Anthropology Chapter 4- Language
Laura Bohannan
"Shakespeare in the Bush"
Laura Bohannan
"Shakespeare in the Bush" -couldn't tell Africans about Hamlet -the environment shapes our language and ur language shapes the environment
Keith Basso
"Wisdom Sits in Place" -Western Apache: natural landscape is part of Apache folklore, environment as literary and cultural significance.
Deborah Tannen
"You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation" -difference model convos with men and women= cross-cultural
call system
- all animals use it - sounds and gestures that are prompted by environmental stimuli
2 descriptions of African American English
AAE is spoken by millions of African Americans it is also known as Ebonics
cable lines and relationships with local communities
Cable stations are places of conflict in local communities, as they raise questions about whose territory they are placed on. Landing points are also places of conflict with fisherman, boaters, environmental advocates, and local developers.
Place the languages in order from highest to lowest number of native speakers.
Chinese Spanish English Arabic
"language warriors"
Harrison: people working to preserve their languages
cable lines and differences in landing points per country
Landing points vary greatly based on how much economic and political power a country or region has. For example, 45 cables connect to the U.S. mainland, while most countries have fewer than five.
Linguistic Relativism (the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) :
Languages help us classify the world around us. - different contexts produce different languages and therefore different ways of thinking
Focal Vocabulary
a detailed vocab -importance to a culture
digital natives
a generation of people born after 1980s who ave been raised in the digital age.
examples of dialect
a language variant that is politically subjugated Cantonese
examples of prestige language
a midwestern American accent a language varient whose usage brings financial gain
dialect
a nonstandard variation of a language
prestige language
a particular language variation or way of speaking that is associated with wealth, success, education, and power.
Language
a system of communication organized by rules that uses symbols such as words, sounds, and gestures to convey information
neuroscientists allow what view of language
a weak lingustictic relativism
The FOXP2 gene has been connected with human language use. Identify the correct statement about the FOXP2 gene.
activates the ability to use human speech
lexicon
all the words for names, ideas, and events that make up a language's dictionary
paralanguage
an extensive set of noises (such as laughs, cries, sighs, and yells) and tone of voice that convey significant information about the speaker
Ninety percent of how we communicate is through nonverbal actions and cues. Identify the parts of language that emojis try to replace when communicating digitally.
body language and paralanguage
In their book Born Digital, John Palfrey and Urs Gasser discuss types of people they call digital natives and digital immigrants. Associate each characteristic below with one group or the other. DIGITAL IMMIGRANTS
born before the 1980s learned technology as a second language
In their book Born Digital, John Palfrey and Urs Gasser discuss types of people they call digital natives and digital immigrants. Associate each characteristic below with one group or the other. DIGITAL NATIVES
born in or after the 1980s spent their whole lives digitally thinking
Deborah Tannen
boys and girls grow up in different linguistic worlds
ways dogs communicate (1)
call system
ways humans communicate (2)
call system and language
ways monkeys communicate (2)
call system and language
productivity
can use known words to create new word combinations
Robin Lakoff
colors- the fashion and cosmetics industry has promoted new color words
strong relativism
debunked: language influences how we speak completely
E.E. Evans-Pritchard
develop new words as technology and the world around changes the environment
Conversations between men and women are a form of cross-cultural communication
difference model
children acquire their communication skills in largely segregated gender groups
difference model
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
different languages create different ways of thinking
Don Kulick's study of the use of the word no in sexual relations in the United States suggests that men may not even hear the actual word because it does not conform to their cultural expectations of what women should say in a patriarchal society. Identify the model of communication this falls under.
dominance model
in mixed-sex conversations, women talk less than men
dominance model
men use linguistic strategies that establish and maintain dominance in a conversation
dominance model
English is the national language of the USA
false
not exhibited by nonhuman primates
grammer and code twitching
dominance model
if gender stratification and hierarchy are prevalent in the larger culture and if men are generally in positions of superiority, then language will reflect men's dominance and may play a key role in enabling it.
Ninety-nine percent of digital communication is transmitted via undersea fiber-optic cables, the distribution of which is shown in the image. Identify whether the following statements are positive or negative effects of undersea fiber-optic cables. POSITIVE EFFECTS
knowledge of oceanic life usage instead of satellite
weak relativism
langage influences how we think but it is not the soul way
what are some benefits of language that would have aided in the survival of early humans
language enhances group cooperation ability to create art language translates culture over generations
difference model
men and women can't communicate because they were brought up in different cultural worlds.
language is a reflection of...
our cultural environment and affects the way we think -mental maps of reality
While nonhuman primates do not exhibit complex human language behavior in their natural habitats, some primates in captivity have been taught to use language in distinct ways. Identify the aspects of human language skills that nonhuman primates have exhibited.
productivity displacement
Ninety-nine percent of digital communication is transmitted via undersea fiber-optic cables, the distribution of which is shown in the image. Identify whether the following statements are positive or negative effects of undersea fiber-optic cables. NEGATIVE EFFECTS
relationships with local communities differences in landing points per countries
Don Kulick
some men think "no" means "yes" in sexual situations- men don't even hear no because it is not what the society around them says a women should say
Bonnie Urciuloi
spanish-english bilingual: two separate spheres: inner (spanish and English flow freely) outer (they must be kept strictly separate)
Two versions of linguistic Relativism
strong: linguistic determinism weak: linguistic influence
code-switching
switching back and forth between one linguistic variant and another depending on the cultural context.
displacement
the ability to use words to refer to objects not immediately present or events happening in the past or future
grammar
the combined set of observations about the rules governing the formation of morphemes and syntax that guide language use.
language loss
the extinition of languages that have very few speakers.
Noam Chomsky
the human brain is hardwired with a basic framework for organizing language that creates a universal grammar- a similar structure in all languages. (all humans have a similar way of thinking)
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
the idea that different languages create different ways of thinking.
Language continuum
the idea that variation in languages appears gradually over distance so that groups of people who live near one another speak in a way that is mutually intelligible.
phonemes
the smallest unit of sound that can make a difference in meaning
morphemes
the smallest units of sound that carry meaning on their own.
syntax
the specific patterns and rules for combining morphemes to construct phrases and sentences.
morphology
the study of patterns and rules of how sounds combine to make morphemes.
Historical Linguistics
the study of the development of language over time, including its changes and variations.
kinesics
the study of the relationship between body movements and communication
descriptive linguistics
the study of the sounds, symbols, and gestures of a language, and their combination Ito forms that communicate meaning.
sociolingustics
the study of the way culture shapes a language and language shapes a culture, particularly the intersection of language with cultural categories and systems of power such as age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and class.
phonology
the study of what sounds exist and which ones are important in a particular language
paralanguage
the tone and way you say something that changes the meaning of what you are saying
focal vocabulary
the words and terminology that develop with particular sophistication to describe the unique cultural realties experienced by a group of people.
31 states have English only laws
true
400 languages are spoken in the USA
true
3 things that contribute to language loss
use of certain languages by global media increasing migration to urban centers lasting effects of colonization
Focal vocabulary
words that express a group's unique cultural realities
Jane Hill
Puerto Ricans are disciplined at the boundary of English and Spanish, Whites are allowed to cross the boundaries without reprocussions.
identify the regions that are experiencing the highest rate of language loss
Southwestern United States Central South America Northern Australia
Sapir-Whord hypothesis examples
-the use of landscape in storytelling by the Western Apacob
approximently how many languages are used around the world?
7,000
