ETHNOLINGUISTICS (ADVANCED COURSE)

The course is part the master’s degree program in Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology, Anthropological Linguistics and is compulsory for all curricula as well as of the master’s degree program in European, American, and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures (Estudios Ibéricos e Iberoamericanos). It aims to provide the knowledge required for reflecting and operating on language and languages from an anthropological point of view, with particular attention to the linguistic expression of gender and the related issue of gender-inclusive language.

By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to rigorously frame the question of the relationship between languages and cultures in light of the anthropologically salient linguistic phenomenology. Specifically, students are expected to acquire a general knowledge of the history, theories, methods, and fields of application of Ethnolinguistics and a thorough knowledge of the functioning of grammatical gender systems, of lexical and morphological means used for the expression of gender, and of the linguistic strategies adopted for a gender-inclusive language. Students are also expected to acquire the ability to expose issues and problems relevant to Ethnolinguistics using appropriate terminology.

The course requires basic knowledge of general linguistics. These notions will be recalled during the classes for those who have not previously attended a basic linguistic course. As an alternative, the reading of G. Berruto, M. Cerruti, La linguistica. Un corso introduttivo, Torino, 2017 (chapters 1-5) is suggested. The course also requires the ability to understand English written texts and a good knowledge of the Italian language for foreign students.

The first part of the course will cover the following general contents: the history of Ethnolinguistics; the relationship between language and culture; the social dimension of language; the communicative dimension of language; culturally significant functions and uses of language. The second part of the course will focus on the semantic and formal criteria on which grammatical gender systems are built up and on their interaction, on the strategies of gender agreement, with particular attention to the gender resolution rules in case of ambiguity, on the phenomena of motion, as well as on the strategies adopted for a gender-inclusive language.

1. Reference manuals
G. R. Cardona, Introduzione all’etnolinguistica, Novara, 2006 (sections 3.1.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 7.4, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5).
M. Mancini, B. Turchetta (eds.), Etnografia della scrittura, Roma, 2014 (chapters 2, 6, and 7).

2. Further readings
2.1. Language and culture
F. Boas, Handbook of American Indian Languages, I, Washington, 1911, pp. 5-83.
E. Sapir, The Status of Linguistics as a Science, in «Language» 5, 1929, pp. 207-214.
B. Malinowski, Coral Gardens and their Magic, II, London, 1935, pp. 3-74.
B. L. Whorf, The relation of habitual thought and behavior to language, in Language, Culture, and Personality, Menasha, 1941, pp. 75-93.
C. Lévi-Strauss, L’analyse structurale en linguistique et anthropologie, in «Word» 1, 1945, pp. 1-21.
C. Lévi-Strauss, Linguistics and Anthropology, in Results of the Conference of Anthropologists and Linguists, Baltimore, 1953, pp. 1-10.
K. L. Pike, Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behaviour, The Hague-London, 1967, pp. 1-7.
B. Berlin, P. Kay, Basic Color Terms, Berkeley-Los Angeles, 1969, pp. 1-45.
N. B. McNeill, Colour and colour terminology, in «Journal of Linguistics» 8, I, 1972, pp. 21-33.
D. Hymes, Foundations in Sociolinguistics. An Ethnographic Approach, Philadelphia, 1974, pp. 1-65.
T. Regier, P. Kay, Language, thought, and color: Whorf was half right, in «Trends in Cognitive Sciences» 10, 2009, pp. 439-446.
I. Krupnik, L. Müller-Wille, Franz Boas and Inuktitut Terminology for Ice and Snow: From the Emergence of the Field to the “Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax”, in I. Krpupnik, C. Aporta, S. Gearheard, G. J. Laidler, L. Kielsen Holm (eds.), SIKU: Knowing Our Ice, Dordrecht, 2010, pp. 377-400.
P. Wolff, K. J. Holmes, Linguistic Relativity, in «Cognitive Science» 2, 3, 2011, pp. 253-265.

2.2.Gender
A. Sabatini, Il sessismo nella lingua italiana, Roma, 1986.
A. Sabatini, Raccomandazioni per un uso non sessista della lingua italiana, Roma, 1987.
G. Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, Chicago, 1987, pp. 91-114.
G. Corbett, Gender, Cambridge, 1991.
A. Bodine, Androcentrism in prescriptive grammar; singular ‘they’, sex-indefinite ‘he’, and ‘he or she’, in The Feminist Critique of Language: A Reader, London, 1998, pp. 129-146.
F. Orletti, Il genere: una categoria sociolinguistica controversa, in Identità di genere nella lingua, nella cultura, nella società, Roma, 2001, pp. 7-21.
L. Boroditsky, L. A. Schmidt, L. W. Phillips, Sex, Syntax, and Semantics, in Language in Mind. Advances in the Study of Language and Thought, Cambridge, 2003, pp. 61-79.
C. Cettolin, Ma se parlo al maschile, le vedi le donne? Maschile non marcato e visibilità femminile, in Le italiane e l’italiano: quattro studi su lingua e genere, Trieste, 2020, pp. 49-77.
F. Fusco, L’abitudine fa la sindaca e l’avvocata. Il genere femminile nella lingua italiana, anche a partire da Alma Sabatini, in Il sessismo nella lingua italiana. Trent’anni dopo Alma Sabatini, Pavia, 2020, pp. 44-73.
K. Plaster, M. Polinsky, Women are not dangerous things: Gender and categorization, in «Harvard Working Papers in Linguistics» 12, 2007, pp. 1-44.
V. Gheno, Femminili singolari. Il femminismo è nelle parole, Firenze, 2019.
D. Ronca, V. Moscati, The interaction of Morphological Gender with Stereotypical Information: An Eye Tracking Study on Gender Inferences, in «International Journal of Linguistics» 11, 2019, pp. 111-125.
G. Castenetto, S. Ondelli, The Acceptability of Feminine Job Titles in Italian Newspaper Articles, in Language Gender and Hate Speech. A Multidisciplinary Approach, Venezia, 2020, pp. 75-90.
Consiglio Direttivo dell’Accademia della Crusca, Ancora sull’uso del genere femminile nei testi giuridico-amministrativi (2024).

Learning will be assessed through an interview. The interview will focus on four general topics, which will be selected by the teacher:
- one from Introduzione all’Etnolinguistica (sections 3.1.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 7.4, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5);
- one from Etnografia della scrittura (chapters 2, 6, and 7);
- one from the further readings concerning Language and culture (2.1);
- one from the further readings concerning Gender (2.2).
It should be noted that the further readings will be framed and discussed during the lessons. The lecture slides, which will be regularly uploaded to the course's Moodle space, will serve as a guide to the key aspects of each text that require particular focus.
In particular, mastery of the topics, ability in presentation, terminological adequacy, and the ability for independent reflection on linguistically significant phenomena from an anthropological perspective will be taken into account for evaluation.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

30–30 with distinction: Demonstrates an excellent mastery of the topics covered in lectures and reference texts; employs the discipline’s technical terminology with precision; exhibits an exceptional ability for independent reflection on linguistically significant phenomena from an anthropological perspective.

28–29: Displays a very good understanding of the topics covered in lectures and reference texts; makes largely appropriate use of the discipline’s technical terminology; demonstrates a strong ability for independent reflection on linguistically significant phenomena from an anthropological perspective.

26–27: Shows a good knowledge of the topics covered in lectures and reference texts; occasional inaccuracies in the use of the discipline’s technical terminology; moderate ability for independent reflection on linguistically significant phenomena from an anthropological perspective.

22–25: Demonstrates a partial and/or somewhat superficial understanding of the topics covered in lectures and reference texts; presentation is not always clear and may show deficiencies in the use of the discipline’s technical terminology; exhibits a sufficient ability for independent reflection on linguistically significant phenomena from an anthropological perspective.

18–21: Shows an incomplete but sufficient understanding of the topics covered in lectures and reference texts; presentation is unclear and/or lacks appropriate use of the discipline’s technical terminology; exhibits a limited but still adequate ability for independent reflection on linguistically significant phenomena from an anthropological perspective.

Classroom-taught classes with the help of presentations for reading and commenting on excerpts from the further readings.

On-line texts:
Boas 1911 https://archive.org/details/handbookamerica00fracgoog/
Sapir 1929 https://www.jstor.org/stable/409588
Malinowski 1935 https://archive.org/details/coralgardensandt031834mbp
Whorf 1941 https://www.jstor.org/stable/42581315
Lévi-Strauss 1945 https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1945.11659244
McNeill 1972 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4175133
Regier – Kay 2009 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661309001454?via%3Dihub
Krupnik – Müller-Wille 2010 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226206215_Franz_Boas_and_Inuktitut_Terminology_for_Ice_and_Snow_From_the_Emergence_of_the_Field_to_the_Great_Eskimo_Vocabulary_Hoax
Wolff – Holmes 2011 https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcs.104

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development