Questions
1. What is meant by “intangible cultural heritage”? Where can you find information about the intangible cultural heritage from various parts of the world?
“Intangible cultural heritage” refers to cultural traditions, as opposed to artifacts of culture (for example, buildings, costumes, jewels), customs and traditional knowledge that is passed on from generation to generation. It comprises, for example, performances of music and dance, crafts such as weaving or pottery, the art of preparing special meals, and many more. UNESCO has started to catalogue intangible cultural heritage from all over the world, their website is a good source of information.
2. Name three criteria by which a local dialect of a language differs from the standard variety of the same language.
5 criteria were given in the text: speakers (used with known/unknown people), situation (for example, home/work), medium (spoken only/spoken and written), acquisition (without/with formal schooling), standardization. Another obvious criterion is space: local dialects are by definition spoken only in part of a language’s territory, while the standard variety is supposed to be used everywhere.
3. What is an avoidance language and in which part of the world are such varieties typically found?
Avoidance languages are varieties where certain words are taboo, they have to be avoided and replaced by other words. These varieties have to be used in the presence of certain persons, for example, the in-laws of a young man. Avoidance languages are typical for Australian languages.
4. What characterizes a linguistic genre?
Characteristic features of the text itself (structure, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation), of the situation where it is used (who uses it when, where), and its function.
5. What are the functions of riddles and riddling? (3 functions)
3 functions of riddles and riddling: a) educating, b) poetic, and c) entertaining function.