17. native american - iik

Lecture 17: Native America - IILIN 200: Language in the USA

April 10, 2014

Language Subordination

Hollywood Stereotypes

Subordination

Cultural Commodification: When stereotyped, comedic and or belittling images of a group are reproduced (plates, cups, masks, costumes, t-shirts, stickers, etc.) and sold or distributed for profit or public consumption.!

Sports teams, car models, etc.!!

Can you think of examples?

Subordination

Jeep Cherokee

Chevy Apache

Subordination

VW Touareg

actual Touareg

Subordination

Some teams use generic Indian names! Indians! Braves! Chiefs!

Others adopt specific tribal names! Seminoles! Comanches! Apaches!

And: Red Skins

Native American Mascots

Many schools around the country exhibit Indian mascots and logos, using nicknames and do the "tomahawk chop" in sport stadiums with inauthentic representations of Native American cultures. !!

Many school officials claim they are honoring Native Americans and insist that their schools sponsored activities are not offensive.

Native American Mascots The portrayal of Indian mascots in sports takes many forms.

Some teams use generic Indian names, such as Indians, Braves, or Chiefs, while others adopt specific tribal names like Seminoles, Comanches, or Apaches.!

Indian mascots exhibit either idealized or comical facial features and "native" dress, ranging from body-length feathered (usually turkey) headdresses to more subtle fake buckskin attire or skimpy loincloths. Some teams and supporters display counterfeit Indian paraphernalia, including foam tomahawks, feathers, face paints, and symbolic drums and pipes. They also use mock-Indian behaviors, such as the tomahawk chop, dances, chants, drum beating, war-whooping, and symbolic scalping.

Subordination

Political Action

In April 2001, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recommended that all non-Native American schools drop their Native American mascots or nicknames. !

The commission declared that the stereotyping of any racial, ethnic, religious or other group, when promoted by our public educational institutions, teaches all students that stereotyping of minority groups is acceptable, which is a dangerous lesson in a diverse society.!

The commission also noted that these nicknames and mascots are false portrayals that encourage biases and prejudices that have a negative effect on contemporary Indian people.

Demeaning or Entertaining?

It's the behavior that accompanies all of this thats offensive, Clyde Bellecourt told USA Today. Bellecourt, who is national director of AIM, said The rubber tomahawks, the chicken feather headdresses, people wearing war paint and making these ridiculous war whoops with a tomahawk in one hand and a beer in the other-all of these have significant meaning for us. And the psychological impact it has, especially on our youth, is devastating.

What is the Attitude of Native Americans?

Supporters of Native American mascots and nicknames point to surveys, such as the one published by Sports Illustrated in March 2002, which found that although most Native American activists found Indian mascots and nicknames offensive, the majority of non-activist American Indians were not disturbed by them.!!

American Indian activists explained the discrepancy in the Sports Illustrated article that accompanied the survey, saying, Native Americans self-esteem has fallen so low that they dont even know when theyre being insulted.

What is the Attitude of Native Americans? Harjo, who is president of the Morning Star Institute, an

Indian-rights organization in Washington D.C., stated in her essay, There are happy campers on every plantation. Harjo implied that although many slaves may have been content with their lives in bondage, the institution of slavery still needed to be abolished and the same reasoning holds true for Native American mascots.!!

According to the Sports Illustrated survey, 87% of American Indians who lived off Indian reservations did not object to Native American mascots or nicknames. Of the Indians who lived on reservations, 67% were not bothered by the nicknames, while 33% opposed them.

Redskins Debate (June 2013)

Grammatical Structure of Native American Languages

Phonology

Consonants of Tlingit (47)Bilabial Alveolar! Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal

Central Lateral Plain Labial Plain Labial Plain Labial

Nasal m n

Plosive t t t k k k k k kq q

qq q

q

Affricate ts ts tst t

tt t

tFricative s s x x x x h Approxi-

mant l j w

Phonology

Consonants of Mohawk (9)Bilabial Alveolar! Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal

Central Lateral Plain Labial Plain Labial Plain Labial

Nasal n

Plosive t k

Affricate

Fricative s hApproxi-

mant r j w

Sound Symbolism

Certain sounds may be associated with specific meanings!

Diminutives in Western Chinook:!!

!

!

i-mit lips!! ! i-mist little lips! i-giluk wolf!! i-skiluks newborn wolf cub! i-kxa tooth! ! i-kac little tooth! i-ilaq cricket! i-cilaq grasshopper

b, p p q k s, c

d, t t q k c

c c q kx c

g, k k x

Syllable Structure

Syllable structures in NA languages vary a lot.! Chukchansi Yokuts (Alaska): CV(C)!

te:yaw min thaxna, na calith pila:suunBefore you came, I broke the plate

!

Bella Coola (Salishan): Syllables and sentences with no vowels!

xptpskcThan he had in his possession a bunchberry plant

Word Meanings

Languages differ in the way they package ideas in words.!

Yup'ik: araq ash made from birch tree fungus or other special

plant products and than mixed with chewing tobacco! qamigartuq# to go seal-hunting with a small sled and kayak

during the spring! mangirruq to chew on frozen food, or on the ice where

food has frozen on the surface of the snow! qatnguq half sibling through a traditional spouse-

borrowing relationship

Noun Classification

Kickapoo is an Algonquian language spoken in areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Mexico.!!

Group A (ends in -a)!! ! ! Group B (ends in -i)!aamowa !! ! ! bee! ! ! ! kahchoochohi !! ! cap!!aanikwa# # # # ant! ! ! ! kisiikahpiyehikani## fork!methiikwa# # # corn! ! ! mehthooni# # # # boat!othekwithemaa# ones aunt! pokiihi# # # # # book!

Noun Classification: Animacy

Kickapoo people separate things into two categories: animate (with the suffix -a) and inanimate with the suffix -i.)!

Words in Group A are things that are alive - they are animate.!

Words in Group B are inanimate.

Verb-Noun Agreement in Navajo

Navajo:! Navajo is an Athabascan language spoken by about

130,000 people in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.!

Some languages such as Navajo, Chipewyan, Kutchin, Koyukon, Apache and quite a few others use different verbs to talk about how different kinds of objects are handled. !

Navajo has 12 categories according to some linguists.! http://www.aptalaska.net/~ron/FOOD%2005/

workweb/classification.htm

Verb-Noun Agreement in Navajo When you want to talk about various ways of handling an object, you first need to

choose the appropriate verb depending on the shape and consistency of that object. !!

The resulting verbs meaning `I pick/lift up__' will look like this:!!

ndideeshtiil slender stiff object (key, pole) ndideeshleel slender flexible object (branch, rope) ndideesh'aal roundish or bulky object (bottle, rock) ndideeshgheel compact and heavy (bundle, pack) ndideeshjol non-compact or diffuse (wool, hay) ndideeshteel something animate (child, dog) ndideeshnil a few small objects (a couple of nuts) ndideeshjih a large number of small objects (pile of berries) ndideeshtsos something flexible and flat (blanket, paper) ndideeshjil something I carry on my back ndideeshkaal anything in a vessels ndideeshtloh mushy matter (mud)

Inalienable Possession

In Keres (NM) some nouns can occur with or without possession-indicating prefixes.!

e.g. ! dyuuni ! ! pottery ! ! ! sadyuuni ! my pottery!!

Some nouns such as body parts cannot exist apart from the body. These nouns must include a possessive prefix in Keres. (Inalienable Possession)!

e.g. ! *d# # # foot (impossible to say)! ! ! sd ! ! ! my foot!! !!

Reduplication in Tohono Oodham

Reduplication: The plural is formed by taking the first syllable of the base form and adding it to the beginning of the word.!!

kawyu !! ! horse! kakawyu# # horses! gogs# # # dog! gogogs## # dogs! daikud## # chair! dadaikud# # chairs

Dual Number in Hualapai

In languages with dual number, singular (one) is contrasted with dual (two) and with plural (more than two). Dual number is found in Eskimo languages and in the Athabascan, Siouan, Iroquoian, Muskogean, and Uto-Aztecan groups in North America. Some languages have dual constructions with verbs as in Hualapai:!

wa:k!! ! ! (one) to sit! ba:yk! ! ! (two) to sit (together)! wayk! ! ! (a few or more) to sit (together)! wayo:k! ! ! (many) to sit (together)

Direction in Yahi

tkhnjam - north -sdjam, djam - to the north

-gam - from the north

th:nauna - east -hau, -au - to/in the east

-tkhi - from the east

thnthpha - south -thpha - to the south

-wacu - from the south

thndji - west -pdji - to the west

-haucu - from the west

Direction in Yahi thndji - west

-pdji - to the west-haucu - from the west!

th:nauna - east-hau, -au - to/in the east-tkhi - from the east!

-tkhnjam - north-sdjam, djam - to the north -gam - from the north!

-thnthpha - south-thpha - to the south-wacu - from the south

bah-du-wl-gam!He ran back ___ across the stream!!bi:-lo- thpha -anti!Then they went ___ up the mountain.!!Nh-du-ri-hau!He went back ____ down hill.!!dj:-ye:mai-chit-gam!He came dancing from the ____

Directionality in Other Languages

In some California languages direction words are not based on the sun, but on geographical features and the direction of the rivers flow.!

In Korok, the door of your house would not be on the south end, but rather upstream or downstream.!

Native languages in southern California rely more on solar orientation than languages in the north.

Left and Right?

Some languages of California dont talk about right and left hands; they talk about east and west hands or north and south hands, or upriver and downriver hands. !

Directionality is determined by your position with respect to the earth rather than to your own body.

Native American languages

The most commonly cited trait of American Indian languages is polysynthesis!

One word expresses the idea that would be conveyed in an entire sentence in a non-polysynthetic language.

Polysynthesis

Yupik !!angyaghllangyugtuq#angya-ghlla-ng-yug-tuq #boat-big-acquire-want-3rdper.sing !'He wants to acquire a big boat.!!kaigpiallrulliniuk#kaig-piar-llru-llini-u-k#be.hungry-really-past-apparently-indicative-they.two!The two of them were apparently really hungry

Polysynthesis

Mohawk !sahuwanhotkwahse#s-a-huwa-nho-t-kw-ahs-e#again-past-she/him-door-close-un-for-punctual!she opened the door for him again!!washakotya'tawitsherahetkvhta'se #He ruined her dress!(strictly, "He made the thing that one puts on one's body ugly for her").

Scope and Polysynthesis

Order of morphemes is important and can affect the meaning (Yupik):

yugpacuaqyug-pag-cuar person-big-little little giant

yucuarpakyug-cuar-pag person-little-big big midget

Scope and Polysynthesis

Order of morphemes is important and can affect the meaning (Yupik):

ayagciqsugnarqnillruuqayag-ciq-yugnarqe-ni-llru-u-qgo-fut-probably-claim-past-indic.intr-3sg He said he would probably go

ayagciqnillruyugnarquqayag-ciq-ni-llru-yugnarqe-u-qgo-fut-claim-past-probably-indic.intr-3sg He probably said he would go

Noun Incorporation

Noun Incorporation: Noun and verb can be compounded into the single word!

Tuscarora:! w:nakwahst

w-:n-akwahst neuter-day-be.goodit is day-good = its a good day

wakwahst aw:new-akwahst aw-:n-eneuter-be.good neuter-day-nounthe day is good

Suffixes

Suffixes may have very general usage.! Yupik:!

-liur-: be occupied with!!

kegguteliurtuq hes brushing his teeth (keggun tooth)! qusngilliurtuq hes cooking reindeer meat (qusngiq

reindeer! eqiurtuq hes chopping wood (equk wood)! kipusviliurtuq hes working at the store (kipusvik store)! neqeliurtuq hes cutting fish (neqa fish)

Suffixes

Suffixes may have very general usage.! Yupik:!

-tur-: have!!

akutarturtuq hes eating Eskimo ice cream (akutaq Eskimo ice cream)!

atkugturtuq hes wearing a parka (akutaq parka)! augturtuq hes taking Communion (auk blood)! puyurturtuq hes smoking (puyuq smoke)! umyuarturtuq hes thinking (umyuaq mind)

Inclusive/Exclusive we

Inclusive and exclusive we: Pronouns which refer to the speaker plus the others (Mohawk):!

! Inclusive Dual: teni-hia:tons we two (you and I) are

writing! Inclusive Plural: tewa-hia:tons we all (you all and I) are

writing! Exclusive Dual: iakeni-hia:tons we two (s/he and I) are

writing! Exclusive Plural: iakwa-hia:tons we all (they and I) are

writing

Tense

Some languages show very elaborate tense systems (Washo):! -lul: Distant past (before lifetime of the speaker)! -gul: Remembered past (distant past within lifetime of the

speaker)! -ay: Intermediate past (not the same day, but not in extremely

distant past)! -leg: Recent past (earlier same day or preceding night)! -asa: Near future (immediate future up to 1 hour or a bit

later) ! -ti: Intermediate future (later same day, next night or

following morning)! -gab: Distant future (following day or any later time)

Evidentiality Evidentiality in Central Pomo: !

NO EVIDENCE:! hemul it rained !

ESTABLISHED FACT:! hemul=ma it rained !

I WAS THERE AND SAW IT:! hemul=ya it rained !

I WAS TOLD:! hemul=do: it rained!

I HAVE SOME EVIDENCE (DROPS ON THE ROOF):! hemul=nme: it rained!

I CONCLUDED IT (EVERYTHING IS WET):! hemul=ka it must have rained

Linguistic Relativity

Linguistic Relativity or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis theorizes that thoughts and behavior are determined (or are at least partially influenced) by language.

Does language influence the way we see the world?

Korean:!Honorifics (special forms depending on the "rank"

of who you are talking to) !!

go (to an inferior) ! ! ! ! ! ! kara !go (to an adult inferior) ! ! ! ! kage !go (to a superior) !! ! ! ! ! kaseyo !go (to a higher ranking superior) ! kasipsio

Linguistic relativity Recently, there has been a resurgence in the idea of

linguistic relativity, largely due to a study by Peter Gordon which examines the language of the Pirah tribe of Brazil. !

According to Gordon, the language used by this tribe only contains three counting words: one, two and many. Gordon shows through a series of experiments that the people of the Pirah tribe have difficulty recounting numbers higher than three. (Gordon, 2004)

The causal relationship of these events is not clear. Critics have argued that if the test subjects are unable to count numbers higher than three for some other reason (perhaps because they are nomadic hunter/gatherers with nothing to count and hence no need to practice doing so) then one should not expect their language to have words for such numbers. !

That is, it is the lack of need which explains both the lack of counting ability and the lack of corresponding vocabulary.

Is it the language or is it the environment?

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis !

Linguistic Determinism (Sapir) The language you speak determines how you will

interpret the world around you! Linguistic Relativism (Whorf)

Language influences your view of the world around you


Edward Sapir 1884-1939

Benjamin Lee Whorf 1897-1941


No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached... We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation (Sapir, The Status of Linguistic as a Science 1929)

The Great Eskimo (Inuit) Snow Hoax

Whorf: Eskimo languages have over 400 words for snow! He argues that this modifies the world view of the Inuit,

creating a different mode of existence for them than, for instance, a speaker of English.!

! It turns out the Inuit do not have four hundred words for

snow, as has been claimed in print, or two hundred, or one hundred, or forty-eight, or even twenty. !

Counting generously, experts can come up with about a dozen, but by such standards English would not be far behind, with snow, sleet, slush, blizzard, avalanche, hail, hardpack, powder, flurry, corn snow, dusting, etc.

Hopi Concept of Time

The European notion of time is supposedly supported and maintained by a linear tense systems. (remote past, past, present, future, etc.)!

The Hopi language/culture system has no such image of time, working from a different worldview principle that sees only cyclical, not linear, time round, not flat.!!

Hopi has no past and future tense markers. ! But it can express the duration, intensity, and relative

order of events

Language and Thought

Lera Boroditsky experiments:! Time and Space:!

Pointing to a point in the space: Imagine this is today. Where would you put tomorrow? or Imagine this is lunch. Where would you put breakfast?!

English speakers: left of the initial point ! Mandarin speakers: top of the initial point


Lera Boroditsky experiments:! Time and Space!

Experiment with buttons on the keyboard. Which one is faster?

SecondFirst

FirstSecond

English speakers: (1) fast, (2) slow Mandarin speakers: (1) fast, (2) slow

(1)

(2)


Lera Boroditsky experiments:! Time and Space!

Experiment with buttons on the keyboard. Which one is faster?

First

Second

Second

First

English speakers: no difference between (1) and (2) Mandarin speakers: (1) fast, (2) slow

(1) (2)


Lera Boroditsky experiments:! Color terms:!

Russian has two words for blue:! goluboj (light blue) and sinij (dark blue)!

Task: Match the square on top to the one of the squares on the bottom!

English speakers: speed (1) = speed (2)! Russian speakers: speed of (1) > speed of (2)

goluboj sinij

(2)(1)

blue

Do the words we use influence how we think?

Does using sexist language tend to make one think in a sexist manner?!

Waitress, stewardess, actress, bimbo# Steven Pinker coined the phrase the euphemism

treadmill to describe the process in which euphemistic neologisms acquire all the negative associations of the words they were coined to replace.!

crippled > disabled > challenged > differently abled# retarded > mentally handicapped # fat > heavy > metabolically challenged# short > vertically challenged

Discussion

Do euphemisms like sanitation engineer or administrative assistant make us think more positively about people holding those jobs?!!

Does German word Schadenfreude (joy of seeing others suffer) mean that Germans have a special capacity for cruelty?

17. native american - iik

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