ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION As a domain of inquiry, linguistic anthropology starts from the theoretical assumption that words matter and from the empirical finding that linguistic signs as representations of the world and connections to the world are never neutral… (Duranti, (2002: 5).

Discussion Questions (Video) 1. Can Urban Franco Hip Hop music be considered part of a linguistic community in Montreal?

How is this type of music, in the context of Montreal, articulated in terms of race, ethnicity or age?

Do you think Hip Hop music can be considered a marker of personal or/and group identity? How? Why?

Sociolinguistics and Linguistic Anthropology Connected to sociology Quantitative methods Urban environments Developed in the 1950’s and 60’s Subfield of Anthropology Qualitative methods Small scale societies Developed by Frank Boas (early 1900’s)

Influenced by Ethnography of Communication Dell Hymes (1960’s and 1970’s) Linguistics in the widest possible way: folklore, international linguistics, cognitive anthropology, sociology, etc

Ethnography of communication: The study of communication in its widest cultural and social context, including rules of language, norms of appropriate language use in particular settings, and evaluations given by members of a culture to various speech styles

Concern with: Segmentation of a speech communities: class, gender, race, age, and ethnicity Alternative means utilised by speakers to obtain goals The roles of speakers as social actors; The function of speaking as a social activity

Speech event and Context “Would you be so kind as to pass me the salt? “Gimme the salt! Many ways to achieve several purposes

Communicative rules: Exist in all cultures Define acceptable behavior Give directives shape behaviour and help in evaluating others May change from context to context Cultural specific

The most important aspects of a communicative interaction are: Settings Participants topics Goals They are interconnected Two types of communicative interactions: formal and informal

Formal: University Class Setting: a fixed arranged local, A university classroom Participants: are defined: students and teachers Topics; fixed: math, history, anthropology, etc Goals: to teach and learn, etc.

Setting: Arena for action Define events Culturally defined formalities

Universal Aspects of Formality (Irvine, 1979) Increased structuring: rules of etiquette Consistency of co-occurrence choices: stylistic choices Emphasis on positional identities of participants: play of multiple roles or identities Emergence of a central situational focus: constrains on choice of topic

Participants Speakers, addressees, and audiences Choice of speakers: --pronunciation --prosodic features --syntax --choice of words --nonverbal cues

Terms of address FN, Title + Last name (TLN) Reciprocal FN and TLN Non-reciprocal: FN-TLN and TLN-FN Pronouns: T and V from the French Tu and Vous Honorifics: markers that signal respect

Nahuatl degrees of respect I. intimacy and subordination: prefixes between intimates of similar age and status to signify closeness II. Neutrality and distance; prefixes employ among strangers III Honour: to address older woman and men IV Restricted to people who are in a compadrazgo relationship

TOPICS and GOALS TOPICS Preference of co-participants Disapproval of violations of rules GOALS Individual and collective Expressed in a variety of forms Formal or informal language

Exam Review: content and form

Exam Review 1.content overview 2. Form and content of exam

Content Overview Types of meanings transmitted through language: situational, cultural and social Characteristics: productivity and displacement Formal Properties of Language: sounds, vocabulary and grammar: a) Grammar: morphology and syntax 1. Morphological analysis: morphemes (stems and affixes) 2. Nonverbal Communication: a. kinesics and proxemics B. Extended and Transferred Meaning 1. metaphor and metonymy

Content Overview (2nd) 1. Language and cultural meaning: a) Cultural models 2. Foundation of Linguistic anthropology Ethnography of communication(Dell Hymes) 1. Aspects of Communicative Interaction. a) setting, particip, topics, goals: 1. Formal and informal .

Content and Form of Exam One Will cover: Bonvillain Chapters 2 and 4; Martin and Nakayama Chapters: 4 and 6; langer’s “language and Thought”, Robert’s “A Brief history of English”, Hoffman’s “Life in a New Language” Videos: “American Tongues” and “Urban Chronicle” Form 1. 5 multiple choice questions (5 marks) 2. 5 definitions ( 5 marks) 3. 3 short answers (with examples) (6 marks) 4. 1 essay type question out of two (9 marks)