Time in Language, Gesture, and Thought a Case Study In
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TIME IN LANGUAGE, GESTURE, AND THOUGHT A CASE STUDY IN CHOL MAYAN Lydia Rodríguez Charlottesville, VA M.A. Linguistic Anthropology, University of Virginia, 2007 M.A. Amerindian Studies, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2005 D.E.A. Social Anthropology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2005 B.A. Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2002 B.A. Classical Philology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2000 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Virginia May, 2014 © Copyright by Lydia Rodríguez All rights reserved May 2014 ABSTRACT A claim often made in the non-anthropological literature on temporal cognition, and especially in conceptual metaphor theory scholarship, is that time is universally understood and experienced as uni-directional movement along a line. Such a linear view of time is indeed clearly reflected in spontaneous speech-accompanying gesture, since numerous studies have shown that gestures which co-occur with time expressions vividly portray uni-directional movement along an imaginary line. In Time in Language, Gesture, and Thought, a Case Study in Chol Maya I propose, however, that the linearity of temporal gesture, and by extension the linearity of temporal thought, is not a human universal. I argue that the presence of metaphorical timelines in gesture and mental imagery may be linked to the linguistic feature of mandatory grammatical tense, and that in languages that do not inflect predicates for grammatical tense, metaphorical timelines are much more difficult to find, in gesture, language, and thought. I test this proposal by investigating time-related speech and gesture in Chol Maya, an indigenous language of Chiapas (Mexico), in which predicates are inflected only for grammatical aspect and not for tense. Building on the anthropological critique of lineal versus cyclical notions of time, I argue that temporal notions in Chol are subjectively experienced as separate activities/events which are not projected into an abstract timeline that extends ad infinitum. Rather, Chol temporal thought seems to be based on dyadic relationships between events. In any given sequence of events, the relative order of events is expressed by means of completed or punctual activities that act as benchmarks for other (not yet completed) activities. Such contrast between completed versus non completed events which is clearly marked in Chol grammar (perfective versus non perfective aspects) is also reflected in co-speech gesture: gestures that co-occur with predicates that refer to completed events are often pointing or “placing” gestures, whereas gestures co-occurring with non completed events tend to be open-ended, “tracing” gestures. Arguing from the premise that the form of unconscious and spontaneous gesture is a “window” into habitual thought or worldview, I conclude that Chol conceptualization of time is not linear, and that language exerts significant influence on individual cognition. At the highest level, in this dissertation I argue that conceptual categories are not just the product of sensorimotor experience, but that linguistic convention and cultural experience play a significant role in the formation of such categories. Para Sergio Acknowledgements It is such a great joy, after so many years of work, to reach the point where one can finally sit down to say thank you to all those people who have made this project possible. My most heartfelt thanks go to the Chol speakers who have patiently taught me their language and have shared their lives and friendship with me during the last nine years. I thank especially Rubén López López and the entire López López family, and among them most especially to Doña Juana Violeta, Doña Marcelina, and Genaro. Their homes and their hearts were always open for us, they nurtured our bodies and souls, and they never let us stand alone during difficult times. My assistants and friends, Moisés Vázquez and Angélica Cruz, with whom we lived so many adventures throughout the years. Moisés and Angélica suffered patiently, and with great sense of humor, my incessant questions, grammatical and otherwise. My compadres Don Pancho and Doña Yolanda, who took my husband and me into their family. My assistant Cándido, who helped me with the Tumbaltec variety of Chol. All my neighbors and friends from El Jaboncillo, and among them my beloved Wilbert and Josué, who were always by our side, and their parents Hilda Gómez and Marcelino Torres. Don Jorge Gómez Díaz, who patiently taught us how to be good milperos, and his entire family, especially Martha María, Martha Andrea, and Don Nicolás. I would also like to express my gratitude to the entire community of the Templo de Santa Martha Virgen for always making us feel welcome. Without the support and kindheartedness of all our Chol friends this dissertation would never have been written. I have been very lucky to work with an amazing committee, who has provided invaluable advice, expertise, and constructive criticism. Everything I know about linguistic anthropology I have learnt from Eve Danziger, Ellen Contini-Morava and Lise Dobrin. I thank first and foremost my advisor, Eve Danziger, for her unconditional support and encouragement during all these years. The core ideas in this dissertation and the questions that lead my research stem from my relationship with her. I feel very proud to be her student, and coming to the University of Virginia to work with her was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. She is not only the best advisor I could possibly have, but throughout the years she has become a much beloved friend. I cannot possibly express the impact she has had in this dissertation, in my entire Ph.D., and in my thinking and identity as a scholar. I respect her and admire her not only as my academic mentor, but also as the truly exceptional person that she is. I I thank also especially Ellen Contini-Morava, who taught me linguistic field methods, which is such an integral part of this project. Ellen was always a wonderful teacher, and a keen reader. Lise Dobrin always made sure that my glossing was rigorous, and provided a fascinating comparative angle through her expertise in Papua New Guinea. Most importantly, she helped me think through the ethics of fieldwork. I also feel indebted to Pedro Pitarch, whose ethnography of Tzeltal Maya souls first instilled my interest in the Maya, and who gave me invaluable advice for doing fieldwork in Chiapas. And I thank Dennis Proffitt for providing training and guidance in the cognitive portion of the study. I see this dissertation as a truly interdisciplinary endeavor which would never have been possible without the inspiration and collaboration of all my committee members. While at the University of Virginia, I have also received feedback on earlier versions of the project, advice, and encouragement from many professors, most especially Ira Bashkow, Susan McKinnon, Roy Wagner and John Bonvillian. I have also been enriched by the teachings and friendship of many other professors with whom I have worked throughout the Ph.D., among them Edith Turner, Richard Handler, Fred Damon, Jeff Hantman, Dan Lefkowitz, George Mentore, Virginia Hymes, David Sapir, Peter Metcalf, Allison Alexy, Carrie Douglass, Adria LaViolette, Pati Wattenmaker, and John Shepherd. I would also like to thank Rebecca Weast, from the department of Cognitive Science, who helped me with the statistical analysis of Chapter 4. I am most grateful to Rose Wellman, Jennie Doberne, Melissa Nelson, Andrew Nelson, Claire Snell-Rood, PC Flemming, Margarita Muñoz, Daniel Chávez, Catarina Krizancic, Tom Smith, Yu-Chien Huang, Lucas Carneiro de Carvalho, Aidyn Mills, Michael Wairungu, Nona Moskowitz, Mieka Polanco, Lu Ann Williams, Roberto Armengol, Dionisios Kavadias, Julie Starr, Alison Broach, David Flood, Arsalan Khan, Beth Bollwerk, Adam Harr, Melissa Maceyko, Alessandro Questa, Grace Reynolds, Jack Stoetzel, Adam Watson and Karenne Wood for their friendship and love, without which I would never have made it through the Ph.D. In Mexico I have met and shared parts of my research with many scholars, each of whom has provided hospitality and enriched my research in many different ways. I feel most grateful for the institutional support I have received from CIESAS Sureste, and especially from Roberto Zavala, whose home was always open for us. I have learnt a great deal about Chol from my conversations with him, Juan Jesús Vázquez Álvarez, and Gracia Imberton-Deneke. I thank José Luis Escalona, Otto Schumann, B’alam Mateo-Toledo, Gilles Polian and Gunter Dietz for their II valuable comments and advice when I was still in the midst of fieldwork. I would also like to acknowledge the generous financial support I have received from the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, La Caixa Foundation, and the Department of Anthropology, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Scholars’ Lab at the University of Virginia. Finally, I thank my parents, Toñi and José Manuel, for loving me, raising me, and believing in me. They encouraged me to pursue my dreams, even when those took me far away from home. Mom and dad, thanks for teaching me not to settle. I also thank grandma Aurelia, and aunt Rafi, and my grandparents Benjamín, Milagros and Antonio who are long gone, but will always be with me. I am full of gratefulness towards Carmen and Héctor. Carmen is not just "like" a sister to me, she is my true sister. She has always been there for me, especially when I needed her the most. And I thank Sergio and Oliver, the loves of my life. Sergio, this work is just as much yours as it is mine. Thank you for always showing me the positive side of things. You have shared every thought, every word, every laugh, every tear, and everything that went into writing this dissertation and so much more.