ANTH 262
Language and Power Spring 2025
Division II Difference, Power, and Equity

“A language is a dialect with an army.” This (originally Yiddish) aphorism points to ways in which language, often imagined to be a neutral or apolitical medium of communication, proves in practice to be a social domain fully implicated in the operations of power. How do we include, exclude, or accumulate cultural capital by the way that we talk? When a language is a goddess (as with Tamil), what forms of linguistic community follow? How is structural inequality sustained or subverted by language practices, and how can speech transform the world? This introduction to linguistic anthropology draws together classic works of linguistic and semiotic theory with studies of the politics of actual speech grounded in rich and particular cultural and historical contexts, from witchcraft accusations in rural France to the partition of Hindi and Urdu in colonial India. Students will gain familiarity with key concepts (speech acts, performatives, code-switching, language ideology), themes and debates in the social scientific study of language. The course is global in orientation, with special attention to South Asia. Assignments include in-class presentations and short response papers; students will also study language policy in a place of importance to them and make recommendations toward improving inclusivity. Finally students will conduct individual ethnographic projects analyzing a distinctive speech genre of their choice.