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Week 6: Anthropology 11--Introduction to Cultural AnthropologyLecture Notes for Chapter 4:Language and Communication (90-117) |
Email: wolfordj@msx.umsl.edu
| Definitions for Chapter 4 | Outline for Chapter 4 | Anthro 11 homepage | GO TO BOTTOM OF THE PAGE |
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The important questions Haviland
cites for you to consider while reading this chapter:
What is language?How is language related to culture?
How did language begin?
Notes for William A. Haviland,Cultural Anthropology, 10th edition: |
Chapter 4: Language and Communication (90-117) |
Because culture is learned, it
must have an efficient means of transmission
it is important to note: all human languages are incredibly complex
| page 92 | language | system of communication using sounds or gestures put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules |
It is a central part of our
lives
| page 92 | symbols | sounds or gestures that stand for meanings among a group of people |
Language is a system of symbols by which we communicate
every society depends on this symbolic system for mere, basic survival
symbols are always invested with meaning
Examples:
specific peopleheroes, celebrities, criminals, nationalities
arts (the arts itself is an entire symbolic universe)
| page 92 | signal | a sound or gesture that has a natural or self-evident meaning |
signals are a kind of symbol, but one that is not [initially] culturally invested with meaning
Example:
Animals as well as humans
participate in signaling
Some animals seem to have a rudimentary usage of symbolic language communication as well
dolphins, whales, etc.
other apes
vervet monkeys
understanding animal communication may help in the future to unravel some of the mysteries of fundamental language acquisition and development
The Nature of Language (93-97) |
over 6,000 existing human languages today
| page 93 | linguistics | the modern scientific study of all aspects of language |
scholars in India over 2,000 years ago studied the basics of language
Age of Discovery in Europe stimulated research into language by bringing so many new languages to Western light
19th century's contribution:
formulating laws and principles
creating the science of linguistics (at that time called philology)
THE SOUND AND SHAPE OF LANGUAGE (94-97) |
| Phonology (94-95) |
Sound itself is the basic element in language formation, so the particulars of its creation must be understood in a scientific, testable way
| page 94 | phonetics | the study of the production, transmission, and reception of speech sounds |
involves many different parts
| NOT IN HAVILAND | phonology | the study of the sound patterns of language |
reveals the underlying rules
reveals what is permissible in the society
First: need to inventory
sounds, or utterances by isolating the smallest classes of sound that seem
to make a difference in meaning
| page 94 | phonemes | in linguistics, the smallest classes of sound that makes a difference in meaning |
the b sound and the p sounds make a meaning difference in English for this word
they thus require distinct symbols to represent them in recording the language
butter and budder
might sound different but mean the same thing to a native listener
they would represent alternative
allophones of the same phoneme
but do so using different pronunciations
| Morphology (95) |
At the same time, a catalogue of all groups of sounds that have meaning is constructed
| page 95 | morphemes | in linguistics, the smallest units of sound that carry a meaning |
in contrast: phonemes have no meaning by themselves
words
can be morphemes:
cat or dog is each a morpheme
utterances can be morphemes:
a grunt, an uh-huh or uh-oh means
| page 95 | bound morpheme | a sound that can occur in a language only in combination with other sounds, as s in English does to signify the plural |
s cannot signify plurality without being attached
thus, s is called a bound morpheme
| page 95 | free morpheme | morphemes that can occur unattached in a language; for example, dog and cat are free morphemes in English |
thus, they are called free
morphemes
| Grammar and Syntax (96-97) |
One way to begin is to use frame substitution
| page 96 | frame substitution | a method used to identify the syntactic units of language. For example, a category called nouns may be established as anything that will fit the substitution frame "I see a [ ].' |
| page 96 | syntax | in linguistics, the rules or principles of phrase and sentence making |
specifically invoked for piecing together morphemes
| page 96 | grammar | the entire formal structure of a language consisting of all observations about the morphemes and syntax |
basically, all of the morphemes, syntax, and form classes of the language
| page 96 | form classes | the parts of speech or categories of words that work the same way in any sentence |
you can have different subcategories: such as animate and inanimate nouns (cat vs. house)
| NOT IN HAVILAND | descriptive linguistics | the study of language concerned with registering and explaining all the features of a language at one point in history |
Haviland: its main strength is its relative objectivity in method
that the linguist will not assume nouns and verbs or other categories native to his/her own language
is this true?
The Gesture-Call System(97-101) |
Kinesics (98-100) |
| page 98 | kinesics | a system of notating and analyzing postures, facial expressions, and body motions that convey messages |
a system of communication through motion
typically the motions supplement verbal communication
the study has come into its own since the 1950s
Examples
Worldwide greetings: smile and shake head--in Bali, Europe, Samoa, Africa (!Kung), some South American Indians
in Japan, the "eyebrow flash" is suppressed, seen as indecent
Yes and no can differ kinesically
worldwide as well
Paralanguage (100-101) |
| page 100 | paralanguage | the extralinguistic noises that accompany language, such as crying or laughing |
includes voice qualities, vocalizations, gestures, facial expressions, proxemics
Voice Qualities (100-101) |
| page 105 | voice qualities | in paralanguage, the background characteristics of a speakers voice |
these are the qualities that are characteristic of the particular speaker
closely related to the personality of the speaker
can indicate a general attitude
or worldview of the speaker
whether they are characteristically snobby or accepting
whether they are generally active or lackadaisical
whether they have a passive or an active approach to life
etc.
Vocalizations (101) |
| page 101 | vocalizations | identifiable paralinguistic noises turned on and off at perceivable and relatively short intervals |
The speaker has control over these sounds
| page 101 | vocal characterizers | in paralanguage, sound productions such as laughing or crying that humans "speak through" |
crying
belching
yawning
yelling
whispering
| page 101 | vocal qualifiers | in paralanguage, sound productions of brief duration that modify utterances in terms of intensity |
loud vs. soft
drawl or clip
similar to voice qualities, except where vocal qualities are qualities of the entire voice, vocal characterizers are applied to short sequences of sound to impart tonal, pitched, or other meaning conveyed by sound
However, a Southern
drawl would be a voice quality, because a person would inflect
all his language in the same drawl
| page 101 | vocal segregates | in paralanguage, sound productions that are similar to the sounds of language, but do not appear in sequences that can be properly be called words |
Linguistic Change (aka, Historical Linguistics) (101-106) |
where descriptive linguistics, studies language in its current usage, historical linguistics studies it in its historical contexts
Language needs to be understood
diachronically (over the course of time) as well as synchronically (whatever
is true of language at one point in time)
| page 102 | language family | a group of languages ultimately descended from a single ancestral language |
English is Indo-European, and in the Germanic subgroup
| page 102 | linguistic divergence | the development of different languages from a single ancestral language |
linguistic divergence is a way of assessing historical divisions or mergers of peoples over time
English was heavily influenced
by the Norman invasion in 1066 and has a bunch of Old French influence
(and thus, Latin)
| page 103 | glottochronology | in linguistics, a method of dating divergence in branches of language families |
not important to know for the
test
| page 103 | core vocabulary | in language, pronouns, lower numerals, and names for body parts and natural objects |
what is centrally important in understanding a language historically is the core vocabulary
this is the language that is central to understanding basic things and activities in a people's life
lower numerals
body parts
natural objects
basic social functions
core vocabulary also refers
to the important language central to a specialized group
a profession
an age group
| page 103 | linguistic nationalism | the attempt by ethnic minorities, and even countries, to proclaim independence by purging their languages of foreign terms or reviving unused languages |
both repression of language
groups and revival of lost or almost lost groups
ANTHROPOLOGY APPLIED:
(on pp. 104)
LANGUAGE RENEWAL AMONG THE NORTHERN UTES
1. What was the nature of the language renewal? |
Language in its Cultural Settings (106-112) |
LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT (106-108) |
| page 106 | ethnolinguistics | the study of the relation between language and culture |
Ethnolinguistics is a core field in relating how people's thought relate to their actions
| page 106 |
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or Linguistic relativity |
the hypothesis, proposed by linguist B. L. Whorf, that states that language, by providing habitual grooves of expression, predisposes people to see the world in a certain way and thus guides their thinking and behavior |
language not only encodes our ideas
it also shapes our ideas, simply through the process of our encoding our thoughts into the symbolic system that language is
Kinship Terms (108) |
Kinship terms reveal the nature and extent of family relationships, responsibilities, etc.
Not all societies name their relatives the same way as Americans do
names of brothers or sisters in terms of birth order are sometimes distinguished
cousins can be called differently, depending on how they are related
LOTS of variation cross-culturally
LANGUAGE AND GENDER (108) |
It makes sense that attitudes toward the different sexes in society according to their gender roles and expectations should be built into it too
What are examples from
American culture of adjectives that describe men and women
SOCIAL DIALECTS (109-112) |
| page 109 | dialects | varying forms of a language that reflect particular regions or social classes and that are similar enough to be mutually intelligible |
| page 109 | sociolinguistics | the study of the structure and use of language as it relates to its social setting |
Dialects form one area of study for sociolinguistics
Dialects become distinctive languages at the point where the speakers of one are almost totally unable to understand the speakers of the other
ANTHROPOLOGY APPLIED:
(on p. 109-111)
THE GREAT EBONICS CONTROVERSY
|
| page 112 | code switching | the process of changing from one level of language to another |
People switch the way they speak all the time
dependent on the group with which you are interacting and the social and cultural norms you are negotiating
Other Sociolinguistic Concerns
structure of folktales and folk songs
bilingualism and multilingualism
pidgin and creole languages
linguistic borrowings and innovations
formulas of address and politeness
secret languages
magic languages
myth
the field duplicates interests
in several fields
provides an arena for cross-disciplinary discourse
The Origins of Language (112-115) |
new studies of primate communication
studies on children's linguistic competence
more human fossils tell us what ancient brains and vocal tracts were like
better understanding of early
hominid way of life
| page 114 | displacement | the ability to refer to things and events removed in time and space |
Studies of primates have
shown that they can learn language (esp. sign language)
Critics have said that this may simply be reflex, that they do not really assign transferable meaning to the symbols
However, monkeys and apes do possess a number of necessary capabilities for language
perception of things in structural relationships
abstraction of higher-order to lower-order categories on the basis of common traits despite obvious differences
potential for making analogies
ability to make propositions
ability to act on propositions toward a goal
they are capable of displacement, which is said to be a distinctively human trait
Scholars have dropped the
search for a primitive language
however, a growing interest
and research into the relationship between physical gestures and spoken
language has emerged
early hominids probably developed a syntax of gestural communication (like all other apes do) prior to the development of their spoken language
when they began walking upright and used their hands increasingly for tools and hunting equipment, they had an added need for spoken language
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