Paul V. Kroskrity

Paul V. Kroskrity (; born February 10, 1949) is an American linguistic anthropologist known primarily for his contributions to establishing and developing language ideology as a field of research. He is professor of anthropology, applied linguistics, and American Indian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the past President of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology and past Chair of the American Indian Studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Kroskrity's research focuses on language ideologies, language and identity, verbal art and performance, language contact, and language endangerment and revitalization. He specializes in the indigenous languages of the Kiowa-Tanoan and Uto-Aztecan language families, and has worked in the Western Pueblo region and Central California.

Biography Paul V. Kroskrity grew up in Brooklyn. He received his bachelor's degree from Columbia College, Columbia University where he studied Oriental Studies, Comparative Literature, and Comparative Religion. He also worked with Allen D. Grimshaw, Charles S. Bird, and Raymond J. DeMallie. Voegelin inspired his interest in American Indian languages and suggested that he conduct research with the Arizona Tewa.

Kroskrity earned his PhD from Indiana University Bloomington in anthropology in 1977 with a dissertation titled "Aspects of Arizona Tewa Language Structure and Language Use". In 1978 Kroskrity was hired as a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he has been teaching ever since. Kroskrity organized and co-organized sessions at meetings of the American Anthropological Association (1991, 1994) and at the School of American Research in Santa Fe (1994), and served as the editor and co-editor of three of the resulting volumes.

Arizona Tewa language ideologies Kroskrity's interest in the ideological dimension of language use and their relationship to linguistic structure, cultural identity, and ethnohistory can be traced to the beginning of his career. When he started his dissertation research in the Arizona Tewa communities on the First Mesa Hopi Reservation (Northeastern Arizona) in 1973, Kroskrity was primarily interested in Tewa grammar and language contact, but the Tewa themselves kept reminding him of the importance of the link between language, culture, and religious ceremonies. "My language is my life" is a popular saying in Tewa, which suggests a strong link between language and identity. Language and identity became a central theme in Kroskrity's later work, interpreting Tewa cultural phenomena in the light of the emerging theory of language ideology. This is a common pattern in many Pueblo cultures, usually known as "linguistic conservatism".

Kroskrity re-analyzed this pattern as an indigenous ideology of Linguistic purism. But rather than being a result of the rejection of foreign elements by the Tewa community, Kroskrity traces this ideology to the prominence of kiva speech, a type of ceremonial speech confined in its use to religious authorities. Associated with the highly valued religious domain, kiva speech embodies four cultural preferences: regulation by convention, indigenous purism, strict compartmentalization, and linguistic indexing of identity. These preferences are reflected in Arizona Tewa linguistic ideologies concerning non-kiva language as well, and turn kiva speech thus into a folk model for language in general. and therefore most easily controlled by the speakers.

Western Mono language ideologies In addition to research with the Arizona Tewa, Kroskrity has also worked with the Western Mono communities of central California since 1980.

Language ideological clarification Kroskrity's work demonstrates the importance of language ideologies for understanding language maintenance and shift. While in the case of the Arizona Tewa, a dominant language ideology of purism and an association of the Tewa language with ethnic identity has contributed to language maintenance, the traditional language ideologies of the Western Mono have contributed to rapid language shift. In light of these findings, Kroskrity has more recently called for "language ideological clarification".

Language ideological clarification is the process of identifying issues of language ideological contestation within a heritage language community, including both beliefs and feelings that are indigenous to that community and those introduced by outsiders (such as linguists and government officials), that can negatively impact community efforts to successfully engage in language maintenance and renewal. This process of identifying and raising consciousness about linguistic and discursive issues enables appropriate discourses to occur between community members, or between members and either linguists or government officials who have differing opinions. Ideally these discourses would promote actual resolution—a clarification achieved—or foster a tolerable level of disagreement that would not inhibit language renewal activities.

Collaborative fieldwork Throughout his career Kroskrity has contributed through research to the agendas of the communities he studies. He conducted "collaborative research" with Tewa and Western Mono informants long before the term became fashionable in anthropology. In 2002 he collaborated with Rosalie Bethel (Western Mono) to publish an interactive CD-ROM, contributing to Western Mono language revitalization activities.

Selected publications Kroskrity, Paul V. (ed.). 2012. Telling Stories in the Face of Danger: Language Renewal in Native American Communities. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. Kroskrity, Paul V. and Margaret Field (eds.). 2009. Native American Language Ideologies: Beliefs, Practices, and Struggles in Indian Country. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Kroskrity, Paul V., Rosalie Bethel, and Jennifer F. Reynolds. 2002. (CD-ROM). Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. Kroskrity, Paul V. (ed.). 2000. Regimes of Language: Ideologies, Polities, and Identities. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research. Schieffelin, Bambi, Kathryn Woolard, and Paul V. Kroskrity (eds.). 1998. Language Ideologies, Theory and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press. Kroskrity, Paul V. 1993. Language, History, and Identity: Ethnolinguistic Studies of the Arizona Tewa. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Bethel, Rosalie, Paul V. Kroskrity, Christopher Loether, and Gregory A. Reinhardt. 1984. A Practical Dictionary of Western Mono. North Fork, California: Sierra Mono Museum. (2nd edition: 1993).