The Creation of Science and Technology Terms in Tibetan and Modernization in Tibet

1.There can be no modernization in Tibet withoutmodern science and technology,and the dissemina-tion of modern science and technology needs languageas an intermediary.As the main common language ofthe Tibetan people,the Tibetan spoken and writtenlanguage has played a very important role in the exist-ence and development of the Tibetan people.It hashelped to promote and maintain material and ethicalprogress,and to maintain the integrity of the nation,and so has left a brilliant page in the cultural store-house of the motherland.Now,as society witnessesprogress in science and technolog,and confronts the     

The Perside Language of Shiraz Jewry: A Historical-Comparative Phonology

This study concerns the native language of Shirazi Jews, most of whom live in diasporic communities outside Iran. The language Judeo-Shirazi belongs to the Southwest Iranian group, as do most other native languages spoken in southern Iran. As such, Judeo-Shirazi shows general agreements with native rural varieties spoken in inland Fārs. There are, however, phonological features suggesting that Judeo-Shirazi is an insular survivor of the Medieval Shirazi language, from which a sizable literature has survived dating back to the fifteenth century.     

PARALLELS AND DIVERGENCES BETWEEN WARLPIRI SIGN LANGUAGE AND SPOKEN WARLPIRI: ANALYSES OF SIGNED AND SPOKEN DISCOURSES

Among the Warlpiri, as among other central Australian Aborigines, older women use a complex sign language as an alternative to speech when, for ritual reasons, as in mourning, silence must be observed. As part of a study of the relationship between this sign language and spoken Warlpiri, a comparison is undertaken between a signed version and a spoken version of two traditional narratives, each told by the same woman out recorded on separate occasions. It is found that signs are ordered in the same way within signed discourse as are words in spoken discourse and a comparison between discourse units in the two versions dealing with the same content shows a close correspondence between the words and signs used; complex lexical items, such as preverb-verb formations in the spoken language are commonly matched by compound signs that correspond to the morphological structure of the spoken form. However, only lexical morphemes are represented in sign. Markers of case relations, tense, and cliticized pronouns are not signed. The findings are interpreted as supporting the view that these alternate sign languages, unlike sign language of the deaf, are not fully autonomous systems but are built up as gestural representations of the semantic units provided by the spoken language.     

On Language Distribution in Ilam Province,Iran

As is still the case in many parts of Iran, the distribution of languages and dialects in Ilam Province, western Iran, is unevenly documented. There have been several studies on specific language varieties spoken throughout the province but, in large part because of conflicting perspectives on the relationship between language and ethnicity, the situation for the region as a whole has until now remained unclear. The present study first of all brings together existing sociolinguistic and demographic data on language distribution and highlight areas of uncertainty. The main part of the study provides an overview of local perceptions of language distribution and language use based on field research and interviews conducted in each of the province's ten regions (shahrestān) and their twenty-five districts (bakhsh). Here, respondents' assessments of the geographic extent of the province's four main languages—Kurdish, Luri, Laki and Arabic—as well as more minor languages spoken by immigrants from elsewhere in Iran are summarized. For Kurdish in particular, which is the major of the four languages, the article shows the perceived geographic distribution of each major dialect and its affiliation within one of two major Kurdish dialect groups: Ilāmi (or “Feyli”) and Kalhōri. This analysis is followed by a brief discussion of multilingualism. The results of the study are brought together in a map of the province's languages.     

语用功能视角下的模糊语研究

模糊现象在自然界、人类社会、人类思维中广泛存在。众所周知,在某些特定的场合下,模糊语比清晰精确的语言更得体更有效。本文简要回顾了模糊语的渊源,对模糊语进行了界定,论述了模糊语产生的根源,并将其与格赖斯的“合作原则”相结合探讨其语用功能。最后提出相应的语用策略,以期促进交际者充分利用模糊语积极一面,减少其消极影响,从而使言语交际顺利有效地进行。     

The Influence of Katharevousa on the Phonology of Modern Greek

Abstract

Much has been written on Greek diglossia and the language struggle (between katharevousa and dhimotiki ). Defenders of katharevousa have emphasized the importance of the language's roots in ancient Greek, opponents of katharevousa have emphasized the idea that the Greek language should be first and foremost ‘the language of the people’. More recently, the focus of the discussion has shifted to what constitutes ‘true’ dhimotiki and the extent to which certain katharevousa elements are acceptable to the modern language; see for instance G. Babiniotis, <inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in1.tif"/><inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in2.tif"/>(Athens 1979) and A Linguistic Approach to the ‘Language Question’ in Greece (BMGS 5, 1979), E. Kriaras' reactions to Babiniotis' views in his ‘<inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in3.tif"/><inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in4.tif"/>(Athens 1979) and Mesevrinos' H <inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in5.tif"/><inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in6.tif"/>(Nicosia 1973). All of these writers are more concerned with determining what should be considered correct or acceptable to the modern language than with analysing actual usage. In general, very little of the discussion is concerned with the spoken language. M. Setatos' article (<inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in7.tif"/><inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in8.tif"/>1973) is particularly interesting because it sets out to analyse the place of katharevousa in the modern language (both written and spoken) rather than arguing for or against katharevousa. Setatos has also written the most detailed analysis of modern Greek phonology (<inline-graphic href="splitsection5_in9.tif"/>, Athens 1974). Other interesting articles on katharevousa elements in the spoken language have been written by Philippaki-Warburton, Tsopanakis, and Petrounias. However, there has in fact been scarcely any empirical research on modern Greek phonology and the extent to which spoken Greek has been influenced by katharevousa. It is perhaps understandable, given the social and historical context, that there has been so much emphasis on theory; the priority has been establishing norms on an acceptable theoretical basis, in the midst of the confusion caused by diglossia, and the question ‘what is actual practice in spoken Greek now, at the end of the twentieth century?’ has had to wait.     

Modern Greek in the European Union: Language,Economy and Culture

Abstract

For those teaching and researching in Modern Greek Studies outside Greece, discussion of the eighties and nineties is characterised by reference to changes in Greek political life, as well as in the Greek educational system and policy making directly connected with Greece's entry into the European Union. Greece became a member of the EU as recently as 1981. PASOK, viewed membership as temporary but these claims were dropped after 1985. In the same period changes introduced into the linguistic system of the Greek language led to discussions of educational and cultural interest. More recently, however, certain developments concerning the role of strong languages in the European Union have brought to the fore issues concerning weak languages, those spoken by less people in the European Union, and their related cultures. This has once again opened the forum of discussion regarding matters of linguistic survival and cultural variety.     

Language Diversity in West Africa: An Ecological Approach

Analysis of a linguistic atlas reveals an ecological gradient in the diversity of languages in West Africa. As one moves south from arid into lusher ecoclimatic zones, the average size of ethnolinguistic groups decreases. Various factors are considered which may have contributed to this distribution. I argue that the ethnolinguistic map is primarily a reflection of the systems of generalized exchange and mutual dependence into which people enter. It is hypothesized that such social networks function to reduce subsistence risk due to variations in the food supply. If this hypothesis is correct, the average size of ethnolinguistic groups should be inversely proportional to the degree of ecological variability they face. This prediction is tested and found to hold strongly for a large part of West Africa. There is also limited evidence of a correlation between linguistic diversity and topography. It is concluded that ecological risk has been a key historical force in West Africa and that the ethnolinguistic mosaic can be used as a valuable “fossil record” of people's adaptive social and economic strategies.     

The Cunning Means of Domination

This discussion started on the WAC listserv when I objected on 8 April 2007 to a short message sent by Claire Smith on the previous day. She had been announcing that her colleague “Heather Burke and [are] putting together a list of important non-Anglo archaeologists” and was asking whether “anyone has any recommendations” for that list and, if so, whether they would email her off list. I objected strongly. This paper explains why. In doing so I am describing the degree of complexity language use has acquired in the contemporary world with old linguistic maps quickly become obsolete. To insist that English is simply the lingua franca of academic discourse is to ignore that complexity. The wide use of English as an academic lingua franca means in practice that there are very strong asymmetries not only in individual archaeologists’ abilities to express themselves competently and confidently in that language but also in what is considered appropriate or possible to express. For a language is not simply a random code with which anything might be said to anybody. Language, and the conventions that govern how a given language is to be applied, influences to a large extent even what is a sensible thing to say in a given context. Language use in archaeology is not about translating the same archaeology into different languages but about translating between different archaeologies and associated cultural practices including languages. The only sensible way forward is for WAC to promote among its members the learning of more languages—which is something the vast majority of “non-Anglo” archaeologists already knows and accepts as a fact of life. We do not need lists of “non-Anglo” archaeologists that are considered worth reading about in English, but more archaeologists being able to appreciate the work of colleagues in its original language. In conclusion I urge exclusively Anglophone archaeologists to please stop finding excuses for learning foreign languages.     

The Linguistics of Inhabiting Space: Spatial Reference in the North-East Ambae Language1

North-East Ambae, a member of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian, is spoken on the volcanic island of Ambae, in northern Vanuatu. Like many Austronesian languages, it has a complex system of spatial reference. In this paper I describe one aspect of this system, the use of the members of the word class of ‘directionals’. Directionals can be used to refer to both direction of movement and location in space, and involve the interaction between an absolute and a deictic system. The absolute system is based on a division of the environment that uses both the vertical axis and the landward-seaward axis, although it also uses other divisions. Onto this absolute system is mapped a partially deictic system, such that each of the oppositions of the absolute system can be marked according to a three-way distinction relative to the participants of the speech act. That the speakers are highly attuned to their environment is reflected in the use of this complex spatial reference system. The paper underlines the importance of detailed analyses of spatial reference systems in describing languages, reflecting the significance of such systems in common language use.     

Major and Minor Turkic Language Islands in Iran with a Special Focus on Khalaj

This contribution offers a presentation of Turkic languages in Iran with special focus on Khalaj, a non-Oghuzic language spoken in the Markazī province. Attention is paid to features induced by contact with Iranian languages in particular with regard to the anaphoric pronominal stem bilä-, necessity constructions and the multifunctionality of ki/ke, providing new data on Khalaj and offering significant insights for further research.     

Language and Archaeology in Southern Africa: The Search for Post-colonial Reality

Issues to do with languages, particularly those of the former colonizers and the dominant have always been very emotive topics in post-colonial settings. Surely, such languages are living reminders of the bad associated with domination. Ironically, the same languages have emerged as mediums of communication in many post-colonies replete with ethnic groups who speak unrelated languages. For example, the thriving nature of English remarkably contrasts with the fast disappearance of many of the world's languages. However, as archaeologists and in view of the diversity of our languages, how do we communicate and understand each other? We may invent a neutral language or translate every other article into our many languages. But at what cost? Half the world is dying of hunger and disease as we argue over the need to make all languages important; research money is becoming difficult to access. Therefore, the need to communicate is probably more important than the need to perpetuate a victim mentality.     

Indo-European Warfare

Abstract

The Indo-European languages comprise the largest language family in the world and by the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age occupied a broad expanse of Eurasia from Ireland to western China and India. The inherited vocabulary of the Indo-European languages provides us with an image of the prehistoric language(s) that was spoken at least from the late Neolithic onwards and sheds light on the actual names of weapons, types of defensive architecture, terms for aggressive behaviour, trauma, institutions and poetic diction associated with warfare. In addition, there is also a body of ethnographic and mythological data that purports to provide a picture of the social organization and attitudes toward warriors shared by the earliest Indo-Europeans.     

Trends and triggers: Climate,climate change and civil conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa

The conventional discourse relating climate change to conflict focuses on long term trends in temperature and precipitation that define ecosystems and their subsequent impact on access to renewable resources. Because these changes occur over long time periods they may not capture the proximate factors that trigger conflict. We estimate the impact of both long term trends in climate and short term climatic triggers on civil conflict onset in Sub-Saharan Africa. We find that both operationalizations have a significant impact. Climates more suitable for Eurasian agriculture are associated with a decreased likelihood of conflict, while freshwater resources per capita are positively associated with the likelihood of conflict. Moreover, positive changes in rainfall are associated with a decreased likelihood of conflict in the following year. We also assess the outlook for the future by analyzing simulated changes in precipitation means and variability over the period 2000–2099. We find few statistically significant, positive trends in our measure of interannual variability, suggesting that it is unlikely to be affected dramatically by expected changes in climate.     

SONGS OF A WAYFARING LAD

Summary. Trade languages are an indispensable mechanism of communication and acculturation in direct and long term trade relationships. In such cases, the aim of this paper is to suggest that Lusitanian, the old Indoeuropean language spoken in West Iberia, arrived in this way from the Atlantic region in the Late Bronze Age, together with technical improvements and a new ideology that deeply influenced the local population, which preserved these cultural features unchanged until the Roman conquest.     

Language and Nationalism: Comparing Flanders and Tanzania

Abstract. Language is often a central issue in nationalist ideologies. It is seen as a crucial element in the definition of people's identities, and it is often a battlefield for nationalist activities. An analysis of how language is conceptualised and made part of a particular nationalist struggle may yield insights into the ideological structure of this particular nationalism, and thus lead to more refined ways of distinguishing between various types of nationalisms. In this article, a comparison is made between language in Flemish nationalism and in Tanzanian post-Ujamaa nationalism. In both cases, great emphasis is placed by the nation-builders on the central role of language in attaining the nationalist goals. However, a comparison of both cases also yields significant differences. The Flemish view of language is predominantly ethnic. Dutch is seen as an inalienable marker of identity, shared with the Dutch people, and creating a fundamental difference with the Walloon Belgians. Also, language is closely associated with the territory on which it is being spoken, which yields a homogeneistic and assimilationist attitude towards speakers of other languages on Flemish temtory. In Tanzania, Swahili is seen as an instrument for attaining a socialist political- ideological hegemonisation of the state. Swahili is chosen not for cultural reasons, but because it allows for egalitarian, socialist connotations. Underlying both language ideologies are basic differences in the structure of nationalism in Flanders and Tanzania, Flanders being an example of ethnic nationalism and Tanzania an example of socialist state nationalism.     

Language and nationality: the role of policy towards Celtic languages in the consolidation of Tudor power

This article considers the attitude of the governing elite in sixteenth‐century England to the minority languages spoken by subjects within their jurisdiction, concentrating on Cornish, Welsh and Irish. Perhaps influenced by the tendency of nineteenth‐century nationalists to equate nationality and language, historians have assumed that Tudor governments were hostile to languages other than English and wished to suppress them. An examination of a variety of sources leads to the suggestion that this was not the case. There was a certain amount of apprehension in the political sphere in the 1530s but in the second half of the century cultural perception of languages dominated as attempts to spread the Protestant faith led to an encouragement of the range of vernaculars. The conclusion points to parallels between sixteenth‐century and contemporary sympathy towards minority cultures in the context of the devolution debate.     

Language as a public good and national identity: Scotland's competing heritage languages

The preservation of one or several historically and culturally important languages may be a salient political issue in some polities. Although they may not be used as an active means of communication, these languages can also serve a symbolic identitary function. These ‘heritage’ languages can be seen as ‘public goods’ and that even non‐speakers of these languages can have opinions regarding their importance to national identity. In the Scotland example, while Gaelic has been the focus of proactive government legislation and education initiatives, Scots is still struggling for status as a recognised language. Both languages are in some way constituent parts of Scottish identity that at times may seem in competition with one another. Using original survey data, we delve deeper into questions of language, identity and politics in Scotland. First, we describe how public opinion is divided over the importance of Gaelic and Scots to Scottish identity. Second, we use attitudes towards these languages as a dependent variable looking at Scottish identity and attachment. Finally, we use these attitudes towards Gaelic and Scots as an independent variable in models for party identification in Scotland.     

Add language documentation to any ethnographic project in six steps

All anthropologists should take to heart Dell Hymes' frequent quip: ‘Language is too important to leave to linguists and linguistics is too valuable to ignore’. This century will see the disappearance of hundreds of languages and a significant reduction in the use of thousands of others, at the very least. Documenting endangered ways of speaking (in any language) is part of producing sophisticated and ethically robust anthropology. Most indigenous communities want their knowledge documented and many are enthusiastic about collaborative projects with anthropologists. Producing language documentation has never been easier with the recent proliferation of computer software and inexpensive quality audio equipment. Collaborative anthropology need not eclipse theory‐driven anthropology or divert junior scholars from the production of PhD dissertations and journal articles critical for professional advancement. This article provides anthropologists with a six‐step programme to add a language documentation element to their current ethnographic research practices. Documentary linguists preach to their colleagues that people speak in a context, and this context needs attention. Anthropologists know that, of course, but they need to be reminded of the importance of form in expression and the documentation of specific, original forms leads to a richer and deeper anthropology. It is also a vital part of ethical research practices, good relations with source communities, and an easy way to make a significant impact now and forever. A small investment in time and money produces anthropology that makes a difference in people's lives.     

The Neo-Aramaic Dialects of Iran

Spoken vernacular dialects of Aramaic, generally known as Neo-Aramaic dialects, have survived down to modern times in various regions of the Middle East and can be divided into various subgroups. There are some islands of Neo-Aramaic in the West of Iran, which are situated on the eastern periphery of the Neo-Aramaic area. These include dialects spoken by Christians and Jews belonging to the North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic subgroup in the West Azerbaijan, Kordestan and Kermanshah provinces and Neo-Mandaic spoken by Mandaeans in the Khuzestan province. This paper examines a number of distinctive features of the Neo-Aramaic dialects of Iran, including those that have been induced by contact with other languages in the area.