Anthropology Final - Fall 2006

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Terms

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Phoneme/Morpheme: The basic units of sound for a language/basic unit that carry meaning
Aspiration: Pronunciation of some phonemes accompanied by air blown out of the mouth
Voiced/Unvoiced Consonants: Voiced - accompanied by vibrating of vocal chords (f/s/k)
Unvoiced - pronounced without vibrations (v/z/g)
Allophone: Variant forms of the same phoneme that are pronounced slightly differently because of the context they are found in
Allomorph: different forms that carry the same meaning (i.e. "s" and "es" both make something plural)
Grammar: The complete description of a language, including its phonology, morphology, syntax (rules) and lexicon
proto-language: A language in the past from which present-day languages are descended
cognates: pair of words in different languages that have the same meaning and similar but not identical forms
pidgin: language created by the contact of two different speech communities. No native speakers, usu. grammar and vocabularies simpler than source languages
creole: pidgin language that has become a native languaggee for a community
linguistic imperialism: when one language dominates over and replaces another language usu. due to colonization, encouraging monolingualism.
ethnosemantics: the study of how a language organizes and classifies the world around it
markedness: linguistic distinction made by including or omitting a "marker" as in lion (unmarked) and lioness. unmarked=more general/inclusive
langue (italicized) v. parole (italicized): -the formal language, with its phonology, morphology, syntax and grammar
-how a language is actually used in social settings
sociolinguistics: the analysis of parole or speech to see how language use is affected by the social and cultural contexts in which it is found
backchanelling: a verbal or non-verbal signal inserted by the listener whose meaning is culturally specific. ("yeah" or head nod)
dialect: variations of a language due to differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax
AAVE: African-American Vernacular English; used in AA communities in the US
enculturation: the process by which children learn the rules and values of their culture
mental illness: normal, expected and acceptable behavior in a culture is baseline; deviance from this baseline is abnormal behavior or mental illness
Windigo Psychosis: A mental illness in which there is a feeling of being persecuted by supernatural spirits and having cannibalistic fantasies that occurred among the Algonquian Native Americans in the Northeast
amok (italicized): a mental illness found in Malaysia and Indonesia in which the victim kills people while in a temporarily deranged state
latah (italicized): a mental illness found in Malaysia predominately in females, whose symptoms include a startle reaction and compulsive imitation of words, gestures, and acts
marabout (italicized): traditional Algerian therapist, regarded as a saint and healer whose burial place often becomes a shrine
maximizing: how individuals interpret economic rules/norms to their own advantage economically
economic organization: the way in which a society, in a regularized fashion, goes about providing the material goods and services it needs to reproduce itself
production: the process whereby a society uses the tools and energy sources at its disposal and the labor of its people and domesticated animals to create the foods necessary for maintaining society as an ongoing entity
technology: the means by which people directly exploit their environment; encompasses the manufacture and use of tools.
hunting and gathering: a mode of exploiting the natural environment for subsistence, which includes hunting wild animals, gathering roots and seeds and plants, and fishing and collecting sea life.
foragers: hunter-gatherers who move relatively often and return to their residential base daily and consume what they have found.
collectors: hunter-gatherers who move less often and practice resource storage and processing at field camps and base camps
agriculture: the domestication of plants for the use of subsistence
horticulture: a mode of production in which a part of a plant is used for vegetative propogation in gardens (not planting seeds - included in agriculture)
swidden cultivation: (aka shifting) cultivation in which gardens are created through the burning of forest or brush; ashes act as fertilizer; because soil nutrients are depleted rapidly, new locations for gardens are found every year
grain agriculture: a mode of production which uses technology, such as the use of a plow drawn by draft animals and of animal manure as fertilizer, may involve the use of elaborate irrigation systems; fields are permanent
animal domestication: manipulation of the biological characteristics of animal species to selectively breed more controllable and useful animals
nomadic pastoralist: a mode of production in which humans herd animals to various pastures and which involves seasonal movements or migrations
distribution: the manner in which culturally valued products circulate through societies
exchange: when goods and/or services are traded between two (or more) different groups; operates according to cultural rules that are concerned with, among other things, the relationship between ficer and receiver
reciprocal exchange: the simplest exchange system that involves two sides, of equal status, that are in continuing exchange with one another
egalitarian societies: societies in which rank differences were absent
kaiko (italicized): a system of delayed exchange of the Maring of New Guinea highlands which extends over several months, during which amassed pigs are slaughtered and redistributed from a central point to multiple patrilineal clans
generalized exchange: a complex exchange system in which goods are exchanged from group to group and which links several groups together in an entire region
potlach (italicized): a ceremonial redistribution of goods in Northwest Coast native societies with flexible rank in which enormous quantities of valuables are distributed to enhance the status or prestige of the individual or kin group of the giver
sagali (italicized): a mortuary redistribution ceremony of the Trobriand Islanders
urigubu: a redistribution ceremony of the Trobriand islanders honoring fathers and their kin for their social role in parenting
kula (italicized) exchange: inter-island exchange systen in TI's of shell necklaces creating alliances - identical to generalized exchange system of matrilineal cross cousin marriage
tribute: in a system of fixed rank, the exchange of goods or objects from those of lower rank to those of higher rank
political economy: the interrelationship between the economics of a society and its politics, where economic decisions have political implications and vice versa
barter: a type of distribution that conforms in part to principles of exchange; there is a direct, immediate exchange which does not create on ongoing social relationship between the two parties
globalization: a process that marks the rapid transformations in the lives of people in most parts of the world, brought about by the development of a worldwide network of finance and capitall this process is occurring at an increasingly rapid rate due to advances in telecommunications and computer technology
market: an economic system based upon the determination of prices by the market in terms of supply and demand OR the location where food commodities and craft items are bought and sold
peasant: an agricultarlist whose production is tied to redistribution in a market economy
consumption: the utilization of goods in a society determined by cultural rules
politics: involves people competing for power in which people and resources are manipulated; they maneuver to enhance power; factions arise to compete for power; and political parties are developed with differing points of view
power: the ability to command others to do certain things and to get compliance from them
authority: power that becomes institutionalized; there is usually a recognized position or office in which the occupant can issue commands that must be obeyed
influence: the ability to persuade others to follow one's lead
government: refers to the decisions made by those in office on behalf of the entire group to carry out common goals
(a) achieved (b) ascribed status: (a) a position that is based on personal qualification and individual ability
(b) a position that is inherited
informal leadership: an intermittently manifested type of organization with temporary leadership exerted in limited situations; associated with hunting and gathering groups that join together occasionally for group activities and then disperse
band organization: a political organization in which there is fixed membership and more cohesiveness than in societies with only situational leadership; leadership is based on influence not authority
Big Man structure: a political organization in which there is greater delineation of the leadership position in comparison with band organization; the group of followers is also more defined; the Big Man directs much of the economic and ritual activities in his society and is often skilled at oratory; the position of Big Man is an achieved status
Chieftanship: a political organization in which fixed position of rank and some method of succession exist; individuals and kin groups are ranked; the chief has real authority and power based in the office, chiefly positions are given to high-ranked individuals and there is a hierarchy of other political positions
primogeniture: the cultural rule whereby the first-born inherits from the previous generation
ultimogeniture: the cultural rule whereby the youngest-born inherits from the previous generation
state: a politically autonomous pluralistic entity
beuracracy: the division of a state that arries out its administrative functions
feuding: hostile action between members of the same group
warfare: hostile action between groups
anthropography of violence: a postmodernist consideration of violent forms of social conntrol, torture, and cultures of terror, analyzed to understand how they are used to establish hegemony, or domination of one group by another.
law: in most general terms, the way that disputes and conflicts are resolved in a society, some scholars suggest that the term applies only to those systems that are written
civil law: in a complex society, law that deals with private disputes betwee individuals
criminal law: in complex societies, laws that deal with crimes that are considered offenses society as a whole
legal pluralism: refers to relationship between indigenous forms of law and orignally foreign law that developed in colonial and postcolonial societies
nation: a sovereign political state with a single ethnic group
nation-state: the term used when both terms, nation and state, apply
factionalism: conflict between groups vying between themselves for political power
warlords: structurally similar to a faction and its leaders, a warlord can be compared to a militarized Big Man
failed state: the term referring to postcolonial states after the departure of the colonial beuracracy that functioned to maintain a tenuous political cohesion over indigenous groups who may not necessarily have viewed themselves as politically united
patron-client relationship: a set of relationships in which a patron of an upper class acts as an intermediary for client members of a lower class
empowerment: refers variously to actions carried out by people to get what they want, populist action, revolt from below to subvert those in authority and the devolution of power to place it in the hands of subalterns
Third World: new nation-states formed after colonialism that are based on the geography of colonial empires
Fourth World peoples: indigenous people that live in Third World nations
colonialism: the establishment of colonies by Western nations which were in search of raw materials, new markets, or labor for economic gain
postcolonialism: refers to the time after the breakdown of colonial empires and the continued significance of institutions and structures established during the colonial period
World Systems Theory: the theoretical perspective that focuses on the historis emergence of the economic interrelationship of most of the world in a single market system in which the concept of the division of labor is projected onto the world; associated with the scholarhip of Immanuel Wallerstein
transnational or multinationsl corporations: globalized corporations that operate across the borders of nation-states, who therefore lose the power to control them
indirect rule: a colonial strategy of governing through a small number of administators who integrated local political sustems and leaders into the colonial administration
direct rule: a colonial strategy of governing through a large number of military and administrative personnel that replaced local political systems
NGO: a small-scale organization developed at the village level so that villagers can have a say in the planning and execution of development sponsored by governments
applied anthropology: the sub-field of anthropology concerned with the production and application of anthropological knowledge to the solution of practical problems, initiating direct action or contributing to the formation of a broad range of policies.
migration: the movement of populations
internal migrations: the movement of populations within a nation-state
labor migration: the movement of people to new locations for the purpose of seeking employment
transmigration: permament migration of populations far from their homelands that results in varying degrees of assimilation into the cultre of their new country
chain migrations: the successive migration of various family members from their homelands to other countries
diaspora: migration of groups to other parts of the world with the retention of some connection to their homelands
sojourners: a term for economic migrants who send a portion of their wages home with the intention of returning
transnationalism: refers to migrations of family members from their homes to another country, but who continue to maintain clore contact with those left behind
guest workers: also known as international commuters, people who migrate to other countries for the purpose of working; they may remain with their famalies for many years often without the possibility of citizenship or assimilation
boundary maintenance mechanisms: the ways that people separate themselves from the dominant society in order to assert their continued cultural identity
nativistic movements: also referred to as revitalization movements, a religious cult that is born when people recognize that they are being stripped of thier own culture but have not been assimilated into the hegemonic culture; these movements synthesize many traditional cultural elements with elements introduced from the dominant society
cargo cult: a type of revitalization movement that occurred repeatedly in Melanesia based upon a prophet's vision in which deceased ancestors would rise from the dead, and the ancestors would arrive in a big ship or plane bringing with them inexhaustable goods.
ethnogenesis: a process that is produced by contact and colonialism by which people assert a new ethnic identity
ethnonationalism: a parallel process to ethnogenesis in which the state's force and power are co-opted for nationalistic purposes. (like in europe)
ethnic groups: groups that share common cultural norms, values, identities, patterns of behavior, and language
ethnic identity: an alternative term to cultural identity, used for the way individuals identify themselves; some see ethnic identity as based on primordial sentiments going back to ancient times, others see it as situational utilized in some contexts but not in others
tribe: an imprecise and outdated term which was used to refer to any cultural grouping with its own language
ethnicity: an alternate term for ethnic identity
race: a form of social classification that is perceived as representing a scientific concept based on biological systems of classification; however, racial catefories and parameters differ from society to society, which shows that the concept is socially constructed
nation building: the development of a single national culture by a hegemonic group in political control of a state, the goal being elimination of regional ethnic cultures
national culture: the language, religion, social forms and political institutions consistent with the dominant ethnic group that emerges to dominate other forms of identity in nation states
Orientalism: A perspective articulated by Edward Said that traces the history and impact of western concepts towards Islamic cultures, as reflected and reified through the influence of domination of scholarship and political relations
melting pot: an outdated concept of cultural assimilation that assumed that the US would receive people from many different cultures and societies and assimilate into the developing American culture and society
multicultural: Pluralistic or multiethnic, a discourse that awareness of and respect for different cultural backgrounds and equal political rights and participation for all minority populations

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