Language and Gender

Ethnography Assignment

The Group

The group that you choose to study should be consist of a minimum of five people who are consistently part of the group. You must be able to observe the same group of people over a period of weeks. It will be best if the group is one that would not mind being tape-recorded at times. For a project of this sort, surreptitious tape-recording is discouraged, i.e. you must tell them when you are taping them. You are required to turn in a paragraph or two describing the group and your role in it.

Yourself

You will be a participant-observer. You cannot just sit back and watch what goes on, but you must be a part of the action in some way. This will help you to understand things about the group that you might not otherwise consider. You will have to learn to balance your roles, paying attention to what is going on at a meta-level with one part of your mind even as you are engaging in the action with a different part of your mind. I encourage you to practice this everywhere you go, not just with your group. Others have found that a tape-recorder was useful to serve as the observer while they participated freely.

Notes

Good field notes are essential. Every time you are with your group, try to write down some observation about their language use. Some people like to carry a small notebook to write in whenever they can slip away from the group; you may prefer to just jot some things down after you leave; with some groups, you can take notes openly without them being self-conscious. Remember the Observer's Paradox and try to exert as little influence on their behavior as possible. I will check your notes from time to time to see if you are keeping up with them, but I will not read everything you write. Along with noting language behavior, you must keep notes on the context in which it occurred: time, place, participants, and any other information that might have affected their choices about how to use language.

Recordings

The tape recorder is a basic tool of an anthropological linguist. Berry has purchased several handheld digital recorders that you can check out from the media center. I hope everyone will record at least one conversation in your group setting, preferably more. It is not necessary to record every session; you will find you have too much data to manage if you do that. Videorecordings are good too. You may choose to turn in a copy of a tape as part of your final project, or you may want to play a segment of a tape for your class presentation. Tapes can only be returned at the end of the semester if you provide a self-addressed mailer for them.

Ethics

See my webpage for a link to the ethics statement of the American Anthropological Association. It would be best for you to maintain the confidentiality of your informants by giving them a pseudonym when you are discussing them, either in class or in your paper, unless they want to be named.

Presentation

I have reserved the last week of class for you to present your findings to the class. The presentations will have to be brief---10 minutes. They should also be as interesting as possible, focusing on highlights of the study rather than a complete description. You may bring handouts, and I will arrange for any audio-visual equipment anyone wants. Choose only the most interesting facts to present about your group and how they use language. You will be writing your papers at this time, and I hope that you will get some ideas from other class members as you hear about their research.

Paper

The paper you write, your "ethnography," will be from 8 to 12 pages long (typed, 12-point font and one-inch margins, double-spaced). We will discuss in class how to choose a writing style. I may ask you to write and turn in stories or descriptions from your fieldwork from time to time before the paper is due. The paper will be based on your original field research and supplemented by the class readings. I do not expect you to do library research. What to include:

Setting - a rich, evocative description of the setting, including the participants

Narrative - how you came to be a part of the group, your role in it, the research process

Description of language use

• what kind of talk does the group do? include rituals of coming and leaving, telling stories and jokes, giving information, other uses of language
• how does it change from situation to situation?
• are there differences in language use among the group members?

Examples - transcriptions from tapes, other quoted material

Gender - How is the use of language by group members gendered or not gendered?

Research - Apply information from scholarly sources to your findings for comparison, causes, etc.

Conclusion - what have you learned, about language in general and how it is used by this group

Help

You will form a research group with the other class members. I will sometimes give you time in class to talk with them about how the research is going. You can share with them what kinds of things you are noticing with your group. This is your opportunity to raise questions and problems you may be having and receive some feedback about how others are coping with similar situations. I will also be available if problems arise.

Due Date and Grade

The paper will be due on the last day of class. This research will be a significant percent of your grade for the course, so I expect you to put a corresponding amount of effort into it. Handing in intermediate assignments related to your ethnography will be a part of the grade you receive.