Language and Culture

This course offers students an introduction to linguistic anthropology, the study of language in social and cultural context. Linguistic anthropology begins with the fundamental assumption that language structure and language use are integral parts of human culture. We begin by exploring language as a medium that does not simply communicate ideas but that constructs our identities, sense of reality, and social worlds. Our approach in the course emphasizes the role of language in understanding all aspects of human social relations. We consider these basic questions: what is language? How are we to understand linguistic diversity and language change? Does speaking a particular language affect our understanding of the world? How does language variation mark and reproduce hierarchical social divisions such as class, race, ethnic, and gender differences? What are the social effects of language standardization and whose interest does it serve? How are power differences between speakers manifest in their use of language? How are social identities and relations enacted in face-to-face conversations? In answering these questions we view language both as a formal symbolic system and as an open, flexible, and strategic cultural resource. Our approach involves both theoretical arguments and the consideration of particular case studies.