Displaying 1 - 7 of 7
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Senft, G. (2014). 'Control your emotions! If teasing provokes you, you've lost your face..'. The Trobriand Islanders' control of their public display of emotions. Talk presented at the International Workshop "Consensus and Dissent: Negotiating emotion in public space". Institute of African Studies and Egyptology, University of Cologne. 2014-11-06 - 2014-11-07.
Abstract
Kilivila, the Austronesian language of the Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea, has a rich inventory of terms - nouns, verbs, adjectives and idiomatic phrases and expressions - to precisely refer to, and to differentiate emotions and inner feelings. This paper describes how the Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea deal with the public display of emotions. Forms of emotion control in public encounters are discussed and explained on the basis of ritual communication which pervades the Trobrianders' verbal and non-verbal behavior. Especially highlighted is the Trobrianders' metalinguistic concept of "biga sopa" with its important role for emotion control in encounters that may run the risk of escalating from argument and conflict to aggression and violence. -
Senft, G. (2014). 'The times they are a-changing'.. Language and culture change observed during 30 years of anthropological-linguistic field research on the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea. Talk presented at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2014-11-10.
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Senft, G. (2014). The Coral Gardens are Losing their Magic: The Social Impact of Climate Change and Overpopulation for the Trobriand Islanders [Invited Talk]. Talk presented at The social Impacts of Climate Change - An interactive problem-based workshop hosted by the European Consortium for Pacific Studies (ECOPAS) at the Center for Pacific and Asian Studies, Radboud University. Nijmegen. 2014-04-09 - 2014-04-10.
Abstract
This talk deals with the dramatic environmental and social changes on the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea which I experienced during 16 long- and short-term field-trips from 1982 to 2012. I first report about the climate change I experienced there over the years, then I provide a survey about the demographic changes on the Trobriands - highlighting the situation in Tauwema, my village of residence on Kaile'una Island, and finally I report on the social impact these dramatic changes have for the Trobraind Islanders and their culture. -
Senft, G. (2014). Systems of nominal classification. Talk presented at The workshop "Gender and classifiers: cross-linguistic perspectives", organized by the Surrey Morphology Group at the University of Surrey. Surrey, UK. 2014-01-17 - 2014-01-17.
Abstract
This talk first discusses briefly the basic problem of how the perceived world is expressed and represented in language and how language refers to the perceived world. Then it presents and exemplifies the systems of nominal classification that can be found in the languages of the world and finally it discusses some central problems of nominal classification. -
Senft, G. (2013). Magic on the Trobriand Islands (PNG). Talk presented at the Cognitive Humanities Workshop "The Power of Words and Belief", Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen. Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 2013-04-15.
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Senft, G. (2013). Morevaya and Bukuruvi or: The miserable end of a love story. A tale from the Trobriand Islands. Talk presented at the 13th International Pragmatics Conference. New Delhi. 2013-09-08 - 2013-09-13.
Abstract
In 1997 Moagava, a 29 year old man living in the village of Tauwema on Kaile'una, one of the Trobriand Islands in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea, told a group of children and some adults the story of Morevaya and Bukuruvi. In this talk I first present this tale in morpheme-interlinear transcription and translation, then I look at the text in detail with respect to both its form and content. This analysis reveals the macro- and micro-structure of the tale and isolates the verbal means used by the narrator which indicate the linearization principles that underlie the macrostructure of the story. The talk ends with some concluding remarks on the anthropological-linguistic and cognitive linguistic significance of studies like the present one. -
Senft, G. (2013). Murder in Milne Bay: The Kavalokwa case: A story from the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea. Talk presented at the 9th International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics. Newcastle, Australia. 2013-02-04 - 2013-02-08.
Abstract
In 1997 Kalavatu, a 45 year old man living in the village of Tauwema on Kaile'una, one of the Trobriand Islands in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea, told a group of children and some adults the story of Kavalokwa. In this talk I first present this tale in morpheme-interlinear transcription and translation (see handout), then I look at the text in detail with respect to both its form and content. This analysis reveals the macrostructure of the tale and isolates the verbal means used by the narrator which indicate the linearization principles that underlie this macrostructure of the story. The talk ends with some concluding remarks on the anthropological-linguistic and cognitive linguistic significance of studies like the present one.
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