Download 03 Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic Anthropology
Features of Human Language
• Symbolic – arbitrary association of sounds or
markings with meanings
• Displacement – the ability to communicate
about something that is not happening at the
moment
• Productivity – ability to join sounds and words
in infinite combinations
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis:
Language constructs perceptions of the world
English verb tenses
Hopi verb tenses
• Past
• Present
• Future
• Things that exist now
• Things that are in the
process of becoming
 The world is a linear
sequence of events which
have a beginning and an
end
 The world is interconnected
in a way that every event
has an impact on a future
present
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis:
Language constructs perceptions of the world
How many colours?
Dialect: a variation of language spoken by a
group of people based on geography, gender,
class, ethnicity, etc.
Dialect is different from…
Pidgin: a simple language with no native
speakers developed by two or more different
linguistic groups in order to achieve basic
functional communication
Creole: a more complex pidgin, often passed
down through generations which combines
elements of different languages into one
Silent Communication – Material Culture
Silent Communication – Kinesics
Silent Communication – Proxemics
http://connect.chemeketa.edu/borat/
Silent Communication – Cultural Time
• How late is late?
– Anything but exactly on time: Switzerland,
Germany, Japan
– 5-10 minutes: United States, Canada
– 30-90 minutes: Mexico, Brazil
– Several hours: Ghana
Monochronic vs. Polychronic Cultures
What do Linguistic Anthropologists Do?
• Descriptive Linguistics
• Historical Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics