Abstract This paper analyzes the Kannarekō (雷講, “lightning rite”) of northern Kagoshima, a minimal speech ritual built from silence, ideophonic vocalization, and indexical role assignment rather than propositional language. A rotating thunder‐caller vocalizes goro‐goro‐goro / pikka / dōn as two gohei circulate the circle in opposite directions; at dōn , both holders drink sake , but only the fire‐ gohei holder becomes the next thunder‐caller. I propose ideophonic enactment as a third, performative mode of ideophones, in which sound‐iconic form constitutes rather than depicts its referent, and argue that this minimal speech structure confers transmission resilience amid demographic contraction.
Abstract This essay honors three kinds of tradition. The first tradition is the poetry of Rex Lee Jim. The second tradition is the translation work of Blackhorse Mitchell. The third tradition is the discourse‐centered and ethnopoetic tradition of linguistic anthropology. I do this by focusing on a brief poem in Navajo by Rex Lee Jim. I then discuss a translation of the poem by Blackhorse Mitchell and his influence on a translation that I did. I follow this by placing the poem within a particular Navajo view concerning ‘butterflies.’ In the final section, I offer reflections on linguistic anthropology and on the life of poetry.
Existing research on Cape Verdean identities centers known heritage as the primary determinant of sociocultural positioning. Less frequently studied is the practice of discursively bringing non-Cape Verdeans into a Cape Verdean imaginary through readings of language and race. Framed by the tactics of intersubjectivity and employing an autoethnographic lens, the present analysis attends to the ways that language and race converge in (un)official checkpoint interactions to shape perceptions of sufficient, authentic, and authorized Cape Verdeanness. The discussion highlights the raciolinguistic logics that sustain and contest colonial legacies, the negotiation of social identification, and the implications for diasporic connectedness and belonging. A investiga & ccedil;& atilde;o existente sobre as identidades cabo-verdianas centra-se na heran & ccedil;a como principal determinante do posicionamento sociocultural. Menos estudada & eacute; a pr & aacute;tica de incorporar discursivamente indiv & iacute;duos n & atilde;o cabo-verdianos num imagin & aacute;rio cabo-verdiano atrav & eacute;s de leituras da l & iacute;ngua e da ra & ccedil;a. Enquadrada pelas t & aacute;ticas da intersubjetividade e recorrendo a uma perspetiva autoetnogr & aacute;fica, a presente an & aacute;lise examina as formas como l & iacute;ngua e ra & ccedil;a convergem em intera & ccedil;& otilde;es de checkpoint-isto & eacute;, momentos de verifica & ccedil;& atilde;o e negocia & ccedil;& atilde;o de perten & ccedil;a-(n & atilde;o) oficiais para moldar perce & ccedil;& otilde;es de uma cabo-verdianidade suficiente, aut & ecirc;ntica e autorizada. A discuss & atilde;o destaca as l & oacute;gicas raciais e lingu & iacute;sticas que sustentam e contestam legados coloniais, a negocia & ccedil;& atilde;o da identifica & ccedil;& atilde;o social e as implica & ccedil;& otilde;es para a conectividade e o sentimento de perten & ccedil;a diasp & oacute;ricos.
This article examines controversies surrounding gene names that are perceived as humorous in the context of fruit flies but are considered rude in the clinical context of human medicine. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in insect laboratories, interviews with entomologists and geneticists, and an analysis of scientific and clinical commentaries, I show how gene names coined as jocular mnemonics by drosophilists become the source of moralizing metapragmatic discourse when conserved genes circulate in the patient-facing context of genetic testing. I identify three semiotic functions of these multispecies gene names: a referential function that stabilizes genetic homology across clades; a descriptive function that encodes the phenotypic consequences of prototypical mutations; and a performative function through which naming enacts in-group membership. This third function renders gene names sensitive to audience and context, causing them to become taboos when they enter the trading zone of translational medicine. I show how clinicians, professional organizations, and journal editors respond by creating "avoidance nomenclatures" and imposing a sort of diglossic distribution of naming practices to be used at both bench- and bedside. I argue that extrascientific norms of politeness can motivate linguistic standardization of scientific dialects just as compellingly as do epistemic demands for clarity and universality. In diesem Artikel untersuche ich Kontroversen um Gennamen, die im Zusammenhang mit Fruchtfliegen als humorvoll empfunden werden, im klinischen Kontext beim Menschen jedoch als unh & ouml;flich gelten. Auf der Grundlage ethnographischer Feldforschung in Insektenlabors, Interviews mit Entomolog:innen und Genetiker:innen sowie einer Analyse wissenschaftlicher und klinischer Kommentare zeige ich, wie Gennamen, die von Drosophila-Forscher:innen als scherzhafte Eselsbr & uuml;cken gepr & auml;gt wurden, zur Quelle moralisierender metapragmatischer Diskurse werden, wenn konservierte Gene im patientenbezogenen Kontext genetischer Tests zirkulieren. Ich identifiziere drei semiotische Funktionen dieser arten & uuml;bergreifenden Genbezeichnungen: eine referentielle Funktion, die genetische Homologie & uuml;ber Kladen hinweg durch Kommensurationsakte stabilisiert; eine deskriptive Funktion, die die ph & auml;notypischen Folgen prototypischer Mutationen kodiert; und eine performative Funktion, durch die die Benennung die Zugeh & ouml;rigkeit zur In-Group inszeniert. Es ist diese dritte Funktion, die Gennamen sensibel gegen & uuml;ber Publikum und Kontext macht und sie zu Tabus werden l & auml;sst, sobald sie in die Handelszone der translationalen Medizin gelangen. Anschlie ss end zeige ich, wie Kliniker:innen, Berufsverb & auml;nde und Redakteur:innen darauf reagieren, indem sie & bdquo;Vermeidungsnomenklaturen" schaffen und eine Art diglossische Verteilung von Benennungspraktiken vorschreiben, die sowohl am Labortisch als auch am Krankenbett anzuwenden sind. Ich argumentiere, dass au ss erwissenschaftliche H & ouml;flichkeitsnormen die sprachliche Standardisierung wissenschaftlicher Dialekte ebenso zwingend motivieren k & ouml;nnen, wie epistemische Anforderungen an Klarheit und Universalit & auml;t.
Nurses working in emergency departments in the United States are increasingly managing obstetric emergencies, yet they receive no guidance from hospital administrators about how to adapt this care to the abortion bans that have recently become law in many states. Our interview-based study explores reports of workplace communication about abortion among emergency nurses, which is constrained by an institutional language ideology prohibiting "political" talk. We trace how nurses respond to this prohibition through semiotic labor which nevertheless reinforces the boundary work that this language ideology maintains. Ultimately, this language ideology produces experiences of profound incommunicability for emergency nurses, isolating them from one another, negatively impacting their ability to care for their patients, and causing moral distress. In a time of rising authoritarianism and fascism, where talk about politics is both increasingly dangerous and vital to protect democracy, this study sheds light on the far-reaching consequences of silencing political talk. Cada vez m & aacute;s, las y los enfermeras que trabajan en los departamentos de urgencias en los Estados Unidos atienden las emergencias obst & eacute;tricas. Sin embargo, no reciben orientaci & oacute;n de la administraci & oacute;n hospitalaria sobre c & oacute;mo adaptar esta atenci & oacute;n a las leyes que proh & iacute;ben el aborto que recientemente han entrado en vigencia en muchos estados. Nuestra investigaci & oacute;n basada en entrevistas explora relatos sobre la comunicaci & oacute;n acerca del aborto entre enfermeras de urgencias, una comunicaci & oacute;n limitada por una ideolog & iacute;a ling & uuml;& iacute;stica institucional que hablar de temas pol & iacute;ticos. Analizamos c & oacute;mo las enfermeras responden a esta prohibici & oacute;n ling & uuml;& iacute;stica mediante un trabajo semi & oacute;tico que, sin embargo, refuerza la construcci & oacute;n de l & iacute;mites mantenida por la ideolog & iacute;a ling & uuml;& iacute;stica. En & uacute;ltima instancia, esta ideolog & iacute;a ling & uuml;& iacute;stica genera experiencias de profunda incomunicabilidad para las enfermeras de urgencias, aisl & aacute;ndolas entre s & iacute;, perjudicando su capacidad para atender a sus pacientes, y caus & aacute;ndoles desasosiego moral. En una & eacute;poca de creciente autoritarismo y fascismo, donde hablar de pol & iacute;tica es a la vez m & aacute;s peligroso y m & aacute;s vital para proteger la democracia, esta investigaci & oacute;n esclarece las profundas consecuencias de silenciar la comunicaci & oacute;n pol & iacute;tica.
Marvel's 2022 blockbuster film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was marked by the death of lead actor Chadwick Boseman in 2020, resulting in the cinematic death of his character T'Challa. For US Black audiences, the imagined nation of Wakanda served as more than entertainment, but a diasporic "home" at a time of deepening anti-Blackness and Black grief. Based on ethnographic research and semiotic analysis of online and offline fandom, this article argues that Black audiences co-constructed meaning and redressive, liminal spaces of Wakanda Forever in ways that affirmed Black lifeways, strengthened diasporic connections, and allowed for communal expressions of grief. El exitoso filme de Marvel de 2022, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, notablemente, la muerte de su protagonista, Chadwick Boseman, en 2020, result & oacute; en la muerte cinematogr & aacute;fica de su personaje, T'Challa. Para el p & uacute;blico Negro estadounidense, la naci & oacute;n imaginada de Wakanda sirvi & oacute; m & aacute;s que como entretenimiento; fue adem & aacute;s un "hogar" diasp & oacute;rico en un momento de creciente anti-Negritud y duelo por parte de la comunidad Negra. Basado en investigaci & oacute;n etnogr & aacute;fica y an & aacute;lisis semi & oacute;tico del "fandom" online y offline, este art & iacute;culo argumenta que el p & uacute;blico Negro co-construy & oacute; significados y espacios liminales reparadores de Wakanda Forever de maneras que afirmaron formas de vida Negras, fortalecieron conexiones diasp & oacute;ricas y permitieron expresiones comunitarias de duelo.
Native speakerism in English language teaching (ELT) has become associated with Whiteness. However, how this association is sustained in everyday practices within China's unique socio-cultural-political context remains underexplored. This study examines the raciolinguistic construct of Mubai, a central recruitment criterion in China's ELT industry, and analyses how Mubai codifies the explicit conflation of Whiteness and English nativeness, persistently privileging Whiteness over qualifications through a highly prescriptive recruitment process, which undermines teaching quality, produces unsustainable labor practices, and perpetuates structural racism often unacknowledged in Chinese public discourse. It highlights how Mubai both sustains and destabilizes racialized ideologies of English in China.
Formatted stories rely on spatiotemporal cues to evoke recognizability through linearity, which prescribes a particular template for meaning-making. This article examines stories narrated by ex-gay members of a Christian organization in Singapore and considers how chronotopes within the stories are ordered to regiment ways of feeling for viewers. By ordering these experiences differently, affective flows between each chronotope become altered and the uptake of meaning is impacted. Drawing on Bakhtinian thought and linguistic anthropological ideas in narratives, I suggest that the structuring of recognizable stories is an exercise in narrative formatting: the discursive practice of ordering and presenting experience as morally and normatively desirable.
This article analyzes how engineers in Amman, Jordan involved in making large language models (LLMs) conceptualize their labor in relation to language and technology. Specifically, it focuses on claims that LLMs are "language-agnostic," relying on multidimensional word embeddings rather than language. I examine how articulations of this ideology allow engineers to reconcile and ascribe value to their work in a transnational AI industry predicated on the division of labor between "universal" model building and localization. Examining the reproduction of this framework, alongside the invisibilization of linguistic labor it necessitates, reveals how representational ideologies structure both LLMs and the labor systems underpinning them.
This paper builds on conversations at the intersection of artificial intelligence research and the linguistic anthropology of religion by exploring a mathematical technique that connects contemporary Large Language Models [LLMs] with the history of Islamicate occult sciences. In both cases, transformation algorithms are used to entextualize linear streams of discourse as geometric embeddings in higher dimensional arrays. Focusing on an algorithmic poem from a nineteenth-century Palestinian manuscript on the healing magic of midwives, I argue that the entextualization of language in computational space emerged as a ritual practice of self-transformation. A historical perspective on mathematical dialogues suggests that both older and newer algorithmic language technologies can reengineer selves and societies; but the comparison also exposes the peculiarity of our own assumptions about the opaque, quantified, and gendered language of math. By separating the technical affordances of semiotic transformations from the larger ideological frames into which they are taken up, this paper seeks to model a multilayered method of comparative analysis that can inform future linguistic anthropological studies across diverse contributions to the history of LLMs.
Call-and-response has primarily been studied in Black Atlantic artistic traditions. We transpose call-and-response dynamics to the writing and recording process of a Hip Hop studio session. Combining collaborative autoethnography with formal analysis and using Communication Accommodation Theory's conceptual parameters of conscious and subconscious convergence and divergence, we explore how our output and expression as practitioners are relationally affected in terms of rhyme, content, and flow. We argue this focus on intersubjectivity offers a window into how identities-here via Hip Hop practice and its engagement with language, music, and history-are in a process of "becoming" in real time. Call-and-response is vooral bestudeerd binnen Zwart-Atlantische artistieke tradities. Wij passen de call-and-response-dynamieken toe op het schrijf- en opnameproces van een Hip Hop-studiosessie. Door collaboratieve auto-etnografie te combineren met formele analyse en gebruik te maken van de conceptuele parameters van Communicatie Accommodatie Theorie-bewuste en onbewuste convergentie en divergentie-onderzoeken we hoe onze output en expressie als beoefenaars relationeel worden be & iuml;nvloed op het gebied van rijm, inhoud en flow. We betogen dat deze focus op intersubjectiviteit laat zien hoe identiteiten-hier via Hip Hop-beoefening en de rol die taal, muziek en geschiedenis daarin spelen-constant "in wording" zijn.
