Guest Essay in Linguistic Anthropology

by

Kimberly Moynahan Gerson

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African Languages at GU - Projects/Research __ About the African language projects at Göteborg University. - proposed and completed projects - From Goteborg University - http://www.african.gu.se/afrpro.html

AncientScripts.com __ Be introduced to linguistic anthropology. You will find information galore. - http://www.ancientscripts.com/

ASL Ling. Research Project __ "This is the homepage of the American Sign Language Linguistic Research Project. You will find many reports about their projects which must be downloaded in PDF format." - From Boston University & the National Science Foundation - http://www.bu.edu/asllrp/

Cheyenne Language and the Cheyenne Indian Tribe (Tsitsistas, Tsetsehestahese) __ "Cheyenne is an Algonquian language spoken by about 1500 people in Montana and central Oklahoma. It is related to Arapaho but has a much more complex phonology, with vowel devoicing and tones. Some children are still learning Cheyenne as a native language, but due to the small number of speakers there is fear that the language may die out if effort is not put into revitalizing it." - from Nativelanguages.org - http://www.native-languages.org/cheyenne.htm

The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Project __ "The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, started in 1921 by James Henry Breasted, is creating a complete dictionary of the various dialects of Akkadian, the earliest known Semitic language. The language has been preserved on cuneiform texts that date from c. 2400 B.C. to A.D. 100. The texts were recovered from archaeological excavations of ancient Near Eastern sites. Here you will find a series of annual reports about the project." - http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/CAD/CAD.html

Chimpanzee Communication__ "Human speech is commonly recognized as the dividing line between ourselves and the rest of the animal world. However, among chimps, deliberate and thoughtful communication may also exist. You will find out in this essay just why that thinking is on the rise. The modern chimp may be making the first steps toward language." - illustrated - From Minnesota State University - http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/cultural/language/chimpanzee.html

Chinese Script __ Essay combining linguistic, cultural, and historic anthropology about the evolution of writen Chinese - illustrated - From CrystalLinks - http://www.crystalinks.com/chinascript.html

Coexistent Systems in African-American English __ "This contribution to the study of African American Vernacular English [AAVE] is an interpretation of the special linguistic features of this dialect in the light of its co-existence with other co-territorial dialects of English. It is far removed from the notion that AAVE can be seen as a system in itself, analyzed without reference to other dialects, which has been repeated theme of research in this area from the very beginnings to the present day. Although it must be admitted that this monolithic approach has often produced descriptions that are far removed from linguistic and social reality,..." - Enough to get you interested? - From Dr. William Labov - http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~wlabov/Papers/CSAA.html
 
Cyberspace is a Parallel World __ The website's own introduction is the best review I can think of: "Computers have come into existence in the last half century. In that time they have quickly become an important new industry and an everyday tool, affecting the lives of most people. During this time our languages have had to adapt to this new realm of experience. Rather than creating novel new words for every aspect of these discoveries various existing domains have been mapped onto computers and cyberspace. This paper examines some of the metaphors that have evolved as we have incorporated computer technology into our lives. The adaptation of existing language to the cyberspace domain reveals a great deal about the function of computers in our lives and our attitudes towards them. This mapping also reveals how language adapts to new experience." - By James Q. Jacobs - http://www.jqjacobs.net/anthro/metaphor.html

The Ergativic Stage of Early Proto-Indoeuropean __ online paper dealing with the origins of language in Europe and its relationship to modern tongues, as well as its relationship to Africa. - From Hans-Joachim Alscher, Linguist - http://www.dabis.at/Anwender.htm/Alscher/contents.htm

The Great Vowel Shift __ How and why pronounciation changes over time. - illustrated - From Furman University - http://www.furman.edu/~mmenzer/gvs/
 
Linguistics: A Quick Guide to Semitic Languages and People __ "Written records in the Semitic languages exist for almost five millennia. They may have been spoken for much longer than this: languages are usually much older than their known history." - From Phoenicia.org - http://phoenicia.org/semlang.html

LSA Home Page __ "You will find a resource covering most any aspect of linguistic anthropology. There are articles (the FQA section is excellent), membership information, jobs, and publications." - From Linguistic Society of America - http://www.lsadc.org/ 

Native Languages of the Americas __ You will find a great deal of information about Native American languages, their relationship to each other, alphabetical master list of languages and tribes, language groupings and more. - great links - From Native Languages of the Americas - http://www.native-languages.org/

No Last Word on Language Origins __ Learn the history of evolution of speech and the fact that human capability for speech may have come before its evolution by a 100,000 years. - illustrated - From Science Magazine - http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/282/5393/1455 

Phonological Atlas of North America __ There are maps, charts, multiple reports, essays, and more, which make this perhaps one of the best websites available for the study of the evolution of the English language in North America. - From University of Pennsylvania - http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/

The Roots of Mambila __ "The Mambila language comprises a cluster of dialects which straddle the Nigeria-Cameroon border." Here you can read an abstract about this group of languages came into being. If you want to read the whole paper, just scroll down and click on "Read the paper." - From University of Oxford - http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/dz/connell/roots/rootsabstract.html

SIL Home Page __ "This is a general website covering many aspects of linguistic anthropology. The purpose of this organization is research and linguistic development. You will find articles on sociolinguistics, which is the study of minority languages, as well as publications, linguistics, and translation philosophies. You will also find an Internet version of the Ethnologue. The CD version lists over 6000 minority languages and 39,000 dialect names. The Internet version gives you the top 100." - By SIL International - http://www.sil.org/

A Small Lexicon of Tsalagi Words __ Tsalagi is the language of the Cherokee. Here you will find a selection of words and a pronunciation guide. - By Jennifer Paxton - http://public.csusm.edu/guests/raven/cherokee.dir/cherlexi.html

Sumerian Language Page __ About the history and anthropology of the ancient Sumerian language. Learn how the language evolved in its spoken and written forms and what its relationship to subsequent linguistic development has been. - http://www.sumerian.org/sumerian.htm

Think Baby Names __ "A compendium on the etymology and history of names from around the world." A valuable research tool for not only naming a new baby but for a general background of names for use in other projects. - From thinkbabynames.com - http://www.thinkbabynames.com/ 

UCL Phonetics and Linguistics __ General page for linguistic anthropology. Working papers (abstracts and downloadable complete papers in PDF format for Acrobat Reader), back editions of papers since 1996, and a lot more - From University College London - http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/

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