Language and Culture Chapter 2 Part I Language

Language and Culture Chapter 2

Part I

Language Reflects Culture v Language tends to reflect the larger culture v Example: v Inuit have many words for snow and seal, whereas English does not (pg. 18) v Inuit language is an agglutinating language that strings ideas into long words v English is an isolating language that puts separate ideas into separate words

Language Reflects Culture v The Inuit deal much more with seals and snow than most English-speakers do, so this should make sense v This is called cultural emphasis: v Languages have areas of linguistic emphasis for aspects they deem important

Cultural Emphasis v In Shinzwani (Comoro Islands off the coast of Africa) v There is one word (mama) that means ‘mother’ and ‘aunt’ v In this culture, both women help raise the children and therefore there is not a distinction v In English, we have two words, but only one word for ‘cousin, ’ though other languages make a distinction between male/female cousins or cousins on mother’s/father’s side of family

English

Hawaiian/Iroquois

Cultural Emphasis v In Marshall Islands (Pacific) v There were traditionally only two words for birthing troubles or birth defects v After nuclear tests in the 40 s and 50 s, there are now many words to describe different birth defects because so many more exist v The language changed as the culture/environment changed

Language Change v History of English language v http: //ed. ted. com/lessons/how-did-english-evolve- kate-gardoqui

Ethnosemantics v After studying cultural emphasis, the next step is to try to understand how speakers see their world through understanding their language v Try to understand how they categorize things v This is ethnosemantics: identify how words people use reveal underlying meanings and perceptions v Different from ethnography, which is a detailed study of a culture because it focuses on language

Ethnosemantics v 1. Identify the way people divide language into cultural emphasis; this is called semantic domain v 2. Determine the categorization system and use this as a model to understand the speaker’s mental map v 3. Use this to create an ethnoscientific model that shows the scientific categorization of the speaker’s world

Ethnosemantics v You can use this in the field to learn a new language from the native perspective v The goal is to try to get from the etic (outside) perspective to the emic (inside) perspective v Create a semantic domain v Collect as many words for each domain as possible v Create a taxonomy v Conduct a componential analysis to find culturally important aspects of the language

Prototype Theory v Developed in the 70 s and 80 s to help explain complications between categories in different languages v This theory says we categorize by prototypes, or the best examples of things, and then use these examples as a way to determine what words go into which categories

Prototype Theory v Example: “bird”

Different Meanings v Let’s go through some words that have different meanings in different languages v Can you see how it is easy to have linguistic misunderstandings?

Linguistic Relativity v Different languages have different semantic domains v These seem arbitrary, meaning there is not really an obvious reason in the physical world that something is categorized in a certain way v Example: v Sun/Moon v In French, moon/night/woman are connected and sun/day/man are connected v Why are these seen as male or female?

Linguistic Relativity v The answer is worldview v Linguistic Relativity: languages are different, they use arbitrary categories, and knowing one language does not allow you to predict another v Example: Rainbow v ROY G BIV v Do we really use indigo as a basic color term? v Most English speakers use six colors

Linguistic Relativity v Let’s look more at color v Some languages combine color categories (blue/green) and some divide color categories into more specific colors (light blue/dark blue) v The semantic domain of color is not experience exactly the same in all humans

Are There Universals? v Linguists want to know if there are universals that are the same across all languages v In 1969 Berlin and Kay tried to find a universal pattern with colors v They compared focal points (main categories) of color across languages and stated that all languages had a common system to name colors v They also said that those with fewer categories were less advanced than those with many categories

Are There Universals? v Stage I: Dark-cool and light-warm (this covers a larger set of colors than English "black" and "white". ) v Stage II: Red v Stage III: Either green or yellow v Stage IV: Both green and yellow v Stage V: Blue v Stage VI: Brown v Stage VII: Purple, pink, orange, or gray (English goes here)

Are There Universals? v They showed that societies with few categories (I, II, III) were technologically simpler than those with more categories v Also that modern industrialized societies were the only ones to reach stage VII v What are some problems with these results?

Are There Universals? v It ranks (puts values) on cultures! v It is ethnocentric because English is in the most advanced category v It used categories with multiple meanings (orange is a color and a fruit) v It stated it would not use borrowed words, but “blue” is from French and therefore English should only be in stage IV

Assignment v Video Log: Linguistic Relativity (http: //vimeo. com/42744105 ) v Give a definition (in your own words) for this term v Are some languages better than others? Explain v Article: Linguistic Relativity v HW: Do You Speak American?

Article v 1. How does language affect people’s perception of space? v 2. What about the perception of time? v 3. Shapes/substances? v 4. Objects (specifically grammatical gender)? v 5. Is it possible to understand another person’s perspective on the world? Explain

Part II

Review v Remember from last lecture that language and culture are interconnected v Linguistic Relativity: languages are different, they use arbitrary categories, and knowing one language does not allow you to predict another v In this view, your culture determines how you perceive the world, and therefore influences your language

Linguistic Determinism v A second view is linguistic determinism v Language influences and can determine people’s ability to perceive the world around them v Proposed by Sapir and Whorf v Sapir (student of Boaz) analyzed the “tyrannical hold that the linguistic form has upon our orientation of the world” v Whorf (student of Sapir) studied how words influenced actions

Sapir and Whorf v Whorf created his principle of linguistic relativity v Different languages have different grammatical structures and rules v These grammatical categories direct how speakers think and see the world v Example is Hopi Language (pg. 33) v Single-action vs. Repeated-action verbs v English speakers would not understand these categories

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis v Another name for linguistic determinism v Two forms: v Strong Whorf: language is a prison from which you cannot escape v Weaker Whorf: language is a room that gives a specific perspective, but lets you leave or go to other rooms

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis v Cannot test the Strong Whorf form v Since we can learn and understand other languages, the Weaker Whorf form seems more correct v Example: v Comparing English with Yucatec language v Yucatec group items by material (everything made of wood goes into one category) v English group items by shape (a table has a specific shape but could be wood, metal, plastic)

Space v The way we describe space uses deictic concepts, or those that name space around our bodies v These are egocentric, or always relating back to your own body (to the right of, above, in front of…). This creates relative systems of space v The description between the two pictures would be different because of the position of the bodies

Space v Some languages use absolute reckoning systems, such as cardinal directions, that are not dependent upon where the body is v North will always remain north, even, if you move v This is geographically based, not biologically based v How might this cause speakers from these different languages to see the world differently? v How can this be influenced by the physical environment?

Los Angeles

New York

Experiencing LD v To fully experience language determination, you must be aware that to use a new language comfortably, you must understand its concepts v This includes rules that are different from your native language v In English, if I give money, I lend it; if I get money, I borrow it v In Shinzwani (Comoros Islands), there is no distinction; money is just transferred (kopa)

Experiencing LD v In the Ukraine, there are two types of love v Liubov (general love) v Kokhannia (romantic love) v For time: v Czech: 9: 15 is a quarter of ten v English: 9: 15 is a quarter past nine (pg. 39) v The goal is to be able to think in these terms and switch back and forth

Language, Culture, and Thought v Video: Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Q-B_ONJIEc. E v Min 1 -13 v How do we understand or remember language? v What did Sapir and Whorf contribute to this?

Language, Culture, and Thought So research on color, shapes, time, and space has v shown that language does affect how we see the world v Then there is the language that is symbolic and not straightforward v Example: Time v English: a straight line with equal units (hour, day, week, year, century, etc. ) v Hopi: cyclical, remembering and connecting to past events v Non-observable things have only the present tense, so ‘two days’ is ‘one day and another day” v ‘Five years from now’ would be ‘this year and the next year, and the year after that…’

Language, Culture, and Thought v The culture of American English is very time- oriented v We have many metaphors to show valuable it is: v Time is money v Wasting time v Running out of time v Other cultures don’t have this v Africa Time

Metaphors and Frames v We see the world and speak about the world through frames v These help us understand the cultural meaning behind something v Are attached to ideology, or ideas about how things should be v Robert Levy analyzed hypocognition, or the lack of frames v He suggested that high suicide rates in Tahiti were influenced by the language not having words to express grief

Metaphors and Frames v If something does not fit your frame, it is easy to dismiss v The media can also persuade your opinion by the frames they use to present information

Native vs. Borrowed v What is a native word? v What is a borrowed one? v Does English borrow from other languages or do other languages only borrow from English? v “West to the Rest” fallacy v We will discuss this more in chapter 9

Guess which words are native or foreign v Moose v Lemon v. Admiral v Bandage v Skunk v. Nippy v Elixir v Tapioca v. Squash v Bathroom v Llama v. Coffee v Delicatessen v Handbag v. Syrup v Bonkers v Typhoon v. Fahrenheit v Capital v Stone v. Cliché v Garage v Canoe v. Futon v. Floor

Guess which words are native or foreign v Moose v Lemon v. Admiral v Bandage v Skunk v. Nippy v Elixir v Tapioca v. Squash v Bathroom v Llama v. Coffee v Delicatessen v Handbag v. Syrup v Bonkers v Typhoon v. Fahrenheit v Capital v Stone v. Cliché v Garage v Canoe v. Futon v. Floor

Guess which words are native or foreign v Moose (NA) v Bandage v Elixir (Greek) v Bathroom v Delicatessen v Lemon (Persian) v Skunk (NA) v Tapioca (SA Indian) v. Admiral (Arabic) v. Nippy v. Squash (NA Indian) v. Coffee (Arabic) v Llama (SA v. Syrup (Arabic) v Bonkers v Handbag v. Fahrenheit (Ger) v Capital v Typhoon (Chi) v. Cliché (Fr) v Stone v. Futon (Japanese) v Canoe (NA v. Floor (Ger) v Garage (Fr) Quechua) Indian)

Globalization v Estimated that up to 9, 000 languages have disappeared v Half the remaining 6, 900 languages are endangered v Globalization affects this because it promotes the success of few languages that can be used widely v More people now speak English as their second language (350 million) than as their first language (320 million) v This is closely tied to national and ethnic identities so preservation is important v Why don’t we want to lose these languages?

Assignment v Article “Does English Still Borrow Words” and questions v Video Log: Endangered Languages (http: //www. voanews. com/content/rosetta-projectpreserves-key-to-endangeredlanguages/1713317. html) v Why is it important to document languages spoken by small groups? v How can this help us understand other languages (“decoder ring”)?

HW #3 v “Lost for Words” v Questions (also on class webpage): v 1. Everett argues “that the Piraha’s peculiar language is shaped not by some innante language instinct, … but by their extraordinary culture. ” Do you agree with this? How does this connect to Whorf and linguistic relativity? v 2. Describe how the Piraha have a “practical” view of their spiritual world. Give examples. v 3. How does their culture prevent them from using numbers or counting? v 4. How does this language provide evidence against universal grammar? v 5. The Piraha language has very few phonemes (sounds). Is it a simple or ‘less-evolved’ language?