Edward Sapir

1921. This little book aims to give a certain perspective on the subject of language rather than to assemble facts about it. It has little to say of the ultimate psychological basis of speech and gives only enough of the actual descriptive or historical facts of particular languages to illustrate principles. Its main purpose is to show what I conceive language to be, what is its variability in place and time, and what are its relations to other fundamental human interests-the problem of thought, the nature of the historical process, race, culture, art. Contents: Language Define; The Elements of Speech; The Sounds of Language; Form in Language; Grammatical Processes; Form in Language; Grammatical Concepts; Types of Linguistic Structure; Language as a Historical Product: Drift; Language as a Historical Product: Phonetic Law; How Languages Influence Each Other; Language, Race and Culture; and Language and Literature.

Language. an Introduction to the Study of Speech

Selected Essays

Culture, Language and Personality

A seminal 1921 work by the linguist Edward Sapir, outlining his influential ideas and hypotheses on language and its speakers.

Language

Alexander Thomas

John Thomas

Morris Swadesh

This last segment of the Sapir-Thomas Nootka texts includes three first-hand accounts of the Tlkwa:na, or Wolf Ritual, a principal ceremony of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations of the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The ritual, which takes several days to enact, is described in detail, from the howling of the “Wolves” in human form, to the abduction of children to their forest lair and the return of these initiates to perform newly learned dances. Also included are Sapir’s field record of a Tlkwa:na of 1910; his correspondence with his chief interpreters Alex Thomas and Frank Williams; and autobiographical stories by Alex Thomas. Published in English.

The whaling indians: West Coast legends and stories — Part 12 of the Sapir-Thomas Nootka texts

Origin of the wolf ritual

... Yana Texts

Yana Terms of Relationship

Yana Texts

Takelma Texts

University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology

The Position of Yana in the Hokan Stock

These Tales of Extraordinary Experience detail encounters with spirit-beings and other supernatural occurrences, as related by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth of Vancouver Island’s west coast. They were recorded primarily in the area of Port Alberni between 1910 and 1923 by the famous linguist Edward Sapir and by his chief interpreter, Alexander Thomas.

The whaling indians: West Coast legends and stories — Part 10 of the Sapir-Thomas Nootka texts

Tales of extraordinary experience

Marius Barbeau

Folk songs of French Canada

Wishram Texts

Tales and Ethnological Narratives, with Grammatical Notes and Lexical Materials

Nootka Texts

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1949.

Selected Writings of Edward Sapir in Language, Culture and Personality

Wishram Texts, Together with Wasco Tales and Myths

Texts of the Kaibab Paiutes and Uintah Utes. Southern Paiute Dictionary

Southern Paiute, a Shoshonean Language

Native Accounts of Nootka Ethnography

An expert, accessible study, this book asks and answers fundamental questions about how language works, its regional variations, and its cultural and historical roles. The author relates linguistic issues to a broad spectrum of other areas, including the part played by language in the nature of thought and in artistic expression. No finer introduction to the subject exists, and this work's direct style and thought-provoking topics extend its appeal beyond the classroom.

An Introduction to the Study of Speech

Edward Sapir

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