ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION Language and Society 7 Mar 2011

What makes a community?  How is a community different from a group of people?  What types of factors/variables do communities form around?  Language! (you knew that one was coming)  Age  Gender  Ethnicity/Race  Geographic Location  Socioeconomic Status  Common activities (work, surfing, soccer, painting, salsa dancing)

What makes a community?  A community is a group of people with a shared set of activities, practices, beliefs, and social structures.  A speech community is a group of people who share similar ideas, uses, and norms of language. - An African-American Church-Baristas/customers at a café - A group of stockbrokers-World of Warcraft players

Ethnography... What’s that?  ethno = people  graphy = writing  Ethnography: the study of a community through its culture  Goal: to understand the culture in the same way an insider or member does  Linguistic Ethnography: the study of a speech community with a focus on language and culture

Research Project: Linguistic Ethnography in Carpinteria 1. Identify a fieldsite (any location where people interact in linguistically and culturally interesting ways) 2. Visit your fieldsite, introduce yourself, get to know the community members, observe, and take fieldnotes 3. Return to your fieldsite for more language-focused observation and fieldnotes, and take photographs 4. Conduct a video interview with community members 5. As a team, create a PowerPoint presentation of your fieldwork 6. Write an individual final report/reflection on your fieldwork 7. Share your presentation with your group at SKILLS Day!

What languages, dialects, accents, and/or styles could you study? In what communities and fieldsites are these used?  Something that interests you  Something that is accessible  Consider: Workplaces (shops, restaurants, farms, offices...) Churches and other religious institutions After-school programs/activities (sports, clubs,...) Libraries and museums Adult education classes/centers (ESL, foreign languages,...) Leisure clubs/classes (surfing, cooking, reading,...)

Getting Started  By tomorrow:  Form teams of three  Be ready to brainstorm possible fieldsites  Read ethnography and answer questions for Wednesday