On the unity of types: Lao gambling, ethno-metapragmatics, and generic and specific modes of typification

Zuckerman, Charles H. P.

doi:10.1017/s0047404521000385

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The target of a referential thematization can be specific—i.e., a sound that occurred (or was imagined to occur) in some delimited moment(s)—or generic. We use the term “generic” here in a particular sense (see inter alia Krifka et al, 1995; Leslie, 2012; Mannheim, 2021; Zuckerman, 2021b; Zuckerman, 2021c). Generics target a linguistic form‐kind, apart from any instance of uttering it, as a broad, generic type (cf.…”

Section: Two Kinds Of Thematizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The limits of thematization

Zuckerman,

Enfield

2023

J Linguistic Anthropol

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A fundamental capacity of language is its reflexivity. But not every aspect of language is equally accessible to being reflected upon. Michael Silverstein's 1981 paper, the “Limits of Awareness,” set the terms of this discussion in linguistic anthropology with his study of speakers' “awareness” of pragmatic forms and their corresponding capacity to talk about them. His notion of differential “awareness” of aspects of language has since been foundational to linguistic‐anthropological understandings of language ideologies. Here we consider Silverstein's argument with reference to our research in Laos, exploring the limits of metalinguistic discourse. We argue that the apparent constraints on our capacity to talk about aspects of language do not evidence limits of awareness of elements of language, but rather constraints on our ability to thematize those elements, that is, to bring them into joint attention. The central issue is thematization, and the relation of interest is a relation of joint attention between speakers. Metalanguage is thus constrained not (only) by psychological limits but by the social and semiotic limits on what people can bring into mutual focus within interactions. To present our framing of the issue and show what it helps us see, we distinguish two kinds of thematization and describe their subtypes, affordances, and constraints. We then demonstrate how social conventions—broadly understood—can circumvent these constraints, allowing people to thematize otherwise difficult to thematize forms.

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Section: Two Kinds Of Thematizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The limits of thematization

Zuckerman,

Enfield

2023

J Linguistic Anthropol

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“…They are flexible devices for social and political stance-taking. People use them to generically abstract about different groups of people and different ways of speaking, and to identify instances of those kinds, putting individuals and instances of speech under specific ethnolinguistic descriptions (Zuckerman 2020;2021a;2021b).…”

Section: Being Krimentioning

confidence: 99%

The unbearable heaviness of being Kri: house construction and ethnolinguistic transformation in upland Laos

Zuckerman

Enfield

2022

Royal Anthropological Inst

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Kri people in central Laos traditionally engage in 'heavy' practices, including a stipulation that houses must be relocated and the flooring discarded upon a death in the family. Such 'heavy' practices are considered 'real Kri', and they are not adhered to by those who identify as Kri Phòòngq. This article examines the adoption of more enduring housing construction among the Kri, and the dynamics of ethnic identity implied by the dilemmas raised for individuals and families who must choose between (a) maintaining the heavy life of real Kri, (b) innovating new and less heavy solutions, or (c) changing identity entirely. The heaviness of being KriIn the upland Lao village of Mrkaa, in an ethnolinguistically diverse valley inside the Nakai-Nam-Theun Biodiversity Conservation Area, we are talking with Vòòk Sam, a senior elder of the community of Kri, who today number well under a thousand. Vòòk Sam is a man who embodies and represents the spiritual traditions that define what it means to be Kri Tàn, 'real Kri' , as he puts it, in a rapidly changing world. Atop the veranda of his rickety house made from light timber, palm leaves, and splitbamboo panelling, Vòòk Sam is explaining to us the most important defining feature of being Kri: rììp nnangq, 'heavy traditions' . Kri are known by their many neighbours in the area for their uniquely 'heavy' cultural practices, which put a noticeable burden on people in their daily existence. 1 Nearby Saek, Bru, Lao, and Vietnamese-speaking people often comment upon this when the subject arises. Vòòk Sam gives us some examples of these heavy burdens. Kri should eat only fish, no red meat. Meanwhile, their environment is teeming with wildlife that most other groups in Laos eat. Kri women who are menstruating should not set foot on the floor of their raised homes, instead staying quu qatak, 'on the ground' , resting and sleeping in purpose-built menstruation huts. And in case of a death in the family, Kri households should abandon their homes and relocate. They may reuse old building materials, but the flooring of the old house must be discarded for good. A new floor is made and installed. These are just a few of the 'heavy' injunctions that define the Kri condition.

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