Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology Assignment

Intro to Ling Anth Module 8 Assignment I. Expressing Agency in Language 1. Below are two sentences in Yup’ik, a Native American language of Alaska that has an ergative/absolutive system. Dorisaq ayallruuq. “Doris traveled.” Tomam Dorisaq cingallrua. “Tom greeted Doris.” What is the ergative marker in Yup’ik? Answer: _ayallruuq & cingallrua_______ How would you say ‘Doris Greeted Tom’ in Yup’ik? Dorisaq Tomam cingallrua.__________________________________________________ 2. Below are the two sentences in Samoan, which also has an ergative/absolutive system. (Note: ERG = ergative marker) ‘olo‘o [is -ing fafao pack ‘ua [-ed ‘ata laugh le pusafa‘i e le tama. the banana-case ERG the boy ] le tama. the boy.] “The boy is packing the banana-case.” “The boy laughed” How would you say the following in Samoan? “The banana-case fell.” (Note: ‘fall’ in Samoan is pa‘ü.) pa‘ü le pusafa‘i ____________________________________________________________ “The banana-case hit the boy.” (Note: ‘hit’ in Samoan is tä.) O le aofa'i e tä le tama. II. Language as Symbolic Cultural Capital Discuss the cartoon below in terms of Bourdieu’s concepts of different linguistic markets and competing forms of linguistic / symbolic capital, and symbolic domination, etc. The cartoon above shows two people with different forms of graffiti that signifies their language. Pierre Bourdieu's notion of linguistic market and linguistic capital is an extension of his essential concept of habitus to the field of linguistics and, more particularly, discourse analysis. When considering what Noam Chomsky refers to as linguistic competence, the concept of the linguistic market may be regarded as taking social dynamics into consideration.The linguistic market is built on economic relationships, or what Bourdieu refers to as linguistic capital, with some linguistic features being more valuable than others. Bourdieu contends that the rules governing the value of verbal utterances and the propagation, accumulation, and reproduction of linguistic capital constitute the linguistic market, which is both material in the sense that it is a specific social situation and abstract in the sense that it is an abstraction. To grasp Bourdieu's concept of the linguistic market and linguistic capital, consider how formal speakers using the term "Edward" have far more voice and credibility than someone who speaks colloquial languages. III. Language Attitudes / Language Ideologies Choose one of the statements below and explain the specific language ideology or ideologies that it reflects? • The more words you know, the better you know your language. • Almost everywhere in the world, everyone is monolingual just like in America. • If you want to learn Spanish, you don’t need to take a class, just go to Mexico for a month or two. • Some languages have no grammar. • The use of some dialects demonstrates that a person is uneducated. • German is ugly, English is logical, French is romantic. • Women talk more than men. • Like your English teacher used to say, ‘If you want to get it right go to • the dictionary.’ • It is easier to learn Chinese if you come from a Chinese family • background than from a European one. • • • Everyone has an accent except me. People who use double negatives are really not thinking logically. The meanings of words should not be allowed to vary or change. This phrase represents the view that Chinese is a difficult language to learn and that it is easier for individuals who come from a Chinese background. This might be because Chinese is a tonal language, and tones are difficult for non-native speakers to grasp. It might possibly be because Chinese has a distinct writing system than most other languages, which makes it challenging to master. This phrase also represents the view that a person's familial background might influence how easy they learn a language and this might be because children who grow up in a family where a language is spoken are exposed to it from an early age which would make it easier for them to pick up.