Slavic 425: Ways of Meaning

Universal and Culture Specific Aspects of Language

Winter 2019

Instructor: Katarzyna Dziwirek Telephone: 206-543-7691

Office: Padelford A217 e-mail: dziwirek@uw.edu

Office Hours: Thu 1:30 and by appointment

Class website: http://faculty.washington.edu/dziwirek/slav425/slav425.shtml

Materials:

& Wierzbicka, Anna. 1997. Understanding Cultures Through Their Key Words. English, Russian, Polish, German, and Japanese. Oxford University Press: New York, Oxford.

& Articles and chapters on canvas

Requirements:

u Readings and Class Participation: Follow the reading schedule closely and be prepared to discuss assigned texts in class, contribute your comments and critical evaluations.

v “Your Language” Commentaries: Comment on how the concepts discussed in weeks 2-5 (Language as a Mirror of Culture and National Character) and 6-8 (Interpersonal Relationships) relate to concepts in a language you know. 3-4 pages (spacing irrelevant), due 2/6 and 2/20. Point penalty for all late assignments. For all assignments provide references/works cited. No email submission of assignments. The class website/canvas has examples of commentaries from past years. Best commentaries will be posted on the class website/canvas.

w Term paper (7-10 pages): You should discuss your project with the instructor and by 2/13 email the instructor with your topic and three references (at least two print). See the class website for hints on How to write a research paper, consult Selected References, and Past student paper topics. The final project includes an oral presentation of your research with a handout. Students who receive a course grade of 3.9 or higher are encouraged to submit their papers for consideration for the Slavic Excellence Prize awarded in June ($$$). Paper due 3/14.

x Honors project: Honors students are expected to write a longer, more in-depth final paper (10 or > pages) and do one additional project due 3/6, in which you comment on universal vs. culture-specific aspects of language and reflect on how your understanding changed (or not) and why (3-4 pages).

Honors students are encouraged to archive items from this course in their Honors learning portfolios. Readings, lecture notes, visual and audio materials, syllabi, tests, papers etc., are examples of items that might assist with reflection on experiential learning and ways of thinking within and across disciplines. In addition to archiving items, students are also asked to take time to describe the significance of the archived items and how what they learned in the course contributed to their larger experiences, goals, and thoughts about education and learning.

Grading:

Total points 130: Language Commentaries = 50 (25 x 2), Term Paper = 80 (paper = 50, presentation = 15, handout = 15). Honors students: Total points 155, all of the above plus the Honors project (25). Final grade based on the number of points achieved and class participation.

Slavic 425: Course Outline and Reading List

Symbol key: T = textbook, unmarked = canvas

WEEK 1: The Relationship between Language, Thought, and Culture

January 7 Introduction of Course Themes

January 9 Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics

Anna Wierzbicka, Cross-Cultural Pragmatics, Chapter 1: Introduction: semantics and pragmatics

Anna Wierzbicka, Semantics, Culture, and Cognition, Introduction

WEEK 2: Language as a Mirror of Culture and National Character

January 14 Language, Thought and Culture

Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct, Chapter 3: Mentalese

T Anna Wierzbicka, Key Words, Chapter 1

Guy Deutscher, Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages, pp. 148-156, 176-186

Lera Boroditsky, How language shapes thought

January 16 Cultural Overview: East Asia

Hazel Rose Markus and Shinobu Kitayama, The Cultural Construction of Self and Emotion: Implications for Social Behavior

T Anna Wierzbicka, Key Words, Chapter 6 (Japanese Key Words and Core Cultural Values)

WEEK 3: Language as a Mirror of Culture and National Character

January 21 MLK holiday

January 23 Cultural Overview: Eastern Europe

Anna Wierzbicka, Russian Cultural Scripts

Jerzy Bartmiński, Aspects of Cognitive Ethnolinguistics: The Polish DOM (house/home) in its physical, social and cultural aspects

Jerzy Bartmiński, Aspects of Cognitive Ethnolinguistics: The Polish stereotype of the mother: towards a cognitive definition

WEEK 4: Cultural Key Words

January 28

Cultural Overview: Western Europe

Carsten Levisen and Sophia Waters, Liege, a Danish ‘magic word’?

Rahel Cramer, German Ordnung: A semantic and ethnopragmatic analysis of a core cultural value

Anna Wierzbicka, English: Meaning and Culture, Chapter 2 (Anglo Cultural Scripts Seen through

Middle Eastern Eyes)

January 30

T Anna Wierzbicka, Key Words, Chapter 3 (Freedom)

T Anna Wierzbicka, Key Words, 4 (Homeland)

James Traub, The Dark History of Defending the Homeland (NYT)

WEEK 5: Interpersonal Relationships across Cultures

February 4

T Anna Wierzbicka, Key Words, Chapter 2 (Friendship)

Manuela Romano, The Scope of Metaphor for Friendship in Old English and Old Norse

February 6

Piotr Szarota, Katarzyna Cantarero, David Matsumoto, Emotional Frankness and Friendship in

Polish Culture

Lynn Visson, Wedded Strangers: The Challenges of Russian-American Marriages: Friend or

Droog

Barney Stinson, The Bro Code (excerpts)

Kelly Williams Brown, Adulting; Friends and Neighbors

Jefferson M. Fish, Are American Friendships Superficial?

R Language commentary due

WEEK 6: Interpersonal Relationships across Cultures

February 11

Anna Wierzbicka, Semantics, Culture, and Cognition, Chapter 7 (Personal Names)

Kat Dziwirek, What do we call the children? Familial Terms in Polish and English

February 13 Speech acts, conversational routines

Anna Wierzbicka, Cross-Cultural Pragmatics, Chapter 2 (Different cultures, different languages,

different speech acts)

Anna Wierzbicka, Anglo scripts against “putting pressure” on other people

Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau, The Bonjour Effect, chapters 1-3

R Send a message with term paper topic and 3 references to dziwirek@uw.edu

WEEK 7: Conversations and Speech Acts across Cultures

February 18 Presidents’ Day Holiday

February 20 Cultural scripts, conversational styles

Bret Peeters, “S’Engager” vs. “To Show Restraint” Linguistic and Cultural Relativity in Discourse Management

Julie Bralow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau, The Bonjour Effect, chapter 6

Maeve Higgins, Americans are Terrible at Small Talk (NYT)

Debora Tannen, He Said, She Said: Gender, Language and Communication (video)

R Language commentary due

WEEK 8: Forms of Address and Politeness across Cultures

February 25 Titles

Anna Wierzbicka, Semantics, Culture, and Cognition, Chapter 8 (Titles)

Natalie Angier, Just Don’t Call Me… Ma’am (NYT)

Scott Sayre, French Bid Farewell to ‘Mademoiselle’ (NYT)

February 27 Politeness

Richard Watts, Politeness, Chapters 1 and 2

Anna Wierzbicka, Cross-Cultural Pragmatics, Chapter 4 (Describing conversational routines)

Alina Simone, The ‘How Are You?’ Culture Clash (NYT)

Olga Khazan, Why Some Cultures Frown on Smiling (The Atlantic)

WEEK 9: Rudeness across Cultures

March 4

Denis Jamet and Manuel Jobert, Aspects of Linguistic Impoliteness: Impoliteness: Q and A

Piu Marie Eatwell, They Eat Horses, Don’t They? The French are uncommonly rude

Natalie Angier, Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore (NYT)

March 6

Term paper presentations

R Honors project due

WEEK 10: Term Paper Presentations

March 11

Term paper presentations

March 13

Term paper presentations

R Final papers due: Tuesday 3/19 by noon in Padelford A210 or under the door of Padelford A217, no extensions, yes incompletes.