article
Wolof noun classification: the social setting of divergent change
Language in society • 7 • Published In 1978 • Pages: 37-64
By: Irvine, Judith T..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article investigates the trend of linguistic change in the Wolof system of noun classification by comparing nineteenth century linguistic evidence with sociolinguistic data of the 1970s. With the rural Wolof the noun class system displays competing generalizations associated with different social (or caste) groups. Middle-aged men of the upwardly mobile high caste have a tendency to reduce the system, while speakers of the lower caste groups tend to elaborate it. 'The source of both tendencies can be found in Wolof cultural assumptions relating social rank to norms of verbal conduct. In particular, an idea that linguistic 'error' can be appropriate for high-ranking persons underlies the reductionist tendencies of upwardly mobile speakers. Although the two tendencies compete on one level, on another they combine to form a more general systemic trend toward the incorporation of social features into Wolof syntax' (p. 37).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Grammar
- Linguistic identification
- Status, role, and prestige
- Castes
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Wolof
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1999
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Western Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1998
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1970-1971, 1975
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1970-1971, 1975
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Kayor region, Senegal
- NotesAdditional notes
- Judith T. Irvine
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 64)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 72623747
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Wolof (African people)