Human Language

Language and Culture

Language: _________________________

Importance of language for human life 1. only animal capable of _______________ 2. avenue of communication & thought

concerning abstract concepts, and concrete persons, places, things, actions, & events

3. _____________of culture aided by _________

Linguistic Anthropology

Focus on language ________________________

Generally interested in how language changes Examples:

Comparisons World economy Gender

Language and Communication

What is the difference between language and communication?

Communication: Act of transferring information to others 1.

2.

Language can be thought of as a way of communicating 1.

Human Language Distinctive 1. Openness (a.k.a. ________) _________________ to create totally

novel sentences and a ___________ to comprehend them

A language’s __________________ can be combined into a infinite number of meaningful sentences

Human Language Distinctive 2. Displacement Our ability to talk about __________

__________________________________

Due to usage of symbols to transmit meanings

Human Language Distinctive 3. Arbitrariness ___________________________

between particular linguistic sounds & particular linguistic meanings

Evidence in the design feature of language known as ________________ and ______________

Communication Among Non-Human Primates

Primates don’t ______

Parts of calls are not ___________ to get new information

Their calls are _____________

Language, Thought, and Culture

Language _________________ Coined by _______________ Mastery of adult grammar

Communicative _________________ Coined by ______________ Mastery of adult rules for socially &

culturally appropriate speech

Language, Thought, and Culture

Noam Chomsky Set of rules – ___________________________

Human brain contains a limited set of rules for organizing language

All Languages = ________________________

Language, Thought, and Culture

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Idea that different languages produce

_______________________________

English & Hopi languages

Language, Thought, and Culture

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, continued Initial ideas centered on ‘all thoughts

being constrained, or determined, by language’ Various studies have:

1. 2.

Language, Thought, and Culture

__________ Vocabulary Set of words describing

particular domains of experience

Examples: 1.

2.

Pragmatics Study of language in context of its

use 1. 2.

Discourse ____________________________________

Series of verbal exchanges in conversation

Ethnopragmatics

Study of language use: Relies on ethnography to illuminate

the ways in which speech is both constituted by and constitutive social interaction

Focus on practice - how are rules of grammar, cultural values, and physical action conjoined

Language Revitalization

Collaboration between linguistic anthropologists and fluent speakers of indigenous languages

Language Revitalization

Hinton’s work in CA: