1. QUEENS COLLEGE
ANTHROPOLOGY 104
LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY
Prof. Miki Makihara
Fall 2012
Class Meeting: MW 10:50~12:05 p.m. KY150 Code: 2596
Office: 312D (314) Powdermaker Hall Prerequisites: None
Office Hours: M 12:30~1:30 in KS 357 (except for 1st
Mon of the month)
W 12:20~1:20 in PH312D
by appointment on Tue and Thu
3 hours, 3 credits
E-mail: miki.makihara@qc.cuny.edu
First Class: August 27 (Mon), 2012, 10:50~12:05 PLAS: Cultures & Values (CV)
Final Exam: December 17 (Mon), 2012, 11:00~1:00
(tentatively scheduled by the Registrar’s)
Office)
PLAS: World Cultures (WC)
Course Description:
Language plays a very important role in our everyday life. Not only is linguistic behavior the
central focus of many social settings, but it is also on linguistic evidence that we base many of
our evaluations of the world around us. Yet attitudes towards language and the ways in which we
use language are highly dependent on social and cultural factors. This course provides an
introduction to the field of linguistic anthropology: the study of language use in its socio-cultural
context from anthropological perspectives. It focuses on the relationships among language,
culture, and society by addressing such questions as: To what extent does language shape our
thoughts and identities? What does it mean to know a language? Do all children follow the
same language acquisition patterns within a society or across cultures? What is the nature of
sign language? How do languages develop and change? What are the differences between
language and dialect? How does language reinforce or challenge social stratification? What is
the relationship between language and ethnicity? Do women speak more politely than men? Do
men and women miscommunicate? How do we study language use and attitudes? How do
conversations work? Do we need English-Only laws in the United States? Why is Ebonics
controversial? Should we do anything about disappearing languages? Is English going to be the
world language? Examples of linguistic phenomena in ethnographic perspective are drawn from
peoples around the world.
The Liberal Arts Goals of the Course:
Language is a central part of social and professional life but is often taken for granted and
assumed to be a neutral referential medium. Becoming aware of how linguistic communication
shapes, and can be shaped by, culture, inter-personal and group relations, and power dynamics
can be an important learning experience for students. In our increasingly globalized world, we
face more opportunities and need for intercultural communication, and a deeper awareness of the
historical and cultural foundations of language will help both to reduce prejudice and to increase
understanding and cooperative interaction. Linguistic anthropological works serve the larger
p. 1

2. society by providing deeper understanding of the sociocultural and linguistic diversity, which in
turn influence policy discussions and decisions, e.g., the English only movement in the U.S.,
bilingual education, and language right and revitalization. The course fulfills the Perspectives on
the Liberal Arts and Sciences (PLAS) requirements in the Area of Knowledge and Inquiry of
Cultures and Values (CV) and the Context of Experience of World Cultures (WC).
Course Materials
(1) (required) Blackboard Anthropology 104 Course Documents.
Blackboard is a system which allows you as a registered student in a course to have access
to course materials on a web page. Log in at https://cunyportal.cuny.edu/ or
http://www.cuny.edu. If you need assistance contact the Helpdesk at 718-997-4444, the
Dining Hall, Room 150, or helpdesk@qc.cuny.edu.
(2) (recommended) Reference book (Available at Queens College Bookstore)
Crystal, David. 2010. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. New York: Cambridge
University Press. (It costs about $30 or less.) [An older edition is in Queens Library,
Reference Level 3 - Call Number: P29 .C64 1997; PE1072 .C68 1995]
Course Format and Requirements:
The class will combine lectures, film viewing, and class or group discussion.
You are expected to have completed readings ahead of class. Course grades will be
determined as follows:
2 Quizzes (announced during the
prior class meeting)
10%
Test (9/24) 25%
Mid-Term Exam (10/31) 30%
Final Exam 35%
Total 100%
,mo.
Make-Up Policy:
No make-ups are offered for missed quizzes or test. Only students who have a legitimate
reason, with a prior arrangement when possible, AND with official written documentation
will be permitted to make up one exam. Proper documentation is required and if granted
permission, you must take the make-up exam on a day and time agreed upon with the
instructor.
Semester Outline:
The following schedule provides information on how the semester is broken down into topic
units, and provides a list of required readings for each class. You are expected to have
completed reading assignments ahead of class. Any changes to the schedule will be announced
p. 2

3. in class and on Blackboard. The final exam is currently scheduled by the Registrar’s office on
December 17th
11~1pm, but please check later in the semester to confirm the date/time.
I: INTRODUCTION
Topics Reading Assignments
1 8/27(
M)
Introduction to the
Course
2 The Nature
of Language
[Study Syllabus, Go to Blackboard for readings]
oThe Linguistic Facts of Life (Excerpt from
English with Accent)(Lippi-Green), pp.7~18.
II: BIOLOGICALAND CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
3 9/5(W) Language Acquisition
and Socialization
oAcquiring a First Language (Finegan) pp.502~18.
4 9/10(M
)
oThe Day Language Came into My Life (Keller)
oCultural Dimensions of Language Acquisition
(Ochs)
5 9/12(W
)
Language Development oAmerican Sign Language (Wolkomir)
oA Linguistic Big Bang (Osborne)
6 9/19(W) oReview Sheet for Test
7 9/24(M) Test
8 10/1(M
)
Whorf’s Study of the
Hopi Language and
Culture
o Language and the Structure of Thought
(Hinton)
o (start reading the next reading)
9 10/3(W
)
Similarities and
Differences between
Languages
o Language Universals and Language
Typology (Finegan), pp.214~37.
III: LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL CHANGE
10 10/10(
W)
Language Origin and
Development
o Early Voices (Wade)
o The Gestural Origins of Language (Corballis)
11 10/15(
M)
Historical Linguistics o Excerpt from Language History, Language
Change and Language Relationship (Hock &
Joseph), pp. 3~21.
12 10/17(
W)
o The Austronesians (Lingua Franca)
o Writing (Finegan), pp.394~415 (read first half)
13 10/22( Writing o Writing (Finegan)
p. 3

4. M)
14 10/24(
W)
Literacy Practice and
Culture
o Much Ado about Nushu (Miller)
o Language by Women, for Women (Cody)
15 10/29(
M)
o Review Sheet for Mid-Term
16 10/31(
W)
Mid-Term Exam (covers after
Test)
IV: LANGUAGE IN SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT
16 11/5(M
)
Varieties of Language in
the US
o They Speak Really Bad Down South and in
New York City (Preston)
17 11/7(W
)
Ethnolinguistic Diversity
of New York City
o Excerpt from Exposing Prejudice
(Urciuoli)
18 11/12(
M)
Language, Race. Ethnicity,
and Class
African American English
oAnthropology (Makihara)
19 11/14(
W)
o Suite for Ebony and Phonics
(Rickford)
oAcademic Ignorance and Black Intelligence
(Labov) (read first half)
20 11/19(M) oAcademic Ignorance and Black Intelligence
(Labov)
21 11/21(
W)
Accents and Linguistic
Profiling
o Teaching Children How to
Discriminate (Excerpt from English with
Accent by Lippi-Green), pp.79~103
22 11/26(
M)
Sociocultural Identities
and Multilingualism
Ethnography of
Communication
o Linguistic Paths to Urban Self in
Postcolonial Solomon Islands (Jourdan)
24 11/28(
W)
Gender and Interaction
Discourse Analysis
o The Father Knows Best’Dynamic in
Family Dinner Narratives (Ochs & Taylor)
25 12/3(M
)
Language Endangerment
and Revitalization
oExcerpt from When Languages Die
(Harrison) pp.3-21.
26 12/5(W
)
o Heterogeneity … Language and
Community on Easter Island (Makihara)
27 12/10(
M)
Language Policy and
Planning
oShould English be the Law? (King)
28 12/12(
W)
Conclusion &Review oReview Sheet for Final
p. 4

5. 29 12/17(
M)
11am~1pm Final Exam (focuses on Part IV)
Please confirm the exam date/time (scheduled by
the Registrar’s office)
p. 5