Languages and Their Speakers

324 Pages·1987·43.551 MB·

by  Timothy Shopen

LANGUAGES
AND
THEIR
SPEAKERS
EDITED BY TIMOTHY SHOPEN

M/,aouAj^%mS^UiAr~
Languages and Their Speakers

Languages and Their Speakers
Timothy Shopen
Australian National University
under the auspices of the Center for Applied Linguistics
ufia
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia
Library ofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data
Languagesand their speakers.
Reprint. Originally published: Cambridge, Mass. :
Winthrop Publishers, cl979.
Includes bibliographies.
\. Language and languages. 2. Languageandculture.
L Shopen, Timothy.
[P106.L318 19871 401.9 87-6014
ISBN 0-8122-1250-9 (pbk.)
Photo Credits
p. 11, Photograph by Jane R. Wattenberg; p. 58, Scott Jackson; p. 240,
John Dominis, Life Magazine, (g) 1958 Time Inc.; p. 245, Photo from
Japan 1971 (No. 2); p. 279, Photo by Qantas
© 1979byWinthropPublishers, Inc.
17 DunsterStreet, Cambridge, Massachusetts02138
Paperback edition 1987 by the University ofPennsylvania Press,
published by arrangement with theCenterfor Applied Linguistics.
Ailrightsreserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form
orby any means without permission in writingfrom the publisher.
Printed in the United StatesofAmerica.
2nd paperback printing 1988
Contents
Illustrations vii
Introduction ix
Prefaceto the1987Edition 1
I JACALTEC: FIELD WORK IN GUATEMALA
Colette Grinevald Craig
Introduction 3
Field Methods 4
The Jacaltec Language 29
The Linguistic Horizons of Jacaltec Speakers 51
Suggestions for Further Reading 57
MANINKA
II 59
Charles Bird and Timothy Shopen
Introduction: Maninka Language and Society 59
Maninka Grammar 61
The Use of Language in Maninka Culture 88
Suggestions for Further Reading 106
Appendix 107
BECOMING A COMPETENT SPEAKER OF
III
MALAGASY
113
Edward Louis Keenan and Elinor Ochs
Introduction 113
Background 115
Forming Sentences in Malagasy 117
Malagasy Subjects and Complex Structures 127
Conditions on the Use of Speech 138
Behavioral Norms and Speech Usage 147
Suggestions for Further Reading 157
vi Contents
IV HOW TO TALK TO YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW IN
GUUGU YIMIDHIRR
161
John B. Haviland
Embedded Speech 161
The Language of Cooktown 164
The Guugu Yimidhirr Language 171
The Social Context of Speech in Traditional Guugu Yimidhirr
Society 209
Language in the Modern Guugu Yimidhirr Community 228
Suggestions for Further Reading 234
Glossary 235
JAPANESE: A STORY OF LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE 241
Kyoko Inoue
Introduction 241
A History of Japan 243
The Structure of Japanese 255
Japanese and Its Relation to the Environment 278
Suggestions for Further Reading 299
Illustrations
Maps and Diagrams
Figure 1.1 The Mayan Languages 7
Figure 1.2 The Way to Jacaltenango 9
Figure 1.4 Jacaltenango and Its Environs 36
Figure 2.1 The Maninka Language Group and Its Various
Names 60
Figure 2.2 Sentence Conjunction 67
Figure 2.3 Multilevel Sentence Conjunction 68
Figure 3.2 The Area Within Which Austronesian Languages Are
Spoken 116
Figure 4.1 The Traditional Territory of Guugu Yimidhirr-Speaking
People 168
Figure 5.1 Japan 242
Photographs
Figure 1.3 Colette Grinevald Craig and Maria Trinidad Montejo
(T.M.) 11
Figure 2.4 The Famous Bard Batourou Sekou Kouyate 96
Figure 3.1 Edward Keenan and Elinor Ochs with the Razotovo
Family 114
Figure 3.3 Tombs, Individual Oratory, and Collective
Responsibility 140, 141
Figure 4.2 Avoidance 170
Figure 4.3 Relaxed Amicability 212
Figure 5.2 A Calligraphy Lesson at Primary School 245
Figure 5.3 A Family Meal 279
VII