Dissertation by Erik Aasland
This is a section of my dissertation with the analysis of three meanings of the proverb "A rollin... more This is a section of my dissertation with the analysis of three meanings of the proverb "A rolling stone gathers no moss".
"Kazakhstan, like other former Soviet states, seeks national self-definition. For Kazakhs, prover... more "Kazakhstan, like other former Soviet states, seeks national self-definition. For Kazakhs, proverbs are the traditional resource for defining problems, making moral judgments, and suggesting remedies. As a result, the Kazakhstani government mandates instruction in Kazakh proverbs to shape the nation. How can anthropological and folkloristic tools be implemented to assess the language ideologies brought into play in this situation without crossing the line into conjecture?
Research into "national traits" using proverbs has validity issues since it relies on small proverb sets, fails to acknowledge the multi-voiced nature of language ideologies, and projects values onto the societies in question. More recent research utilizes larger proverb sets, surveys, and participant observation thus providing examples for addressing these shortcomings.
In my own research, I have incorporated these proverb research methods while also addressing the shortcomings of the "national traits" research by setting three delimitations of my research concerning language ideologies expressed by means of Kazakh proverbs. First, I focus on youth, the societal group most likely to change linguistically in an environment of language revitalization. Second, I only explore language ideologies concerning "community". Third, I have worked with a speech community rather than attempting nationwide analysis.
My field research was completed at Kazakh National Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I surveyed students concerning Kazakh proverbs addressing "community". Students reenacted the most familiar proverbs from the set, thereby narrativizing their language ideologies concerning "community".
I analyzed the data using an adaptation of Goffman's frame analysis. The language ideology showing the most tension was individualism-collectivism. This cultural theme is best understood as a continuum going from individual to the extended family / friends, and finally to the nation. In their narratives, students grappled with the paradigm of strength in numbers and "elders" in the skits repeatedly opposed individualism. In the reenactments, students' agency received its clearest expression in terms of proverbs about extended family / friends. Thus the language ideologies concerning "community" showed the following frame issues (boundaries): 1. Tension over where the speech community should position itself along the individualism-collectivism continuum; 2. Scripts against individualism; 3. Preponderance of adaptations for smaller-scale collectives."
Articles by Erik Aasland
Proverbium: The Yearbook of Annual Proverb Scholarship, 2018
Though of the same genre, two comparable proverbs from a given culture can operate in two distinc... more Though of the same genre, two comparable proverbs from a given culture can operate in two distinct communicative spheres. Using an approach called discourse ecology, I explore the intertextual dynamics, semantics, and usage of two Kazakh proverbial calls to action. I consider the meaning and cultural background for each proverb. Based on searches of social media and a Kazakh corpus of news articles, I argue that one proverb operates in mass-media whereas the other is limited to use in interpersonal conversation and online chat forums. I conclude with considerations of the contrasting roles that the two comparable proverbs play in terms of representative and frame-aligning discourse for contemporary Kazakhs.
Folklore, 2016
The government of Kazakhstan places a high value on Kazakh oral tradition as a resource for socie... more The government of Kazakhstan places a high value on Kazakh oral tradition as a resource for societal restoration. At the same time, there has been a resurgence of Islam in the country and the on-going process of defining a form of Islam that is Kazakh. Asıl Arna, the state approved Islamic governing body’s media company, posted a video on YouTube that affirms Kazakh oral tradition as part of a message of living from a pure heart. Such an affirmation of a local wisdom tradition is unusual for an organisation that stresses the universal, revelatory significance of Islam for right living. Thus, the author’s question: Is the video designed to instruct Kazakh-speaking Muslims or is there an agenda to change societal perceptions of Islam?
Journal of Western Folklore, Aug 2014
Neal Norrick presents the interface of tradition and individual agency in proverb performance as ... more Neal Norrick presents the interface of tradition and individual agency in proverb performance as a paradox, a rhetorical recusation in which the proverb initiator fades into the background of societal opinion while gaining the upper hand (1994). I will argue that we don’t need to leave ourselves in the place of paradox, but can attain clarification of how proverbs operate by applying the concept of deictic projection to explore how proverbs operate in the space between quote and story.
"There has always been an interest in how to interpret metaphorical proverbs. Recent research in ... more "There has always been an interest in how to interpret metaphorical proverbs. Recent research in cognitive science can be utilized to effectively diagram proverb meaning, especially defining the base meaning and evaluating he proverb meaning as incorporated into a larger context such as a story (i.e. blended meaning). In this article Gilles auconnier and Mark Turner's model of conceptual blending (Fauconnier 2002) is applied and expanded to describe he process of metaphorical proverb meaning. The proverb under consideration serves as the conclusion to a Kazakh folktale. Through narrative analysis of the folktale the spaces of the proverb map can be filled in, and the base and blended meaning elucidated. Finally, there is a discussion of relevance as the process of incorporating cultural inferences which complete the meaning of the proverb both as base meaning and as blended meaning.
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Past attempts at using proverbs for cultural analysis have provided questionable results. There h... more Past attempts at using proverbs for cultural analysis have provided questionable results. There has been an overreliance on comparable proverbs from other cultures (Mieder 1981) or the search for “underlying” static cultural traits (Bartlotti 2000). The current paper explores the potential of using frame analysis (Goffman 1974; Johnston 2002; Snow 1986) and circulation studies (Spitulnik 2001) as methods better suited to explicating societal change. The two methods are complementary: circulation studies aiding understanding of the process of proverb use; frame analysis allowing for insight on the meaning of familiar proverbs.
Rather than explore perspectives of the culture in general, I selected college students in Almaty, Kazakhstan as the group to be investigated. The current generation of students in Kazakhstan is unique, since they have only known an independent and Post-Soviet fatherland. As they have grown up, the country has been in the throes of redefining itself as a society. Part of this process has been reestablishing Kazakh as the national language.
Field research was carried out among university students at the Kazakh National Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Surveys provided information about the most familiar proverbs out of the proverb set concerning “community”. Analysis of the survey results showed that the population functions using proverbs as a speech community, a group able to communicate with each other effectively. Surveys and proverb encounter reenactments will provide the type of data necessary for circulation studies and frame analysis to establish a baseline concerning proverbial perspectives concerning “community” among Kazakh-speaking college students.
Book Reviews by Erik Aasland
Western States Folklore, 2021
Journal of American Folklore, 2017
Book review of Paul Mannings's book concerning linguistic anthropological aspects of romance amon... more Book review of Paul Mannings's book concerning linguistic anthropological aspects of romance among an ethnic group in the country of Georgia.
American Ethnologist, Aug 2015
Student Anthropologist, Volume 3. Number 1
Papers by Erik Aasland
Journal of American Folklore, Jul 1, 2017
This edited volume is a feast of contemporary Kazakh proverb research. You are invited to the low... more This edited volume is a feast of contemporary Kazakh proverb research. You are invited to the low table, the Kazakh dastarkhan, where special dishes cover the table. Everything is within easy reach, and each of the delicacies is homemade, with a distinctive Kazakh flavor. Whether you are a linguist, folklorist, anthropologist, or just someone wanting to know more, this feast has something to offer. Come join us for a cup of tea, some respite, and the opportunity to enter into the world of Kazakh proverb research! There are five courses: current use of Kazakh proverbs at home, in school, and on the internet; the content of proverbs used historically and in fiction; the dynamic relationship between proverbs and culture in Kazakhstan; the role of proverbs in education (both the ecologies of proverbial interaction between languages and the opportunities provided by technology); and finally, new vistas for the future of Kazakh proverb use. With the expanded role of the internet, Kazakhs ...
This is an overview of a grant funded by Nazarbayev University to investigate the discourse ecolo... more This is an overview of a grant funded by Nazarbayev University to investigate the discourse ecologies of Kazakh proverbs.
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Dissertation by Erik Aasland
Research into "national traits" using proverbs has validity issues since it relies on small proverb sets, fails to acknowledge the multi-voiced nature of language ideologies, and projects values onto the societies in question. More recent research utilizes larger proverb sets, surveys, and participant observation thus providing examples for addressing these shortcomings.
In my own research, I have incorporated these proverb research methods while also addressing the shortcomings of the "national traits" research by setting three delimitations of my research concerning language ideologies expressed by means of Kazakh proverbs. First, I focus on youth, the societal group most likely to change linguistically in an environment of language revitalization. Second, I only explore language ideologies concerning "community". Third, I have worked with a speech community rather than attempting nationwide analysis.
My field research was completed at Kazakh National Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I surveyed students concerning Kazakh proverbs addressing "community". Students reenacted the most familiar proverbs from the set, thereby narrativizing their language ideologies concerning "community".
I analyzed the data using an adaptation of Goffman's frame analysis. The language ideology showing the most tension was individualism-collectivism. This cultural theme is best understood as a continuum going from individual to the extended family / friends, and finally to the nation. In their narratives, students grappled with the paradigm of strength in numbers and "elders" in the skits repeatedly opposed individualism. In the reenactments, students' agency received its clearest expression in terms of proverbs about extended family / friends. Thus the language ideologies concerning "community" showed the following frame issues (boundaries): 1. Tension over where the speech community should position itself along the individualism-collectivism continuum; 2. Scripts against individualism; 3. Preponderance of adaptations for smaller-scale collectives."
Articles by Erik Aasland
"
Rather than explore perspectives of the culture in general, I selected college students in Almaty, Kazakhstan as the group to be investigated. The current generation of students in Kazakhstan is unique, since they have only known an independent and Post-Soviet fatherland. As they have grown up, the country has been in the throes of redefining itself as a society. Part of this process has been reestablishing Kazakh as the national language.
Field research was carried out among university students at the Kazakh National Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Surveys provided information about the most familiar proverbs out of the proverb set concerning “community”. Analysis of the survey results showed that the population functions using proverbs as a speech community, a group able to communicate with each other effectively. Surveys and proverb encounter reenactments will provide the type of data necessary for circulation studies and frame analysis to establish a baseline concerning proverbial perspectives concerning “community” among Kazakh-speaking college students.
Book Reviews by Erik Aasland
Papers by Erik Aasland
Research into "national traits" using proverbs has validity issues since it relies on small proverb sets, fails to acknowledge the multi-voiced nature of language ideologies, and projects values onto the societies in question. More recent research utilizes larger proverb sets, surveys, and participant observation thus providing examples for addressing these shortcomings.
In my own research, I have incorporated these proverb research methods while also addressing the shortcomings of the "national traits" research by setting three delimitations of my research concerning language ideologies expressed by means of Kazakh proverbs. First, I focus on youth, the societal group most likely to change linguistically in an environment of language revitalization. Second, I only explore language ideologies concerning "community". Third, I have worked with a speech community rather than attempting nationwide analysis.
My field research was completed at Kazakh National Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I surveyed students concerning Kazakh proverbs addressing "community". Students reenacted the most familiar proverbs from the set, thereby narrativizing their language ideologies concerning "community".
I analyzed the data using an adaptation of Goffman's frame analysis. The language ideology showing the most tension was individualism-collectivism. This cultural theme is best understood as a continuum going from individual to the extended family / friends, and finally to the nation. In their narratives, students grappled with the paradigm of strength in numbers and "elders" in the skits repeatedly opposed individualism. In the reenactments, students' agency received its clearest expression in terms of proverbs about extended family / friends. Thus the language ideologies concerning "community" showed the following frame issues (boundaries): 1. Tension over where the speech community should position itself along the individualism-collectivism continuum; 2. Scripts against individualism; 3. Preponderance of adaptations for smaller-scale collectives."
"
Rather than explore perspectives of the culture in general, I selected college students in Almaty, Kazakhstan as the group to be investigated. The current generation of students in Kazakhstan is unique, since they have only known an independent and Post-Soviet fatherland. As they have grown up, the country has been in the throes of redefining itself as a society. Part of this process has been reestablishing Kazakh as the national language.
Field research was carried out among university students at the Kazakh National Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Surveys provided information about the most familiar proverbs out of the proverb set concerning “community”. Analysis of the survey results showed that the population functions using proverbs as a speech community, a group able to communicate with each other effectively. Surveys and proverb encounter reenactments will provide the type of data necessary for circulation studies and frame analysis to establish a baseline concerning proverbial perspectives concerning “community” among Kazakh-speaking college students.
There are five courses: current use of Kazakh proverbs at home, in school, and on the internet; the content of proverbs used historically and in fiction; the dynamic relationship between proverbs and culture in Kazakhstan; the role of proverbs in education (both the ecologies of proverbial interaction between languages and the opportunities provided by technology); and finally, new vistas for the future of Kazakh proverb use. With the expanded role of the internet, Kazakhs have ventured beyond using traditional Kazakh proverbs. They are now recrafting proverbial content and forms to find fitting words for contemporary issues. The book’s finale is a ground-breaking piece of research which documents the twists and tweaks that keep Kazakh proverb use vibrant.