BASIC CONCEPTS IN LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Issues in linguistic anthropology
Spoken and written language; forms of writing
Dialects and languages
Language, culture, and tool use
Brain specialization for language (lateralization)
Misconceptions about primitive languages, differences between languages
Levels of structure of language
Phonetics - sounds of language
Phonology - rules for use of 'phones'
Morphology - word formation and lexemes (part of grammar)
Syntax - sentence structure (also grammar)
Semantics - study of meaning, structure of vocabulary
Pragmatic dimensions of language
Sociolinguistics - use of language; dialectology; slang, jargon; the ethnography
of communication
Psycholinguistics - acquisition of first and second languages; language and
cognition, perception, psychology
Non-verbal communication:
Kinesics: body language, facial expression, gesture, body motion synchrony
Proxemics: spatial communication, touching behavior
Artifactual and symbolic communication: use of dress, objects, etc.
Speech substitutes: drum language, Morse code, ASL, whistle language, etc.
Paralanguage - prosody (vocal effects)
Historical linguistics
Classification of languages into phyla, stocks, families
Reconstruction of proto-languages
Reconstruction of ancestral migrations, lifeways, history, etc.
Sources of change: linguistic drift, borrowing, contact
Languages in contact
Lingua francas
Multi-lingualism
Pidgin languages
Creoles
Language extinction (linguacide)
Language resurrection or renaissance
Language acquisition
Cooing and babbling stages
One-word 'stage'
'Pivot grammar' and early sentences
Caretaker speech (baby talk)
Universals of child language acquisition
Issues in adult language acquisition: context, motivation, method
Language pathology
Aphasia(s)
Tourette's Syndrome
Schizophrenic speech
Physical disabilities: stuttering, lisping, etc.
Autism
Origin of language and animal communication
Experiments with apes and ASL
Insect communication
Bird song
Mammals and primates in the wild (e.g., monkey call systems)
Early human language? A big mystery.