Anthropological Linguistics

AY2015/2016 Semester 2

THE COURSE EXPLORES THE INTERACTION OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE FROM LINGUISTIC, SOCIOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL POINTS OF VIEW. USING LINGUISTIC AND SOCIAL THEORIES AS A BASIS, THIS COURSE WILL DEMONSTRATE HOW THE TREATMENT OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ISSUES MIGHT POSE A DANGER OF PROPAGATING STEREOTYPES. IT WILL ALSO QUESTION THE TRANSFERENCE AND TRANSLATION OF LANGUAGES ACROSS CULTURES. PRAGMATIC THEORIES WILL BE ALSO USED TO EXPLAIN THE CAUSES OF CROSS-CULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS. OTHER TOPICS DISCUSSED INCLUDE THE ROLE OF PROSODY AND NONVERBAL BEHAVIOUR IN COMMUNICATION; FACTORS INFLUENCING CONVERSATIONAL STYLE IN DIFFERENT DISCOURSE CONTEXTS; THE NEGOTIATION OF POWER AND SOLIDARITY IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION; THE SOCIALISATION OF LANGUAGE, AND THE CREATION OF AN IDENTITY FROM A CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PERSPECTIVE.