proves to be an ongoing challenge not only for native speakers but also for learners of the language. The complexity of the use of these pronouns goes beyond grammatical conjugation as it necessitates a consideration of the sociolinguistic and pragmatic situation with which one is presented. As a result, students with less exposure to T/V pronoun usage in the French culture will consequently have more difficulty in understanding the proper use of these pronouns. ^ Although some studies have looked at students' use of T/V pronouns in online interactions (Belz …

The Semantics Of Repression: Understanding The Continued Brutality Towards Lgbtqa Individuals In The Russian Federation, Joseph C. Recupero

Student Publications

This work serves to examine the linguistic style and choices used by Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin as it pertains to issues of the LGBTQA community in the country and the Anti-Propaganda Law. Using the methodology of Critical Discourse Analysis, the author compares the speeches of Vladimir Putin to those of Western leaders Barack Obama and Ban Ki-moon, drawing conclusions as to why brutality towards LGBTQA individuals in Russia has been allowed to continue relatively unopposed. The author suggests that it may be Vladimir Putin's careful choice in words and speaking styles that allows the issue to persist.

Language As The Foundation Of Identity Among Sherpa Youth In Nepal, Joshua H. Ginder

Student Publications

This paper explores how young Sherpas in Nepal use their language as a tool for identifying themselves as uniquely Sherpa in a mutlicultural Nepal. By analyzing the way Sherpas use their language in social settings and at a radio station, the author suggests the Sherpa language is perhaps the only truly unique quality that delineates Sherpas from other Nepalis.

The Changing World In Microcosm: The Dying Languages Of Liberia, Sierra Leone, And Guinea, George Tucker Childs

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Observers have become increasingly aware of how the world is changing due to the forces of globalization, be it in the form of neo-colonialism, the scramble for natural resources, or the various extractive industries. The recent alarm over Ebola illustrated another pernicious fallout of increased communication and travel. The effect of globalization has also been great on indigenous peoples and their cultures, in particular on what many consider to be an integral component of culture, the local languages.

I report on recent research devoted to the documentation of endangered languages in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia (the Ebola countries). Most …

Constructing ‘Farmer’ And ‘State’ Identities In Moral Discourses About Semi-Subsistence Agriculture In North-East Brazil, Karen E. Pennesi

Anthropology Publications

Anthropological analysis elucidates how discourses about agriculture in one North-east Brazilian community reflect relational roles of citizens and the state, the position of farmers in society, and the relationship of individuals to their work. In these discourses, farmers are positioned as moral, hard-working, autonomous citizens, justifying their participation in low-paying activities. The declining numbers of agricultural workers is explained as a result of individual laziness or government irresponsibility. In using these discourses to take stances publicly on agricultural issues, speakers assign responsibilities and moral status to agents. In constructing rural identities, such moral discourses emphasise the symbolic value of subsistence …

Perspectivas Culturais Na Comunicação Climática (Cultural Perspectives On Climate Communication), Karen E. Pennesi

Anthropology Publications

Este artigo considera que a previsão climática deve ser interpretada dentro de contextos sociais, culturais e linguísticos. Dentro de uma perspectiva antropológica baseada em entrevistas, observações e um questionário, será investigado como mudanças no meio-ambiente são entendidas por diferentes indivíduos, e transformadas em previsões que são comunicadas a diversos públicos. A linguagem utilizada e a maneira como a previsão é comunicada depende da experiência e dos objetivos do previsor, enquanto que a interpretação e a avaliação da previsão por outros são influenciadas por seus diferentes objetivos, atitudes, conhecimento e práticas. Esta etnografia da comunicação enfatiza o processo da comunicação das …

The Development Of Statives In Colonial Valley Zapotec, George Aaron Broadwell

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes the semantics of the Colonial Valley Zapotec aspect prefix WA- (orthographic hua- ~oa-) and its diachronic development in modern Valley and Isthmus Zapotec.

Writing About Aj Pop B'Atz': Bruce Grindal And The Transformation Of Ethnographic Writing, Sarah Ashley Kistler

Faculty Publications

The works of Bruce Grindal teach us many things about anthropology’s humanistic tradition. With examples such as Redneck Girl and “Postmodernism as Seen by the Boys at Downhome Auto Repair,” Bruce Grindal demonstrated how we can creatively engage our ethnographic writing to reflect lived experiences. In this article, I examine Bruce’s influence on my ethnographic writing and collaborative research in the Maya community of San Juan Chamelco, Guatemala. Since 2006, I have worked collectively with a group of Chamelqueños to investigate the story of their local hero, Aj Pop B’atz’. In the sixteenth century, Aj Pop B’atz’ welcomed Spanish invaders …

Thinking Outside The (Archival) Box: Innovative Uses Of Jules Henry’S Field Notes, Miranda Rectenwald

WashU Libraries Presentations

This poster presents a case study of how archived documents provide multi-faceted, dynamic opportunity for teaching and learning in both academia and indigenous communities. Anthropologist Jules Henry compiled extensive language and cultural field notes in the 1930s while living among the Xokleng Laklãnõ (Brazil) and Pilaga (Argentina) communities. Until recently, these documents and photographs archived at Washington University in St. Louis were seldom used. However, by starting a collaborative digital project with Unicamp State University (São Paulo, Brazil) a number of innovative uses have emerged. Examples include: The Unicamp Linguistics Department is working with the Xokleng Laklãnõ to turn the …

Scribblescholar Was Here: Confessional Notes Of A Vandal Academic, Clay Shields

Theses and Dissertations--English

As a (former) vandal-punk in the academy, I often fear succumbing to Ivory Tower Stockholm syndrome. The identities I perform, vandal-punk and scholar, ideologically clash to the point that they often feel irreconcilable. By codemeshing the high-low discourses associated with these adopted cultures, I attempt to disrupt any hierarchal privileging of either, instead searching for a way to live with and harness both.

Once Upon Our Time: The Ancient Art Of Storytelling In A Contemporary West Africa, Harlee Keller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Storytelling is an art form that has been flourishing in Senegal since the country’s origin. Traditionally, storytelling was a communal endeavor, oral and interactive. As modernity crept up on Senegal storytelling began to change, oral tradition only partially surviving in rural settings, almost completely obsolete in big cities. I am particularly interested in how Wolof tales and oral storytelling are surviving in a modernizing Senegal. I think that storytelling is a form of cultural education for children and adults alike, and that preservation is dire for the survival of this art. I will discuss story structure, content and the opinions …

Toward A New Theory Of Waste: From "Matter Out Of Place" To Signs Of Life , Joshua Reno

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

This paper offers a counterpoint to the prevailing account of waste in the human sciences. This account identifies waste, firstly, as the anomalous product of arbitrary social categorizations, or ‘matter out of place’, and, secondly, as a distinctly human way of leaving behind and interpreting traces, or a mirror of culture. Together, these positions reflect a more or less constructivist and anthropocentric approach. Most commonly, waste is placed within a framework that privileges considerations of meaning over materiality and the threat of death over the perpetuity of life processes. For an alternative I turn to bio-semiotics and cross-species scholarship around …

Executive Control In Hispanic Children: Considering Linguistic And Sociocultural Factors, Miriam M. Martinez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Executive control represents a collection of high-order cognitive processes that are associated with important child outcomes, including academic achievement and social competencies. Despite the burgeoning interest in examining the development of executive control, less is known about the development of these skills among ethnic minority children. Hispanic children are currently the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and their diverse sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds provide an excellent context to study the influence of linguistic and sociocultural factors on the development of child executive control. The purpose of the three complementary studies reported in this dissertation is to contribute …

Toward A Biocommunicable Cartography Of Health Decision-Making In The Amazon Basin Of Ecuador, James Cartwright

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This paper comprises a critical, ethnographic study of health communication in a rural community of Amazonian Ecuador. By synthesizing approaches from anthropology, discourse studies, and public health, the study explores how conversations influence health decisions, how communities understand health systems, and how macrostructural discourse changes the political economy of healthcare in Ecuador. My work draws on the recent theoretical development of ‘biocommunicability’ in anthropology as well as earlier sociological research on knowledge construction. Most importantly, this paper offers a critique of current interventions by NGOs in the region.

The Phonetics Of Moraic Alignment In Yoloxóchitl Mixtec, Christian Dicanio, Jonathan Amith, Rey Castillo Garcia

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This talk highlights recent research on the phonetics of tonal alignment in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec (YM). This language is notable for its large tonal inventory, where 20 tonal melodies contrast on monosyllabic words. The language’s phonological structure strongly supports the alignment of tonal targets to moras, resulting in contrastive contour types even within a single syllable, e.g. /1.3/ vs. /13.3/. Patterns of phonetic tonal alignment were investigated. The alignment of non-glottalized tonal targets was examined with original field data collected by the authors from 10 speakers. Words varied by word type (monosyllabic, disyllabic) and tone. Both the phonological patterning of tone …

Writing For A Future Audience Contemporary Children's Literature In Wolof, Mariana Robertson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Wolof as a whole is a language in transition from oral to written. The immense oral tradition of stories and songs in Wolof is increasingly being supplemented by new literature. This movement is visible across all genres of literature, but I am particularly interested in literature for children, both because it has been largely ignored in the existing research on Wolof literature, and because I think that children’s literature written in local or indigenous languages is important for increasing literacy and keeping these languages alive and vibrant. I will provide an analysis of the activities of two authors of Wolof …

“Little Soldiers With Big Guns”: The Language Of Child-Soldiering In Africa, Karen J. Norris

Student Publications

This project examines the language of child-soldiering in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Uganda, comparing its use between Western observers and the Africans who experienced the conflict first hand. It concludes that Westerners unilaterally display ethnocentric conceptions of the sanctity of childhood in their admonitions of child-soldiering, while former child-soldiers, perpetrators, victims and local aid workers exhibit more diverse perspectives that more accurately reflect the complexity of the conflicts. Furthermore, it concludes that the use of rhetorical, monolithic language regarding child-soldiering perpetuates stereotypes about African conflict and state-failure while diverting attention from underlying root causes of conflict, and …

Language Ideologies In Morocco, Sybil Bullock

Anthropology Department Honors Papers

The process of decolonization in Morocco has created new spaces for displaying national identity, most notably through the development of official policies regarding the acquisition, promotion, and performance of language in the public sphere. The flow of languages into the Moroccan linguistic mosaic has facilitated the transmission of beliefs about language as well. These beliefs are far from neutral, for each language possesses symbolic capital that grants access to explicitly demarcated domains of power. In this thesis, I examine the construction of national power that resides in discourses on multilingualism in Morocco. In the process, I uncover the sources of …