Cultural Anthropology Chapter 4

Linguistic relativity:

"The notion that all languages will develop the distinctive categories necessary for those who speak them to deal with the realities around them." Developed especially by Franz Boas, 1858-1942) considered the father of American anthropology by many, an American professor of anthropology at Columbia who was a Jewish immigrant. He studied many Native American populations as well as children of immigrants in New York. He was especially concerned with struggling against racial stereotyping and developed the theory of historical particularism. He was a mentor to many famous anthropologists who followed, including Edward Sapir.

The "conduit metaphor" in which we think of ideas as objects and words as containers for those ideas dominates how we talk and think about language. How does it shape our education system?

1. "common sense" tells us that the teacher's job is to put ideas into words and send them to the students 2. classrooms are built to allow the teacher to "convey" ideas to the students 3. the mind itself is seen as a "container" that needs to be filled up

What is the benefit of re-thinking the metaphor behind the idea of "finding ourselves"?

1. Experiences and failures can be seen as part of the process of "creating the self" 2. the idea of "finding yourself" overlooks our capacities to change 3. the idea of "finding yourself" might mislead us into thinking that there is a solid core self to be found

In English we say "the light flashes" even though the light does not exist at all without the flashing. Why did Whorf think this is significant?

1. The Hopi simply say rehpi, without separating the subject (light) and the verb (flashes) 2. This may be why we developed Newtonian Physics before we understood Einstein's Theory of Relativity 3. If we spoke an Amerindian language we might have developed Einstein's physics first

Why is it better to think of ideas as pliable and conditional rather than fixed and absolute?

1. We are more likely to play with them 2. We are more likely to find new, creative uses for them 3. We are more likely to remember them

People who use languages that require directional markers for simple greetings

1. might say "your north shoe is untied" 2. usually know exactly which direction they are facing 3. have an uncanny capacity for dead reckoning

What can some speakers of tonal languages do that non-speakers cannot?

1. whistle messages to one another 2. send messages using "talking drums" 3. attain or nurture the ability of "perfect pitch"

How many sounds can humans make>

4,000

About how many of these sounds are used in languages around the world?

400 sounds

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Edward Whorf, a student of Edward Sapir, was famous for his analysis of Hopi language and their different conceptions of time -- past and present reflect lived reality and the same verb tense is used. Future tense reflects only a potential version of reality, rather than a certain one. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: "The idea that different languages create different ways of thinking. This hypothesis proposes that languages establish certain mental categories, or classifications of reality, almost like a grammar for organizing the worldview that in turn shapes people's ways of perceiving the world." This was a tremendously influential idea in spite of the fact that some of Whorf's work was later disputed.

The eskimos have 100 words for snow

False

Evidentials

For example, the Matses of the Amazon rainforest have the most complex system of verb forms that linguists call "evidentials.

Different cultures use different kinship terminology systems. What culture uses a system that uses the same word for "mother" as they do for "aunt"?

Hawaii

patrilineal systems

If you were born into a culture where wealth is passed through the father's line

Kametbani

Indicated that is going uphill

ased on current research, in what order did the following color words appear in human languages? (Sort the following from first to last)

Red, Yellow, Green, Blue.

The Boas-Jakobsen Principle

The idea that "languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey"

Phonemes

These sounds include consonants and vowels, and in some languages there are also clicks and tones.

Tzeltal

Tzeltal (a Mayan language in the Mexican state of Chiapas) was blindfolded and spun around over 20 times in a dark house, yet he still knew which way was which

Seductive

a Revolutionary set of ideas.

Makuahine

for mother as they do for aunt, a reflection of the importance they place on family and their tendency to live in extended families

Conduit Metaphor

in which we think of ideas as objects and words as containers for those ideas.

Katopbani

indicates going down hill

polysynthetic word structures

that allow them to make an infinite number of words from any root

Epistomology

to explore how we know what we know

Monotonous Diet

which had consisted of little more than taro, sweet potato, and bananas, was greatly enhanced as I came to recognize over thirty types of taro and sweet potato, and over fifty types of banana, each with its own distinct texture and flavor.

Nuyileq

which indicates crushed ice that is beginning to spread out and is dangerous to walk on.