Bambi Schieffelin
Encyclopedia
Bambi Schieffelin is a linguistic anthropologist
at New York University
in the department of Anthropology
. She has written extensively about language socialization, language contact
, language ideology
, Haitian creole, and missionization
.
She received her undergraduate and doctorate degrees from Columbia University
, in anthropology
and masters and postdoctorate in developmental psychology
.
She has carried out extensive fieldwork in Papua New Guinea
, and compiled a dictionary of Kaluli
, a Bosavi language
.
She has recently researched youth language use in instant messaging
and text messaging
., particularly the use of the word like
. She is currently interested in the linguistic aspects of the Lolcat
phenomenon.
Linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages, and has grown over the past 100 years to encompass almost any aspect of language structure and...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in the department of Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
. She has written extensively about language socialization, language contact
Language contact
Language contact occurs when two or more languages or varieties interact. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics.Multilingualism has likely been common throughout much of human history, and today most people in the world are multilingual...
, language ideology
Language ideology
In sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology, a language or linguistic ideology is a systematic construct about how particular ways of using languages carry or are invested with certain moral, religious, social, and political values, giving rise to implicit assumptions that people have about a...
, Haitian creole, and missionization
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
.
She received her undergraduate and doctorate degrees from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, in anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and masters and postdoctorate in developmental psychology
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
.
She has carried out extensive fieldwork in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, and compiled a dictionary of Kaluli
Kaluli
The Kaluli are a clan of non-literate indigenous peoples who live in the rain forests of Great Papuan Plateau in Papua New Guinea. The Kaluli, who numbered approximately 2000 people in 1987, are the most numerous and well documented by post-contact ethnographers and missionaries among the four...
, a Bosavi language
Bosavi languages
The Bosavi languages are a family of the Trans–New Guinea languages in the classification of Malcolm Ross.The languages, which are closely related, are Aimele , Kaluli, Beami, Dibiyaso , Edolo, Kasua, Onobasulu, Sonia....
.
She has recently researched youth language use in instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
and text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
., particularly the use of the word like
Like
In the English language, the word like has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, interjection, and quotative....
. She is currently interested in the linguistic aspects of the Lolcat
Lolcat
A lolcat is an image combining a photograph of a cat with text intended to contribute humour. The text is often idiosyncratic and grammatically incorrect, and its use in this way is known as "lolspeak" or "kitty pidgin"....
phenomenon.
Selected works
- 2007 Consequences of Contact: Language Ideologies and Sociocultural Transformations in Pacific Societies
- 1998 Language Ideologies
- 2005 The Give and Take of Everyday Life