Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Sociological Analysis of Affect and Language Use in Ethnic Subcultures

SES：0622873 PI：罗纳德布雷格，亚利桑那大学合作PI：蒂芬尼Guidry McKeon，亚利桑那大学这项研究使用了一种创新的方法，由PI设计，研究如何双语（说两种语言）与双文化（生活在两种文化中）。 该方法汇集了跨几个领域的研究传统和相关的分析方法：情感的社会学研究，网络分析，语言和定量人类学。 在衡量对文化元素的看法以及这些元素之间的联系时，该研究提出了三个问题：1）语言和文化之间的相互联系如何？2)当我们说不同的语言时，我们使用相同的思想吗？（3）随着与文化相关的语言的消亡，我们对文化的概念会发生怎样的变化？ 在美国这个充满活力的社会中，存在着许多与这些问题相关的文化和亚文化。这个项目研究路易斯安那州卡津人生活在拉斐特，洛杉矶和周围。 虽然文化中的老年人仍然说着一种保存得非常完好的移民法语，这种法语是18世纪中期由法国-西班牙定居者带到该地区的，但年轻一代要么根本不会说法语，要么只接受标准法语的教育。 自20世纪70年代以来，路易斯安那州的Cajun文化的复兴尝试为研究语言与文化之间的联系提供了一个独特的机会。 PI采用三个不同年龄组的调查方法-老年人，中年人和年轻人-以了解人们对他们的文化的感受以及文化观念如何随着年龄和语言的变化而变化。 由于对文化的保存也感兴趣，私人研究员与老年研究参与者进行了录像个人访谈。 这些数据对于理解语言之间的情感差异，文化的情感概念如何随时间变化，以及基于语言的文化元素的心理映射具有科学价值。 录像，同时提供了一个机会，手势和社会语言学分析，也将提供一个民间记录的故事和个人的历史，在卡津法语和英语。 像路易斯安那州的卡津人这样的群体将在几代人的时间内失去他们的母语。 更广泛的影响：在这项研究中开发的方法和技术可以被其他研究人员用来记录和了解少数民族语言和文化之间的共生关系，在该国和世界其他地区面临灭绝的威胁。 这项研究可以帮助那些对文化保护感兴趣的人。

SES: 0622873PI: Ronald Breiger, University of ArizonaCo-PI: Tiffiny Guidry McKeon, University of ArizonaThis research uses an innovative approach, devised by the PIs, to study of how bilingualism (the speaking of two languages) relates to biculturalism (living in two cultures). The approach brings together research traditions and relevant analytical methods that span several fields: the sociological study of affect, network analysis, and linguistic and quantitative anthropology. While measuring perceptions of cultural elements and the connections of those elements to one another, the study asks three questions: 1) How interconnected are language and culture? 2) Do we use the same thoughts when we speak different languages? and 3) How does our conception of a culture change as the language to which it is connected dies? There are many cultures and subcultures existing in the dynamic society of the United States for which these questions are relevant. This project studies the Louisiana Cajuns living in and around Lafayette, LA. While elderly members of the culture still speak an extremely well-preserved form of the immigrant French language brought to the area in the mid-1700s by French-Acadian settlers, younger generations speak either no French at all or are taught only Standard French. The attempted revitalization since the 1970s of the Cajun culture in Louisiana provides a unique opportunity to study the connection between language and culture. The PIs employ survey methods within three different age cohorts -- elderly, middle-aged, and young adult -- to gain an understanding of how people feel about their culture and how cultural conceptions change with age and language spoken. Being also interested in the preservation of culture, the PIs conduct video-recorded personal interviews with the elderly study participants. Such data are scientifically valuable to understanding the affective differences between languages, how affective conceptions of culture change over time, and the mental mapping of cultural elements based in language. The video recordings, while providing an opportunity for gestural and sociolinguistic analyses, will also provide a folk record of stories and personal histories in both Cajun French and English. Groups like the Louisiana Cajuns will lose their native language within a few generations. Broader Impacts: The methods and techniques developed in this study may be used by other researchers to both record and understand the symbiotic relationship between minority languages and cultures threatened by extinction in other areas of the country and the world. The research can contribute to those interested in cultural preservation.