From an epistemological perspective, Wilhelm von Humboldt's studies on the Oriental and East Asian languages and writing systems (Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sanskrit, Chinese, Polynesian) raise the question of his position in the Orientalist discourse of his time. Said [Said, E.W., 1978. "Orientalism. Western Conceptions of the Orient, fourth…

Reviews "Approaches to Language," edited by William C. McCormak and Stephen A. Wurm, published by Mouton (1978). The volume contains 29 papers presented to a subsession of the Language in Anthropology general session of the Ninth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, held in Chicago in 1973. (AM)

Since Berlin and Kay's proposal in 1969 of two universals concerning the meanings of basic color words, three kinds of information have become available to help in understanding the encoding sequence, that is, the temporal order in which the basic color categories are accorded lexical status. McDaniel (1972, 1974, forthcoming) demonstrates that…

Discusses some of the problems inherent in traditional methods of acquiring data for linguistic analysis, and proposes research methods which involve questionnaires and are designed to eliminate these problems, especially where reliable intuitive data cannot be obtained. (AM)

A survey of linguistic history to demonstrate the linguistic basis of logical and mathematical formalism is presented. (HP)

Phonetic science is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. Phoneticians rely on, or at least collaborate with, sociologists, psychologists, biologists, poets, physicists, anthropologists, neurologists and others. A look at the history of phonetics reveals that this seemingly recent trend has deep roots. In fact, it is possible to draw parallels…

Ethnographic semantics is that discipline which seeks to understand human cognition through an analysis of the cognitive content of linguistic expressions: that is, the systematic study of the meanings of words and the role of these meanings in cognitive systems. There are many misconceptions about the nature of ethnosemantics, however, and by…

A general observation about the vocabularies of most languages is that they tend to increase in size over time. Little is known about the causal mechanisms involved in this lexical expansion, but most anthropologists and linguists are in agreement that it probably mirrors general cultural evolution. The study of lexical growth becomes important if…

Examines the effects of literacy on cultural traditions, linguistic behavior, socioeconomic organization, cognitive processes, and child development. Considers the implications for anthropological, psychological, and linguistic theories from the increased attention given to the study of literacy. Includes suggestions for socially and culturally…

Presents a look at some of the research being done on the origins of language. (BB)

Discusses the design of an undergraduate survey course in anthropological linguistics that both acquaints students with language structure and traces the cross-fertilizing relationships that bind it to other specialties within anthropology. Considers utilizing the holistic approach which views language and culture as forming a continuum of coded…

Maintains that linguistics has great potential value for historians. Contends that the pidgin and creole languages of the former colonies of European nations provide avenues for examining the histories of "people without history." (CFR)

Attempts have been made by linguists and anthropologists to reconstruct aspects of culture history by using synchronically derived lexical data. Related to this concern with culture history is one which attempts to explore the diachronic processes of lexical change over time. As a result of a comparative survey of Tzeltal and Tzotzil…

This book contains 23 essays which provide an overview of the state of the art in the discipline of anthropology, including applied anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, social anthropology, and linguistics. Most of the authors are professors and researchers from departments of anthropology in United States colleges and universities. Topics of the…

This bibliography lists 1,679 doctoral dissertations and master's theses on Native American languages. The entries represent graduate work completed at colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom between 1892 and 1992. Citations for this bibliography were gathered through an extensive search of the printed…