Born Germany, 1922. Jewish. Left Germany 1930s, eventually reached the
USA. Here his interests swung from chemistry to linguistics.
PhD, University of Michigan, 1954. Thesis on the dialect of a
Swabian-German community in Michigan.
At University of California, Berkeley, from 1956.
What exactly was his field?
Sociolinguistics? (Crystal), but quite a different tradition from the
Labovian variationists
specifically, Interactional Sociolinguistics? (Crystal)
Ethnography of Communication? (Crystal)...he was a close associate of
Dell Hymes.
I haven't read much of Gumperz.

Crystal mentions a "famous example", a case arising at Heathrow Airport.
Fortunately I don't have to retell it since it's here, in much the same
terms:

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/education/john-j-gumperz-linguist-of-cultural-interchange-dies-at-91.html

One thing that I have read, and made students read, is the 1971 paper
co-authored with Robert Wilson about the town of Kupwar in Maharashtra,
where close (yet caste-divided) contact between Marathi (Indo-Aryan) and
Kannada (Dravidian) has led to striking convergence of structure, while
vocabularies remain distinct. A classic example of "metatypy" (though
the word hadn't been coined then).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metatypy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_J._Gumperz

On 2024-03-30 09:17:30 +0000, Ross Clark said:

> Born Germany, 1922. Jewish. Left Germany 1930s, eventually reached the
> USA. Here his interests swung from chemistry to linguistics.
> PhD, University of Michigan, 1954. Thesis on the dialect of a
> Swabian-German community in Michigan.
> At University of California, Berkeley, from 1956.
> What exactly was his field?
> Sociolinguistics? (Crystal), but quite a different tradition from the
> Labovian variationists
> specifically, Interactional Sociolinguistics? (Crystal)
> Ethnography of Communication? (Crystal)...he was a close associate of
> Dell Hymes.
> I haven't read much of Gumperz.
>
> Crystal mentions a "famous example", a case arising at Heathrow Airport.
> Fortunately I don't have to retell it since it's here,

Only to subscribers.

> in much the same terms:
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/education/john-j-gumperz-linguist-of-cultural-interchange-dies-at-91.html
>
>
> One thing that I have read, and made students read, is the 1971 paper
> co-authored with Robert Wilson about the town of Kupwar in Maharashtra,
> where close (yet caste-divided) contact between Marathi (Indo-Aryan)
> and Kannada (Dravidian) has led to striking convergence of structure,
> while vocabularies remain distinct. A classic example of "metatypy"
> (though the word hadn't been coined then).
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metatypy
>
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_J._Gumperz

--
Athel cb

Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

> On 2024-03-30 09:17:30 +0000, Ross Clark said:

>> Born Germany, 1922. Jewish. Left Germany 1930s, eventually reached the
>> USA. Here his interests swung from chemistry to linguistics.
>> PhD, University of Michigan, 1954. Thesis on the dialect of a
>> Swabian-German community in Michigan.
>> At University of California, Berkeley, from 1956.
>> What exactly was his field?
>> Sociolinguistics? (Crystal), but quite a different tradition from the
>> Labovian variationists
>> specifically, Interactional Sociolinguistics? (Crystal)
>> Ethnography of Communication? (Crystal)...he was a close associate of
>> Dell Hymes.
>> I haven't read much of Gumperz.
>>
>> Crystal mentions a "famous example", a case arising at Heathrow Airport.
>> Fortunately I don't have to retell it since it's here,

> Only to subscribers.

if anyone can see the 2nd half of the NYT article, pls post it here

After “Gumperz was paying attention to the details of
how language is used: your intonation, where you pause,
the specific expressions that people from one culture or another might use.”



__________________(from NPR)

"So if the same word — gravy — was said by the British women with a rising intonation — gravy? — that was understood as "Would you like some gravy?"

The Indian and Pakistani women said it with a falling intonation — gravy. That came across as, "This is gravy; take it or leave it."




he was really called in? to help?

---- Was this the only instance in human history that a Linguist was actually useful?



i thought a Linguist was useful only in movies

like Amy Adams deciphering Alien language.

On 31/03/2024 5:20 a.m., Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
> On 2024-03-30 09:17:30 +0000, Ross Clark said:
>
>> Born Germany, 1922. Jewish. Left Germany 1930s, eventually reached the
>> USA. Here his interests swung from chemistry to linguistics.
>> PhD, University of Michigan, 1954. Thesis on the dialect of a
>> Swabian-German community in Michigan.
>> At University of California, Berkeley, from 1956.
>> What exactly was his field?
>> Sociolinguistics? (Crystal), but quite a different tradition from the
>> Labovian variationists
>> specifically, Interactional Sociolinguistics? (Crystal)
>> Ethnography of Communication? (Crystal)...he was a close associate of
>> Dell Hymes.
>> I haven't read much of Gumperz.
>>
>> Crystal mentions a "famous example", a case arising at Heathrow Airport.
>> Fortunately I don't have to retell it since it's here,
>
> Only to subscribers.

Yes, sorry. Somehow I was afforded a glimpse of it.

Here's Crystal's version:

....Gumperz went to Heathrow Airport to investigate a culture clash
between newly hired cafeteria staff from India and Pakistan and the
baggage handlers who were eating there. The handlers said the new staff
were being rude, while the cafe people felt the handlers were being
discriminatory, as no complaint was being made against the older British
cafe staff. Both sides were puzzled by the situation and wanted it
resolved.

Gumperz recorded the conversations, and found a tiny but profound
difference between the way the two groups of cafe staff spoke to
customers. The word _gravy_ was the prime example. When offering it to
customers, the British staff said it with a high rising intonation, as
would be normal for their accent -- Gravy? The new staff used a falling
intonation -- Gravy! It was the contrast between 'Are you asking me or
telling me?' To British ears, the latter would sound like 'This is
gravy,' and was being interpreted as a rude 'Take it or leave it!', when
the intention was only to be polite.

On 2024-04-01 01:53:04 +0000, Ross Clark said:

> On 31/03/2024 5:20 a.m., Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
>> On 2024-03-30 09:17:30 +0000, Ross Clark said:
>>
>>> Born Germany, 1922. Jewish. Left Germany 1930s, eventually reached the
>>> USA. Here his interests swung from chemistry to linguistics.
>>> PhD, University of Michigan, 1954. Thesis on the dialect of a
>>> Swabian-German community in Michigan.
>>> At University of California, Berkeley, from 1956.
>>> What exactly was his field?
>>> Sociolinguistics? (Crystal), but quite a different tradition from the
>>> Labovian variationists
>>> specifically, Interactional Sociolinguistics? (Crystal)
>>> Ethnography of Communication? (Crystal)...he was a close associate of
>>> Dell Hymes.
>>> I haven't read much of Gumperz.
>>>
>>> Crystal mentions a "famous example", a case arising at Heathrow Airport.
>>> Fortunately I don't have to retell it since it's here,
>>
>> Only to subscribers.
>
> Yes, sorry. Somehow I was afforded a glimpse of it.
>
> Here's Crystal's version:
>
> ...Gumperz went to Heathrow Airport to investigate a culture clash
> between newly hired cafeteria staff from India and Pakistan and the
> baggage handlers who were eating there. The handlers said the new staff
> were being rude, while the cafe people felt the handlers were being
> discriminatory, as no complaint was being made against the older
> British cafe staff. Both sides were puzzled by the situation and wanted
> it resolved.
>
> Gumperz recorded the conversations, and found a tiny but profound
> difference between the way the two groups of cafe staff spoke to
> customers. The word _gravy_ was the prime example. When offering it to
> customers, the British staff said it with a high rising intonation, as
> would be normal for their accent -- Gravy? The new staff used a falling
> intonation -- Gravy! It was the contrast between 'Are you asking me or
> telling me?' To British ears, the latter would sound like 'This is
> gravy,' and was being interpreted as a rude 'Take it or leave it!',
> when the intention was only to be polite.

Thanks.

--
Athel cb