The Gymnasium and Greek Identity

This chapter focuses on questions of identity more clearly and provides an analysis of its different implications, to show how the communities of the gymnasia of Hellenistic Egypt, while following traditions of Greek character, were thoroughly embedded in the socio-cultural world of the country in which they lived. It is argued that the members of the gymnasium displayed complex identities, which could encompass features deriving from various traditions; this goes beyond a simplistic interpretation and understanding of ethnicity. Beyond strict ethnic designations, Ptolemaic society also functioned in a less exclusive fashion, according to cultural definitions: the Ptolemaic category of Hellenes ‘Greeks’ was applied to people who displayed a certain degree of knowledge of Greek language and culture, not only to those who were of strict Greek ethnicity. As the prime institution of Greek cultural traditions, the gymnasium operated as the quintessential ‘association of the Hellenes’: the place where those who were willing to go Greek could express themselves as a well-defined group of people, while upholding specific aspects of Greek life. However, it is shown how the gymnasium’s members stretched over different layers of (normally) the middle and upper strata of local society and shared many features, which were foreign to Greek traditions and thought, including specific onomastic choices, religious practices, or marriage patterns. ‘Those of the gymnasium’ were fully embedded in and deeply intertwined with the local population—to the point that they essentially formed a part of it: they were the ‘Greeks’ of Egypt.

CHALLENGES OF FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD: FATHER OR MOTHER LANGUAGE?

В статье рассматриваются вопросы передачи родного языка следующим поколениям у населения Горно-Бадахшанской автономной области Таджикистана в ситуации активных языковых контактов: в местах фрагментированного распространения миноритарных памирских языков (ваханский, ишкашимский и др.), смешанных с зонами таджикского языка, где фрагментация населения усугубляется социокультурными практиками и брачными моделями; и при проживании в условиях внутренней и внешней миграции. В основу статьи положены материалы, собранные в ходе полевых исследований в Таджикистане и России методами наблюдения и интервью, в частности по методу фокус-групп, а также на основе анализа данных социальных сетей на памирских языках и публикаций по вопросам родного языка и лингвокультурной идентичности. Анализ языковых ситуаций проводится на основе типологической модели Эдвардса с выделением социолингвистических и демографических факторов, влияющих на жизнеспособность языковой группы. Мы рассматриваем формы передачи родного языка следующим поколениям у членов этих этнических групп в условиях двуязычия при традиционных моделях компактного проживания, а также в условиях многоязычия в ходе миграции. Установлено, каким образом стратегии жизнеобеспечения семьи, такие как тип расселения и брачные модели или выбор определенного типа миграции, оказывают влияние на стратегии и приемы передачи языковых навыков детям, а также на выбор и предпочтение языков родителями, а затем и самими детьми. Выявляются языковые предпочтения определенных групп на уровне семьи и этнической группы, их причины и приемы их поддержания. Кроме того, отмечен недавний поворот от нейтрально-позитивного отношения молодежи к родным (памирским) языкам к лингвистическому активизму и продвижению их в цифровом пространстве, а также созданию на них образовательных продуктов. The article is focused on the transmission of native languages to the next generation among the population of the Mountainous-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, Tajikistan. The article is based on data collected during field research in Tajikistan and Russia, using observational methods and interviews, in particular focus groups. It also draws on monitoring of social media in the Pamir languages and on publications addressing the mother tongues and linguacultural identity of the Pamir ethnic groups. Particular attention is given to the areas where language contacts are especially active. First, the steadily shrinking fragmented zones of distribution of various minority Pamir languages (Wakhan, Ishkashim) mixed with the Tajik language; here, fragmentation of the population in the contact zones is aggravated by socio-cultural practices and intensified by specific marriage patterns, whereby men marry women from neighbouring villages speaking languages other than their own. Another area where language contact and linguistic shift are most apparent concerns members of these ethnic groups who undertake internal or external migration. The analysis of linguistic situations is based on Edwards’ typological model employing a set of sociolinguistic and demographic factors which affect the viability of a language group. We examine the ways in which mother tongues are transmitted to the next generation among members of these ethnic groups in conditions of compact residence; we consider their specific bilingual model, when the native language turns to be a father’s language. We also trace multilingual models in the context of increasing translocal and transnational migration, with its variety of approaches. It has been established how family life support strategies, such as the type of settlement and marriage patterns or the choice of a certain type of migration, influence the transfer of language skills to children, as well as the choice and preference of languages by parents, and later by children themselves. Among our outcomes, we reveal the types of bilingualism of certain groups (passive/early bilingualism, multilingualism), the reasons for this bilingualism and the specific means of its maintenance (such as settlement and marriage patterns). We reveal a recent development whereby a neutral attitude towards native (Pamir) languages has given way, among the younger generation, to linguistic activism, the promotion of these languages in the digital space and the creation of educational products on them.

Marriage rates of the population in Bulgaria: features and trends of change

The paper studies the past and contemporary marriage rates in Bulgaria. The analysis starts with the marriage patterns after the Liberation, when high marriage rates were observed, especially after the war periods. During socialism, the family was perceived as the main functioning cell of society and the marriage rates continued to be relatively high. In the 1990s and the beginning of the new century, a change in the marital behavior was observed – a significant postponement of entry into marriage and motherhood led to a family model that had not been common in the past. The authors also conclude that there are different stages in the marriage patterns in Bulgaria – both historically and spatially. The different factors affecting these processes are also studied and discussed in the paper.

Assessing (a)symmetry in multilingualism: The case of Mano and Kpelle in Guinea

Aims and objectives: The paper studies Kpelle–Mano bilingualism in the broader context of local multilingual repertoires and assesses symmetry in the patterns of language use. Methodology: We combine natural speech sampling with ethnographic observations, interviews, sociolinguistic surveys and elicitation tasks. Data and analysis: The data analyzed includes 88 questionnaire responses, targeted elicitation with 21 individuals, as well as corpus collection and ethnographic observations over the course of fieldwork from 2008 onwards. Findings: Neither Mano nor Kpelle has an overt prestige value. Marriage patterns and economic activity are symmetrical, and both languages can be in certain cases chosen as a means of interethnic communication. However, bilingualism is typically unreciprocated, and the Mano speak Kpelle more often than the other way round. Contact-induced change is almost exclusively unidirectional, with Kpelle influencing Mano. We suggest relative population size as the main explanatory factor. In contrast, both Mano and Kpelle are in an asymmetric relationship with Maninka, which is frequently used by urban Mano and Kpelle speakers. Even if some Maninka claim to speak Kpelle to a certain extent, they rarely use it in real life. Originality: This paper is a report on a previously unstudied multilingual setting. We stress the theoretical and the empirical importance of the patrilect. In addition to its being the defining identity feature, the patrilect is also the main predictor defining the language choice in communication and the volume of the repertoire. Significance: We applied long-term participant observation in various social settings to obtain a fine-grained account of the rules governing language choice, which a typical background questionnaire would overlook. We also sampled natural and elicited speech of L1 and L2 speakers of Mano and Kpelle, a method that yields better results than proficiency tests because it captures interference in grammar, which has far-reaching consequences for contacting languages.

On the origins of the demographic transition: rethinking the European marriage pattern

Why did France experience the demographic transition first? This question remains one of the greatest puzzles of economics, demography, and economic history. The French pattern is hard to reconcile with elucidations of the process as found in other countries. The present analysis goes back to the roots of the process and offers novel ways of explaining why people started to control their fertility in France and how they did so. In this paper, I track the evolution of marriage patterns to a point before the premises of the demographic transition. I identify two distinct phases. Next, I rely on exploratory methods to classify French counties based on their discriminatory features. Five profiles emerge. I discuss these profiles through the lens of the French Revolution, one of the greatest events that ever occurred in French history, which irretrievably altered its society. In particular, the results show that the fertility transition was not as linear, but more complex than previous research had argued. They show the importance of accounting for cultural factors and for individuals’ predispositions to adapt more or less quickly to societal changes. Yet cultural factors are not all. They can help to explain the timing of the transition and the choice of methods used to control fertility, but modernity and gender equality are also needed to describe the mechanisms in play behind the process.

Assessing Population Variation Using Heritable Nonmetric Traits

This research investigates the use of heritable nonmetric traits as a means for assessing population variation and biological relatedness within an archaeological sample using the commingled human skeletal tomb assemblage from the Bronze Age site of Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates (2100-2000 BCE). A total of 410 individuals representing all ages and both sexes were interred in the Umm an-Nar period tomb. An analysis of sixteen heritable nonmetric traits was conducted on the adult human skeletal remains for both cranial and postcranial elements. Of the eight elements analyzed, one element in particular displayed anomalies rarely described in archaeological contexts. Seven patellae were identified as emarginated, six as bipartite and one as tripartite. The frequency of traits found here are inconclusive in suggesting biological homogeneity or heterogeneity. However, the baseline data provided here may be useful in investigating biological homogeneity in other studies in the future and may allow us to look at social practices such as marriage patterns. These data may also provide an additional line of evidence to the previous hypotheses concerning consanguineous marriage for this assemblage.

Counting Couples: The Marriage Banns Registers of the City of Amsterdam, 1580–1810

Marriage is generally regarded as a decisive moment in the life course of individuals. As the social, but also the legal status of women and men changes as soon as they enter marriage and – by extension – their preceding wedding engagement, registers are and were being kept to record this life event in most societies. The difficulty in studying the long-term development of marriage patterns is the need for, among other things, detailed information about the marriage formation process. Most of the research on marriage patterns is based on a limited amount of data. Data either cover only a limited period (at most several consecutive decades), a limited number of variables, a relatively small number of marriages, and/or a relatively small town or region. The Amsterdam marriage banns registers are an exception to the above, in terms of content, focus area, and volume. In this article, we present the dataset results of the Citizen Science project ‘Ja, ik wil!’ [‘Yes, I do!’], involving over 500 participants retrieving a wide range of socio-economic data on over 94,000 couples from the rich source of the historical Amsterdam marriage banns registers, covering every fifth year between 1580 and 1810.

More choice for men? Marriage patterns after World War II in Italy

We investigate how changes in the sex ratio induced by World War II affected the bargaining patterns of Italian men in the marriage market. Marriage data from the first wave of the Italian Household Longitudinal Survey (1997) are matched with newly digitized information on war casualties coming from the Italian National Bureau of Statistics. We find that men in post-war marriages were better off in terms of their spouse's education, this gain amounting to about half a year of schooling. By considering heterogeneity across provinces, we find that the effects were more pronounced in rural provinces, mountainous provinces, and provinces with a higher share of population employed in agriculture. This result suggests that in these provinces the war caused a more fundamental change in marriage patterns compared to urban, lower-lying, and less agricultural provinces where marriage markets might have been more flexible to begin with.

A typology of small-scale multilingualism

Aims: The paper aims at providing an exhaustive overview of studies of small-scale multilingualism, a type of language ecology typical of—but not exclusive to—indigenous communities with small numbers of speakers. We identify the similarities and differences among situations of such multilingualism, which lay the foundations for a future typology of this kind of language ecology. Approach and data: We outline the importance of language ideologies for multilingualism in small-scale societies, highlight the sources of this type of language ecology, with a special focus on the impact of marriage patterns, discuss to what extent situations of small-scale multilingualism are truly egalitarian and symmetric, and survey the different methods used in the study of this domain. In order to do so, we survey studies devoted to multilingualism in indigenous communities of all continents: the New World (especially South America), Australia, Melanesia, Africa, Europe and Asia. Conclusions: The multilingual ecologies of the pre- and postcolonial world are extremely diverse, with many factors playing a role in their constitution. They are also highly endangered, and thus their study is of the utmost urgency. Originality: The domain of small-scale multilingualism is still novel for sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. Although the researchers working with indigenous groups have been describing the peculiarities of multilingual repertoires, language acquisition and language attitudes in various parts of the world, the domain lacks the kind of comparison and generalizations that we provide here. Significance: The increased interest in small-scale multilingualism has been boosted by the realization of its significance for reconstructing the social conditions that favoured linguistic diversity in the precolonial world. Furthermore, insights into this type of multilingualism—which differs considerably from the better-studied situations of bi- and multilingualism in urban contexts and large nation states—are of prime importance for a better understanding of the human language faculty.