Language and landscape among the Tlingit
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Thomas F. Thornton
Abstract
Processes of perception, accommodation, and cultivation of places are critical to understanding the nature of language and landscape among coastal and river peoples. I present a processual model of landscape conceptualization in order to analyze how specific landscape classification schemes operate among the Tlingit of Southeast Alaska. Inhabiting some of the most dynamic and productive coastal and riparian ecosystems anywhere in the world, the Tlingit provide an especially rich case for examining these connections between land, river, and sea. Although the language is considered endangered, Tlingit toponyms and geographical nomenclature are well documented and many groups continue to occupy and use their traditional territory in ways that support traditional conceptualizations of the lands and waters of their living space.
Abstract
Processes of perception, accommodation, and cultivation of places are critical to understanding the nature of language and landscape among coastal and river peoples. I present a processual model of landscape conceptualization in order to analyze how specific landscape classification schemes operate among the Tlingit of Southeast Alaska. Inhabiting some of the most dynamic and productive coastal and riparian ecosystems anywhere in the world, the Tlingit provide an especially rich case for examining these connections between land, river, and sea. Although the language is considered endangered, Tlingit toponyms and geographical nomenclature are well documented and many groups continue to occupy and use their traditional territory in ways that support traditional conceptualizations of the lands and waters of their living space.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword ix
- Preface xi
- Landscape in language 1
- Ethnophysiography 25
- Exploring philosophy of place 47
- Embedded in place 73
- Philosophical issues in ethnophysiography 101
- ‘Land’ and life 121
- Landscape in Western Pantar, a Papuan outlier of southern Indonesia 143
- Hawaiian storied place names 167
- Between the trees and the tides 187
- Differing conceptualizations of the same landscape 225
- A case study in Ahtna Athabascan geographic knowledge 239
- Revitalizing place names through stories and songs 261
- Language and landscape among the Tlingit 275
- Language, landscape and ethnoecology, reflections from northwestern Canada 291
- Landscape embedded in language 327
- Navajo landscape and its contexts 343
- Navigating regional landscapes with Jicarilla personal narrative 353
- Ontology of landscape in language 369
- The role of geospatial technologies for integrating landscape in language 381
- Classifying landscape character 395
- Perspectives on the ethical conduct of landscape in language research 411
- Notes on contributors 435
- Index 443
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword ix
- Preface xi
- Landscape in language 1
- Ethnophysiography 25
- Exploring philosophy of place 47
- Embedded in place 73
- Philosophical issues in ethnophysiography 101
- ‘Land’ and life 121
- Landscape in Western Pantar, a Papuan outlier of southern Indonesia 143
- Hawaiian storied place names 167
- Between the trees and the tides 187
- Differing conceptualizations of the same landscape 225
- A case study in Ahtna Athabascan geographic knowledge 239
- Revitalizing place names through stories and songs 261
- Language and landscape among the Tlingit 275
- Language, landscape and ethnoecology, reflections from northwestern Canada 291
- Landscape embedded in language 327
- Navajo landscape and its contexts 343
- Navigating regional landscapes with Jicarilla personal narrative 353
- Ontology of landscape in language 369
- The role of geospatial technologies for integrating landscape in language 381
- Classifying landscape character 395
- Perspectives on the ethical conduct of landscape in language research 411
- Notes on contributors 435
- Index 443
