Social structure, space and possession in Tongan culture and language : an ethnolinguistic study / / Svenja Völkel

• Autore: Völkel Svenja
• Pubblicazione: Amsterdam ; ; Philadelphia, : John Benjamins Pub. Co., 2010
• Edizione: 1st ed.
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (289 p.)
• Disciplina: 306.440996
• Soggetto topico: Sociolinguistics - Polynesia; Tongan language - Social aspects; Space and time in language; Cognition and culture - Polynesia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Social Structure, Space and Possession in Tongan Culture and Language -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Table of contents -- List of maps, figures and tables -- Acknowledgements -- Symbols and abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1.1. Ethnolinguistics -- 1.2. Fieldwork and research methods -- 1.3. The ethnographic setting -- 1.3.1 Tonga -- 1.3.2 The village of Niutoua -- 1.4. The Tongan language -- Part I Anthropological issues -- Social structure -- 2.1. Kin and the personal social status within the kin group -- 2.1.1 Social units -- 2.1.2 Kinship terminology -- 2.1.3 Social status and corresponding behaviour within the kin group (kāinga) -- 2.1.4 Kinship terminology and social status within the kāinga -- 2.2. Societal ranking -- 2.2.1 Classes or societal groups -- 2.2.2 Ha'a ranking -- 2.2.3 Speech preludes -- 2.3. Interaction of a person's social status within the kāinga and their societal rank -- 2.3.1 Social status within the kāinga of the Tu'i Tonga -- 2.3.2 Situations of conflict -- Land and the symbolic meaning of space -- 3.1. Land tenure -- 3.2. Local groups -- 3.3. The geography of the islands and the use of land and sea -- 3.4. Land shortage and migration -- 3.5. The symbolic meaning of space -- 3.5.1 Seating order in a kava circle -- 3.5.2 Seating order and spatial symbols for special rank or status -- Possession and gift exchange -- 4.1. The economy -- 4.1.1 Agriculture, livestock and fishing -- 4.1.2 Production and use of koloa -- 4.2. Gift exchange -- 4.2.1 Gift exchange and private events -- 4.2.2 Gift exchange and civic events -- 4.2.3 Gift exchange and church events -- 4.3. Remittances and the role of money -- Conclusion -- Photo illustrations -- PART II. Linguistic issues -- Spatial descriptions -- 6.1. Different frames of reference -- 6.2. Peculiarities of spatial reference in the Oceanic language family. ; 6.3. Tongan spatial markers -- 6.4. The use of different frames of reference in Tongan -- 6.4.1 Spatial representation of Niutoua -- 6.4.2 Non-linguistic perception of space -- 6.4.3 Spatial descriptions -- 6.4.3.1 Linguistic realisation of the frames of reference -- 6.4.3.2 Linguistic use of the frames of reference -- 6.4.4 Linguistic and non-linguistic coding of space -- 6.5. Space as a social component -- 6.6. Conclusion -- A- and O-possession -- 7.1. Terminology and definitions concerning linguistic possession -- 7.2. Tongan possessive markers (morphosyntax) -- 7.3. The semantics of A- and O-possession -- 7.3.1 Theories explaining the difference between A- and O-possession -- 7.3.2 A semantic analysis of A- and O-possession in Tongan -- 7.3.2.1 Defining A and O in Tongan -- 7.3.2.2 The use of A and O with Tongan kinship terms -- 7.4. Conclusion -- The language of respect -- 8.1. Social deixis: Honorifics -- 8.2. Western Polynesian languages of respect -- 8.3. The Tongan language of respect (compared to Samoan) -- 8.3.1 Defining lexical levels in Tongan -- 8.3.2 The Tongan vocabulary of respect (semantic forms) -- 8.3.3 The use of Tongan respect forms (context) -- 8.3.3.1 The use of the language of respect at a village level (Niutoua) -- 8.3.3.2 The use of the language of respect within the royal family -- 8.4. Conclusion -- Conclusions -- References -- Question catalogue of the Niutouan inquiry (in English and Tongan) -- QUESTIONS: -- EXERCISES: -- Lists of A- and O-possessed -semantic categories and single items in different Polynesian languages -- List of A- and O-possessed semantic categories and single concrete nouns in Tongan according to Churchward (cf. 1953: 81-87) -- Lexical items which can be A- as well as O-possessed -- Glossary of Tongan terms -- Index -- The series Culture and Language Use.
• Sommario/riassunto: This interdisciplinary study investigates the relationship between culture, language and cognition based on the aspects of social structure, space and possession in Tonga, Polynesia. Grounded on extensive field research, Völkel explores the subject from an anthropological as well as from a linguistic perspective. The book provides new insights into the language of respect, an honorific system which is deeply anchored in the societal hierarchy, spatial descriptions that are determined by socio-cultural and geocentric parameters, kinship terminology and possessive categories that perfectly express the system of social status inequalities among relatives. These examples impressively show that language is deeply anchored in its cultural context. Moreover, the linguistic structures reflect the underlying cognitive frame of its speakers. Just as several cultural practices (sitting order, access to land and gift exchange processes) the linguistic means are not only expressions of stratified social networks but also tools to maintain or negotiate the underlying socio-cultural system.
• Titolo autorizzato: Social structure, space and possession in Tongan culture and language
• ISBN: 1-282-89734-9; 9786612897344; 90-272-8772-4
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910822174003321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II
• Serie: Culture and language use ; ; 2.