Introduction to Anthropology Textbook Chapter 6 Language and Communication

Language and Communication . Figure Family members gather at a sweet potato festival in in northern . This highly social event brought together families , farmers , chiefs , and community members to celebrate the harvest of sweet potatoes . credit Official photographer of the US Embassy in in Commons , Public Domain ) CHAPTER OUTLINE The Emergence and Development of Language Language and the Mind Language , Community , and Culture and Ritual Language and Power INTRODUCTION Talk , talk , talk . As human beings , that is what we do all day ( and sometimes all night ) Even when we are alone , we might be listening to the radio , watching a video , reading , or activities that incorporate language . Language is often considered to be one of the quintessential elements of humanity , key to our social interactions and cultural development . No other animal does it the way we do . A few apes have been taught words in sign language , mainly using simple word combinations to ask for particular treats or desired activities . Is that anything compared to what we do with language ?

Consider a situation from the author , Jennifer Hasty own . While conducting research in , I once attended a large family gathering to honor the birth of a child , an event called an After everyone had arrived and socialized a bit , a man stood up and took the microphone in his hand to . Libation is the ritual offering of

drink to the ancestors , welcoming them to the ceremony and asking for their blessings . As he took the cup in his hand , he surveyed his audience , then stopped short , appearing extremely embarrassed . Looking down feet , he sputtered , Oh ! When the tongue is present , the teeth do not make Everyone laughed . It was a proverb I heard before , but no idea what it meant in this con text . The aside as an even rose from a table at the edge ofthe gathering and slowly made his way to the microphone . The assumed he was the eldest member of the at the gathering , but in fact , his older brother was there . By the rules , it was the older brother who should present the tion . What did the proverb mean in that situation ?

In most cultures , people do not usually explain proverbs , so the listener has to piece together the meaning . In this case , the proverb was used metaphorically to compare the production in the mouth and the roles of the people involved in this particular performance of libation . The nimble tongue is central to human speech , while the teeth play a more and supportive role , providing surfaces used by the tongue to make certain sounds . Alone , the teeth can only clash against each other meaninglessly . A tongue is needed to produce speech . Using the proverb , the first speaker was comparing his elder brother to the was more central to the gathering and more in the production of ceremonial speech such as libation . The younger man assigned himself the role of a tooth , only able to make noise rather than ceremonial speech . In humans , language has developed into an extremely complex feature of sociocultural life . Just as the tongue is central to the production of human speech , language is central to the production of human culture . The of linguistic anthropology examines the role of language in sociocultural life . Linguistic anthropologists are interested in how language affects our thinking and our experience of the world around us . Some explore the different categories of formal and informal speech that people have developed to organize rituals and ceremonies as well as everyday activities . Others listen carefully to various kinds of conversation , looking for patterns in the way people interpret and build on one another speech acts . The discipline linguistics is devoted to the study of language . Linguistics is the science of language , including devoted to speech sounds , word forms , word arrangement , meanings , and practical language use . One of linguistics , examines the social context of language use , such as how language varies according to age , gender , class , and race . While and linguistic anthropology share an interest in the social side of language , linguistic anthropologists tend to focus on language as an aspect of larger cultural processes . Rather than looking at language as a sole object of study , linguistic anthropology studies language as one cultural element among many , all interwoven into the sociocultural life of a people . The Emergence and Development of Language LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to do the following Describe the communicative abilities of wild animals such as birds and primates . Distinguish primate communication from human language . Identify the biological features of early that were central to the emergence of language . Identify the archaeological evidence for the emergence of language . There are some seven thousand languages spoken in the world today . Most people are in at least one of them , possibly more . But people are biologically capable of mastering any of them , and have been since birth . Humans are born language ready . For a human baby , any language will do . With passive exposure to language ( simply hearing it without any formal instruction ) human toddlers learn the complex rules and vast of the language spoken ( or signed ) around them . This astounding feat is made possible by biological features in the brains and bodies of human babies , features designed to help them understand and produce language . The learning of language then triggers further changes in our brains , making possible certain kinds of reasoning and thought as well as communication with others .

FIGURE When teaching language to their children , some parents teach signs ( such as those of American Sign Language ) as well as spoken words for objects . The theory is that sign language and spoken language are processed in different parts of the brain . Teaching these two forms of language together may provide deeper cognitive reinforcement and greater chance of recall . This baby is making the sign for ( credit Bri signs Bird ' by Bev , BY ) Drawing on biological and archaeological evidence , researchers seek to understand how , why , and when humans developed the biological features associated with language and , once language emerged , how the practice of language changed the way of life of early humans . Language became a building block for human culture of increasing complexity . Innovations such as stone tools , hunting , and using for heat and cooking were made possible by language . In turn , these new skills enhanced the survival of those who practiced them , increasing the likelihood that those people would live to pass on their genetic makeup to their offspring . This means that certain biological features were key to the invention of human culture and that human culture was key to the biological development of humans . We think of this as a reciprocal system of . Put another way , biology and culture developed in tandem , with language as the link between the two . No one really knows when or how humans invented language . The problem is that language , whether spoken or gestural , leaves no direct trace in the archaeological record . Lacking direct evidence , researchers must be creative , combining various indirect forms of evidence to suggest theories about how language may have begun in humans . Based on such methods , researchers think that language may have emerged between and years ago . The largeness of this window of possibility is due to the indirect nature of the evidence and a great deal of controversy about which elements may have been most important in the process of language development . In this section , we look at these forms of indirect evidence , starting with communication in the animal kingdom . Communication All animals communicate with each other and even with other species ( and Gibson 2011 ) Many use vocalizations like calls , growls , howls , and songs . Many also use gestures such as dances , postures , and facial expressions . Some change the color of their scales , skin , or fur . Some produce body sprayed in their environment or rubbed on their own bodies . All of these activities are used to tell other animals about territory , food sources , predators , and mating opportunities .

182 Language and Communication FIGURE Canada geese fly in a formation to conserve energy and to keep track of all the birds in the formation . Coordination and communication are essential for the group . credit Canada Geese by Alex Galt , US Fish and Wildlife , BY 20 ) Many people might be tempted to think that animals speak to each other just as we do , that their various forms of communication are roughly equivalent to language . Does your dog bark and jump excitedly whenever you pick up the leash ?

Is that a way of saying , mon ! Let go for a walk ! Some forms of animal communication are fairly simple , such as this canine leash mania . Others are far more complex , such as the way an octopus can change the color of and patterns on its skin for hunting , courtship , and . use bioluminescence to attract mates and as a defense mechanism . Some generate electric to advertise their species and sex . Many animals use a vast lexicon of postures and gestures to communicate messages to one another and even to other species . When a bird issues a alert call , squirrels respond as well . Many mammals pay attention to the predator warnings of birds . Are these complex forms of communication equivalent to language ?

Take a closer look at one famous example of complex animal communication and compare it to human language . A Waggle is Not a Word The Complexity of Language Consider the famous waggle dance of the honeybee . Upon a good source of nectar such as a grove of , a worker bee returns to the hive and performs a special pattern consisting of a waggle followed by a return loop alternating right and left . The direction and duration of the waggle communicate the direction and distance to the location of the desirable food source ( 2010 1993 ) Access for free at

FIGURE Diagram of the waggle dance of the honeybee . The movements performed by the bee during this dance communicate the direction of and distance to a food source to its fellow hive members . credit by Kelly Chang , US Forest , Public Domain ) The waggle dance is certainly a complex and effective form of communication , but does it qualify as language ?

Communication refers to the transfer of information from a sender to a receiver . Communication can be voluntary or involuntary , simple or complex . Language is a , complex , systematized form of communication involving the use or gestural units ( words or signs ) that can be combined and recombined in larger structures ( sentences ) that can convey an array of complex meanings . Language is a form of communication . Not all communication is language . Central to the possibilities of language is a set of rules that govern just how sounds , signs , words , and phrases may be combined . These rules structure the order of words , dictating , for example , where to put subjects and actions in an utterance so that listeners will be able to them . Rules also tell us whether words indicate a single thing or multiple things and whether actions occur in the past , present , or future . Complex forms of animal communication such as the waggle dance do contain some systematic rules governing the sequence , duration , and intensity of certain segments of the communication , but they are highly constrained to very limited . For example , the waggle dance can be used to signal nectar sources near and far , but it can not be used to discuss the weather or comment on the laziness of the queen . Unlike the relatively closed systems of communication common among animals , human language is . Our languages have the distinctive quality of allowing actors to combine units in an number to produce new meanings . Simple Signs and Language in Primates Biological anthropologists posit that we share a common ancestor with the other great apes ( gorillas , chimpanzees , bonobos , and orangutans ) about to eight million years ago . As nonhuman primates do not produce language in the wild , the biological and cultural features that promoted language must have emerged after that . However , studies aimed at teaching human language to nonhuman primates have revealed that individuals of these species are able to master basic vocabulary and use simple words and word combinations to obtain the things they want . So the great apes must have some biological features that enable them to learn human language in a partial and limited way . You may have heard of Koko , the gorilla famous for learning to use sign language . Sign language is used in such studies because nonhuman primates lack the distinctive vocal tract required to make the sounds of human language . Researcher Penny Patterson taught Koko to use about a thousand signs , roughly the vocabulary of a child ( Patterson and Linden 1981 ) Patterson reported that Koko could comment on things that were not currently present in her environment , such as personal memories . According to Patterson , Koko and lie and teach other gorillas to sign . She could even invent new signs . Many of these claims are disputed by other researchers . Some point out that the evidence is largely anecdotal and relies on the interpretation of Patterson herself , hardly an objective observer . Though controversial , Patterson path

breaking work with Koko provided a wealth of data and opened up new possibilities for understanding the language abilities of nonhuman primates . FIGURE Koko learning to play the guitar . Koko became famous for learning to communicate with humans using roughly signs taught to her by researcher Penny Patterson . credit by , BY ) chimps , gorillas , bonobos , and orangutans have all been taught to use gestures or tokens to refer to things in the world around them , often combining those signs in a way to make comments and requests . Even though many linguists are skeptical of these studies , the use of symbolic systems in cooperative interactions to achieve goals does seem to indicate that great apes have the basic capacity to generate some sort of . refers to a very simple set of gestures or utterances that may have preceded the development of human language . But do apes display these abilities due to some innate capacity or because we have taught them symbolic systems ?

Perhaps learning a symbolic system has changed the brains of these individual animals in distinctive ways . FIGURE Chimpanzees use gestures and facial expressions as well as vocalizations to communicate with one another . credit Chimpanzees by , BY ) Many conduct research on the vocal and gestural forms of communication used by primates in

the wild , looking for those biological features that might underpin the human capacity for language . Wild chimpanzees , for instance , produce a wide range of calls , including hoots , alarm barks , screams , and soft panting play sounds ( Acoustical Society of America 2018 ) have listened closely to these calls . Some argue that chimp vocalizations are not much like human language , as calls are fairly and limited in their meanings . Chimps may use a rough grunt to indicate a food source , but they do not seem to have grunts for food types . Monogamous pairs of gibbons , a smaller species of ape , are known to perform elaborate morning duets . Gibbons have an array of predator calls as well . Research comparing duets with predator calls suggests that gibbons compose their songs to convey information , each note carrying a certain meaning ( Clark et al . 2006 ) While impressive , the ability to manipulate notes to convey a limited range of meanings is still a far cry from the productivity of human language . The limitless recombination of signs that produces the , quality of language is missing in the communication systems of wild primates . Human Biology and the Emergence of Language There must be something special about us to make possible the distinctively and communication system of language . Research has focused on our throats , our brains , and our genes , looking for the biological features that allowed for the emergence of language . The Vocal Tract Humans have evolved a very unusual vocal tract with a descended larynx ( otherwise known as the voice box ) and a large and rounded tongue positioned in the mouth to enable a remarkable array of sounds ( Lim and Snyder 2015 ) Some researchers suggest that our throats may have evolved in response to walking upright or changes in diet or a combination of those two factors . Humans also have more deliberate control over breathing than nonhuman primates . In order to better understand when developed this distinct vocal apparatus , researchers examine the hyoid bones of to see if they resemble those of modern humans . The hyoid is a bone in the human throat that helps us swallow and move our tongues . The few that have been found in the fossil record suggest that our distinctive vocal tract may have been developed around years ago . This means that Neanderthals likely had the same vocal abilities as modern humans . Tongue I Hyoid bone Epiglottis I Vocal cords if pun FIGURE Evolutionary changes in the vocal tract enabled the development of spoken language in humans . The image on the left shows the vocal structures an early ancestor to humans . The image on the right shows the vocal tract of modern humans . The position of the vocal structures in the early ancestor allows for eating and breathing at the same time . The position of these structures in modern humans allows more sounds to be produced and more words to be spoken in sequence . attribution Copyright Rice University , under BY license ) Brain Structure Several features of the human brain are considered prerequisites to language , including the overall ( large ) size , the division into specialized hemispheres , and certain structures like and areas . area is a region of the brain associated with the production of speech . area is essential to the comprehension of language . Both are most often located in the left hemisphere of the human brain ( for

handed people , both can be located on the right side ) How did we acquire these brain features so essential to language ?

A great deal of controversy surrounds this question , as researchers debate when and how these structures evolved . area FIGURE The locations of area and area in the human brain . area , responsible for the articulation of speech , is next to the motor area , where the movements of the body are controlled . area , associated with language comprehension , is situated beside the primary auditory area , where sounds are processed . credit 1605 and by Commons , BY ) Most recently , research has focused on mirror neurons , special brain cells that seem to enable mimicry ( Lim and Snyder 2015 ) Many researchers think that the ability to understand the actions of others and recreate those actions ourselves is a fundamental prerequisite for language . That is , in order to be able to talk to each other , early must have been able to evaluate and interpret each other actions and reproduce them in similar . In primates like monkeys , scientists have discovered a system of specialized neurons called the mirror neuron system that enables primates to recognize and imitate actions . Monkeys and apes can not talk , but they can recognize , interpret , and imitate actions performed by other primates . The neurological studies that revealed mirror neurons are too invasive to perform on humans , but studies suggest that a similar mirror neuron system does exist in humans . FIGURE Mirror neurons are most likely involved in the spread of contagious yawning . Mirror yawning happens between humans and can even happen across species . You can make your dog yawn ! credit Sleepy by , BY ) Brain imaging studies on humans have located evidence for the mirror neuron system in a region of the brain

close to area . So it is possible that the mirror neuron system inherited from primates provided a foundation for the later emergence of a brain structure devoted to language production in . If imitation and language are in fact connected in this way , then a system of gestures may have paved the way for the development of language . Some researchers now hypothesize exactly this that language evolved from a system of gestures to a system . The Language Gene In the late , medical researchers became aware of a particular speech disorder common among members of one family in West London . Many members of this family could not pronounce words . Many stuttered . Many had very limited . Geneticists traced the disorder to a genetic mutation on chromosome number of the human genome . See Biological Evolution and Earl Human Evidence for more on chromosomes and genes . The mutation was located on a gene named , prompting some researchers to dub this the language gene . Some hypothesize that may have played a role in the development of language in humans ( Lim and Snyder 2015 ) At first , researchers thought that only humans had the gene , but subsequently a form of this same gene has been in many vertebrates , including mice , bats , and songbirds . In mice , the gene appears to be related to vocalizations . In birds , it seems to be linked to birdsong . All primates have , but the human copy is slightly different than that of nonhuman primates . Some researchers think this mutation occurred around years ago and may have enabled the development of spoken language in Neanderthals and Homo sapiens . Other researchers are skeptical of the notion that one gene could be responsible for the emergence of spoken language ( and Gibson 2011 ) Many anatomical developments and cognitive to different parts of the human involved in human language . These developments and changes would have required mutations in other parts of the genome of early Homo . While the mutation of in Homo may have played a role in language development , other mutations would have been important as well . Material Culture Evidence from the material culture of such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus is also used to speculate about the emergence of human language . Early developed stone tool technologies and created stunning works of art . The production and use of such tools and artwork must have required a complex set of social and cognitive abilities . Those same types of social and cognitive skills are important to human language . It is possible that language emerged as part ofa whole complex of material culture . Archaeological evidence and linguistic theory come together in a model suggesting that the invention of tools by early was linked to the invention of language . Some linguistic theorists suggest that the evolutionary changes in brain structure that allowed for the development of tool use also support the emergence of language . Furthermore , the innovations of tools and language are entwined in a reciprocal relationship evolutionary pressure to develop tools stimulated the development of language , and the development of language facilitated increasingly complex tool making and tool use . There are two theories to explain the connections between advances in tool use and language . The first rests on the assumption that tool making requires a considerable degree of cognitive planning . You can not make a useful tool picking up a rock and randomly chipping away at it . like Homo habilis and Homo erectus must have known just what kind of rocks would work as base and chipper and how to execute a set of precise chips in a certain sequence to achieve a sharp blade without breaking the core . The mental processes important to this sort of planning are hypothesized to have also enabled to do the sort of quick planning involved in the production of complex speech ( and Gibson 2011 ) A second theory linking tool use and language emphasizes the importance of imitation in passing along the complex set of skills involved in tool making . Neuroscientist Michael suggests that the ability to imitate may have generated the first gestural language among ( 2011 ) And he has developed a model to describe how imitation and tool making may have evolved together over time . About million years ago , Homo habilis began making basic stone choppers , cores with removed , used for butchering carcasses . Such choppers are called tools , named after the site in Gorge in where they were

found . has theorized that the production of tools required the ability for to imitate each other actions . Simple imitation would make it possible for a learner to reproduce the actions of an accomplished tool maker through observation and mimicry . This ability to imitate is biologically rooted in the system of mirror neurons discussed earlier . As brains acquired the ability of simple imitation involved in tool production , they might also become capable of the kind of gestural communication we see in apes language , but a precursor to it . Investigate this diagram for more about the evolution of ( The array of mirror neurons , tool innovation , and language all progressed together in evolution . As tool technology developed , Homo erectus began making distinctive hand axes about million years ago . A more intricate form of imitation would have been necessary to teach this sort of tool making to others , corresponding to the emergence of . This might have been a set of simple utterances corresponding to concepts such as yes , no , here , or We dont have any brains to examine , but remember that in the human brain , the system of mirror neurons is assumed to be situated near area , which is associated with human speech . So very likely , emerged in the same part of the brain as the ability to imitate . The explosion of innovations in tool making over the past years is linked to the emergence of complex human language . While the development of mirror neurons and the ability to learn tool making required biological changes to the brain , argues that the last step , the emergence of language , was purely cultural . Language and the Mind LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Describe the role of language in categorizing items in the natural world . Explain the hypothesis . Provide at least two examples of linguistic . Describe how metaphor shapes how we talk about abstract concepts . As discussed in the previous section , certain cognitive abilities were crucial to the development of language in humans . And reciprocally , once language emerged , it shaped our thoughts and actions in ways that helped our species cooperate , invent , learn , and adapt to the environment . Language must have been a fundamental element in the creation of human culture ( singular ) and the eventual development into human cultures ( plural ) as different groups of humans moved into different geographical areas and began adapting to different conditions . One key advantage of language is that it provides a way of encoding information about the environment and sharing that information with others so that it endures over time . If , say , there are snakes in an area , it would certainly be important to distinguish the venomous ones from the harmless ones , so probably there would be separate words for those two categories of snake or at least words for each snake so that people could alert each other to the presence of a dangerous one . This means that early language must have been developed relative to environmental conditions . Linguistic anthropologists are interested in the way that language varies across cultures , different environmental , historical , and sociocultural conditions . This is called linguistic relativity . On the other hand , languages are also constrained by human anatomy and cognitive abilities . Say there were two species of snake in an area , one poisonous and the other harmless , but you could not tell them apart by looking at them . This is actually an adaptive strategy deployed by harmless animals called adaptive mimicry . In this case , early humans probably would have had just one word for snake , indicating that sometimes a snake bite made you sick and sometimes it did . As this example shows , the human visual apparatus shapes our understanding of the world , which , in turn , shapes our language . Consider another example from the natural beetle . There are over types of beetles in the world . How many can you name ?

All of them ?

Ten of them ?

Two of them ?

Outside of written taxonomy , there is no language in the world that contains separate terms for each kind of beetle . This is not only because there are only a few thousand of each type living in any one environment but also because of limits to the number of terms any person can learn and remember . Our vocabulary is constrained by the limits of human memory . FIGURE So many beetles . How many can you name ?

There are over types of beetles in the world . Outside of written taxonomy , no language in the world contains separate terms for each kind of beetle . credit display drawer by , Natural History , BY ) So language is shaped not only by environmental conditions but also by how humans interact with their environments . Our common human anatomy our comprehension of the world , and that comprehension is expressed in language . This insight suggests that all languages must have some things in common by virtue of the fact that all humans have the same anatomy and cognitive abilities . Some linguistic anthropologists are interested in discovering these linguistic . In the next section , we take a look at some intriguing research on both linguistic relativity and linguistic , seeking to better understand how language interacts with our human minds . Linguistic and the Hypothesis As seen in previous chapters , it was lamentably common for scholars in the early century to think of Western societies as backward and primitive , incapable of complex , abstract thought . Franz Boas worked hard to disprove these racist notions , seeking to demonstrate the equal sophistication of all peoples and cultures . Boas trained a student named Edward who was particularly interested in how languages conveyed forms of complex , abstract thought that were different from the habits of thought . in turn , trained a student named Benjamin who further elaborated on this theme in his own research ( 2017 ) The result is what we have come to call the hypothesis . The hypothesis argues that the particular language you speak how you think about reality ( Lucy 2001 ) Thus , different languages encourage different habits of thought . This is an essential tenet of linguistic relativity . based his argument on a comparison between the Native American language of Hopi and what he called Standard Average European ( SAE ) a broad category of European languages including English . interested in how speakers of each language might think differently about time . In English vocabulary , time is divided into units that can be counted . English speakers talk about the number of seconds , minutes , or days before an event or consider the number of months or years since something

occurred . In Hopi , according to , time is conceived as indivisible and enduring , a whole process unfolding . The Hopi talk about the flow of events in a completely different way , a processual way termed argued that these linguistic features profoundly sociocultural life in each of these two . Holding with the understanding of time as process , Hopi culture emphasized preparation , endurance , and intensity . Coordinating with the SAE expression of time as countable units , culture emphasized schedules , accounting , and record keeping . Many people use a calendar to keep track of meetings , appointments , and assignments . would argue that the English language encourages us to think of time and events in this way , as a set to be up with discrete objects . In connection with the hypothesis , it is sometimes said that the Eskimos have 400 words for snow . This notion is problematic and untrue . The problem is that Eskimo is considered a derogatory term by tie and Aleutian peoples to whom it has been applied . And , secondly , the claim turns out to be wrong . Anthropologist Laura Martin ( 1986 , also described in 2017 ) has debunked the myth by documenting that Arctic peoples really have just two root words for talking about snow , one for snow that is falling and the other or snow that is on the ground . They use these roots much as would , to talk about snowstorms , snow drifts , and snow melt . The hypothesis is not typically applied to the of different cultures anymore . Recall the earlier example about snakes . We hypothesized that a culture might not distinguish between two species of snakes snakes looked identical . But gradually came to notice that the poisonous snakes were always found in trees while the harmless snakes were always found on the ground , it is likely that a different term wou come to be used for the kind of snake , the one with the harmful bite . That is to say , even ifa cu ture previously had only one term for snake , the people in that culture could easily understand that there were , in fact , two kinds and would be able to change their language to mark that difference in their vocabulary for future reference . Their vocabulary would not limit their thinking to such a degree that they cou not conceive of two different kinds of snake . Rather than vocabulary words , researchers who study linguistic relativity have come to focus on larger abstract topics like . In languages such as English , when people want to tell someone where a particular object is , they most frequently use language focused on their own bodies . say , You have a bit of arugula on the left side ofyour mouth or Grab the pink top hat on the shelf above This way of talking relies on the human body as a point of reference and therefore is relative to the bodies of the speaker hearer . This creates confusion when the speaker is facing the person they are talking to , sometimes prompting someone to say , No , not your left ! Steven has conducted research on languages that do not use the human body to talk about direction at all ( 2003 ) Instead , they use the cardinal directions ( north , south , east , west ) and features of their environments ( mountains , oceans ) to talk about where things are . A speaker of the Australian indigenous language of might say , Watch out for the snake just north of your foot ! This way of talking about space is absolute , not relative . Such speakers never have to say No , not your north , as there only one absolute north . Research suggests that these different ways of reckoning give us different kinds of mental maps , such that a speaker might be better at absolute navigation than an English speaker , and perhaps more adept at her way back home if she lost her way . Linguistic and Folk While linguistic explore how different linguistic patterns shape different thought patterns ( and vice versa ) other linguists are interested in how all languages are constrained by our common human biology and in universal linguistic patterns . There are domains of language that lend themselves particularly well to this kind of inquiry . One of them is color . The reason for this is that color relies directly on our human visual system , invariant across cultures . And yet there is enormous diversity in the ways that different cultures divide up the spectrum color . Some cultures have hundreds of color terms , while others have only two or three . Researchers Brent Berlin and Paul Kay analyzed the color term systems of 98 languages and found that the diversity of color term systems is governed by one set of rules . All of these color term systems are comprised of a few basic colors with colors added to the scheme over time ( Kay 2015 , Berlin and Kay 1969 ) The color schemes of all cultures are

based on the distinction between black and white ( or light and dark ) If a culture has only two terms , those two terms will always be black and white . The next most important color is red . If a culture has three color terms , those terms will be black , white , and red . Next comes green and yellow , then blue , then brown , then purple , pink , orange , and gray , always in that order Berlin and Kay suggested that these rules form a pattern for the way all languages develop over long periods of time . Although the scheme proposed by Berlin and Kay has been revised a little in the past 50 years , the basic tenets have held up pretty well ( and 2016 ) III FIGURE Berlin and Kay developmental scheme for the elaboration of color terms . Some cultures only distinguish black from white . When another term emerges , that color is red . After that , green and yellow are added , either one first . Then blue and brown are added , in that order , and then one of these four purple , pink , orange , or gray . attribution Copyright Rice University , under BY license ) VIDEO Vox The Surprising Pattern behind Color Names around the World Click to view content ( Oddly , though this finding lends very strong support to the notion of linguistic , the very same research has also been used to argue for linguistic relativity . Paul Kay later teamed up with another linguist , Willet , to consider how different color schemes might affect how people see color in the environment around them ( 1984 ) They presented people with color chips on the spectrum between true blue and true green . They asked subjects how they would group all the colors into two categories . People who spoke languages that had terms for both blue and green drew a more distinct boundary between the two colors than people who had just one word for both blue and green . Clearly , relativity and universalism are both aspects of human language . Our common biology plays a role in how humans interact with the world , providing regularity to the way all languages categorize not only color but also plants , animals , weather , and other natural phenomena . Researchers who study the systems of categories people use to organize their knowledge of the world have a term for those cultural systems folk . The folk taxonomy for any area of human knowledge both human biology and the surrounding environment and sociocultural practices . There are folk for plants , animals , clouds , foods , and the cries . Folk are notjust vocabulary terms they frequently structure any kind of distinction that is meaningful within a culture , even those that rely on simple like good and bad . One example is death , surely invariant across cultures . Societies all over the world distinguish between a good death and a bad death . These notions cultural beliefs and as the American notion that a good death is a painless one . Among the Akan peoples of , a good death is the death of someone who has led a very long life , achieving all of the culturally valued accomplishments in life , such as getting married , having children , accumulating property , and providing support to friends and family members ( 2020 ) Imagine a very old surrounded by her many descendants as she lies in her bed , heaving one final breath as she drifts away peacefully into death . That is a good death . A bad death is tragic and violent , the sudden death of a person who has not had the chance to really live a full life . Think of a young person drowning or dying in a accident . That is a very bad death . If someone has had a good death , that person is eligible to become an ancestor if the correct rituals are performed . The body must be washed , publicly mourned , and buried in a beautiful casket in a public cemetery , often with grave goods like tools and money to help the person in the afterlife . Ancestors are important , as they watch over their living relatives , possibly

helping them out if called upon through libation or other ritual means . If someone has had a bad death , however , they may become an angry ghost , haunting family members with bad luck . The funeral rites ofbad deaths are rushed , minimal , and private in order to avoid commemorating or communicating with the agitated spirit . Categorization is central to our perceptions , thoughts , actions , and speech . The way humans categorize objects and experiences is limited by the way our brains and bodies work , resulting in linguistic like the developmental scheme of color terms . However , the complex meanings associated with cultural categories vary widely , resulting in a great deal of linguistic relativity . Linguistic relativism and universalism are often described as opposite positions , but in fact , they are both essential and complementary features of human language . Meaning and Metaphor How are you feeling today ?

Are you feeling up or feeling down ?

Ifyou re feeling low , try doing something fun to lift your spirits . Take care of yourself so you do fall into a depression . An old theory suggested that languages are primarily referential that is , each language contains a set of vocabulary terms that correspond to elements in the natural world . According to this theory , language functions as a mirror of reality . We have seen in the last section , however , that different languages divide up the natural world in different ways , from the natural domains of color and plants to the human domains of life and death . Moreover , humans use language to talk about abstract issues like mood , social relationships , and communication itself . It is fairly easy to use our terms for spatial organization to talk about the location of concrete objects like arugula on somebody face . But what about more abstract issues ?

How do we talk about becoming friends with someone ?

How do we discuss an argument we making in a term paper ?

How do we talk about how we feeling today ?

Mood is like color insofar as the human physiology of mood structures a set of basic categories including happiness , sadness , anger , fear , disgust , and surprise . And yet , because mood occurs on a spectrum , it is divided up in different ways by different cultures . Consider , a German word combining the roots for damage and refers to taking pleasure in another misfortune . There is no equivalent word in English . We don use language to identify the emotions we feeling . We also talk about the process of developing an emotion , how one mood leads to another , and how we can prevent ourselves from feeling a certain way . These are mysterious and abstract processes . How do we do this ?

We use metaphor . A metaphor is a linguistic idiom where use what we know about something concrete to think and talk about something abstract . Cognitive linguists George and Mark Johnson argue that metaphor is the primary way we create complex meaning in language ( 1980 ) In terms of mood , we use our concrete language of direction to talk about our abstract experience of mood . A positive mood is understood as up , while a negative mood is considered down . lfyou re feeling really happy , you might say you on top ofthe world . Ifyou re really sad , you might say you re down in the dumps . In fact , the word for prolonged sadness , depression , literally refers to a sunken place or the act of lowering something . Metaphor is one of those things that you do notice until you start paying attention to it . And then you realize that it everywhere in the way you think about time , number , life , love , physical , work , leisure , sleep , and thought itself , just to name a few highly metaphorical topics . Just about any abstract area of experience is structured by metaphorical thinking . Here are three common metaphors in English , with examples . LIFE IS A JOURNEY He took the wrong path in life . As you move ahead , you should dreams . When I left home , I came to a crossroads in life . Ifyou work hard , you arrive at a sense of accomplishment later in life . LOVE IS SWEET She my sweetheart .

The newlyweds went on a honeymoon . Sugar , would you pass the salt ?

Our love was sweet , but then it went sour . ARGUMENT IS COMBAT The candidate launched a personal attack against her opponent . His position on taxes is indefensible . Armed with facts , she won the argument . His criticism really hit the mark . There are thousands and thousands of metaphors in English . Many abstract domains rely on a combination of various metaphors used to describe different aspects of the experience . You can think of love as sweet ( as above ) but also as ajourney ( as in Will the couple go forward together , or will they go their separate ways ?

or as combat ( as in He with his glance ) Metaphor is found in all human languages . Some metaphors , like the directional metaphors used to describe mood , are found in many , many cultures . A study by Esther ( 2018 ) found that the king of ( in ) frequently uses metaphorical language in his public speeches , including such familiar ones as life is ajourney , life is a battle , ideas are food , knowing is seeing , and death is sleep . Though the speeches were delivered in English , notes that these metaphors also exist in Akan , the local language of the people . Alongside her analysis of the speeches , she notes many proverbs and phrases in Akan that use the same metaphors . As with our discussion of categorization in the last section , metaphor is both relative and universal . and Johnson argue that our common human biology structures our experiences of things like emotion and life . When you re feeling really sad , you might literally feel like lying down , and when you re really happy , you might jump . We may use the notion ofa journey to structure our understanding of life , social relationships , and time in general because in our everyday life , we move forward in space to pursue objects and activities . Sometimes the reasons for similarities are not so directly linked to human biology . English and Chinese have similar metaphorical systems for talking about moral issues . In both languages , the adjective meaning high is associated with things that are lofty , noble , or good , while the adjective low is used to describe things that are mean , contemptible , or evil ( Yu 2016 ) Alternatively , it is also possible in both languages to describe moral behavior as straight , while immoral behavior can be termed crooked . On the other hand ( to deploy a useful metaphor ) different cultures do rely on different metaphors to talk about some domains of experience , metaphors that emphasize certain aspects of those abstract topics . Consider the English notion that time is money . This is a metaphor , pure and simple , but many English speakers believe it to be absolutely true . You can spend time , waste time , save time , and invest time . So time does seem like money in capitalist cultures . But time is . Nor is time a journey or a horizontal line in space , though these are common ways of thinking about time in the English language . Time is just time , an abstract idea . Certainly did not the Hopi talking about time as money . English speakers think of time in terms of money because they live in a society in which time is treated as money , a society that tends to monetize nearly everything , from land and labor to advice , attention , and even body parts like human sperm . Language , Community , and Culture LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Explain the role of culture in the acquisition of language . Describe how language can form the foundation of sociocultural groups in speech communities . Describe how people among speech communities . While language is critical to individual human thought , its basic function is to communicate messages in human communities . That is , language is fundamentally social . Through social interaction , humans learn the language of their community . And through language , humans express community identity and coordinate

their activities . Language Acquisition and Language Socialization Imagine that someone handed you a babbling baby and said to you , Teach this baby the basic rules and values of our What would you do ?

Likely , you start by teaching the baby your language . Without language , it pretty hard to teach rules and values ( unless you are a mime ) Luckily , babies come into the world with special cognitive abilities that make them ready to learn language . Most babies undergo a rapid process of language learning between the ages of nine months and three years . Babies proceed through a set of stages that allow them to learn language just by being exposed to surrounding talk . Many scholars study the problem of language acquisition , examining precisely how humans manage to learn language in a diversity of sociocultural . So your babbling baby would probably learn language just by being exposed to it . But what if someone wanted to hasten the process or make sure their baby was particularly excellent with language ?

An American would probably interact with the baby in a particular way , sitting the baby on their lap facing them , pointing to objects and asking basic questions in a fashion . See the cookie ?

Where did the cookie go ?

In my tummy ! The person might say these types of things while talking in a , sing song voice . Linguists call this type of talk In many other cultures , caregivers do not interact with babies in this way . In some cultures , baby talk is considered detrimental to language learning . The context of language learning might involve a whole host of characters beyond the baby and the caregiver , encompassing all household relatives , neighbors , visitors , and even strangers . Language is not always taught to babies , but is often witnessed and overheard . Rather than quizzing her baby American style , a mother in society in New Guinea is more likely to sit her baby on her lap facing outward , talking for the baby in conversations with siblings ( and 1984 2001 ) In West Africa , babies spend large parts of the day wrapped on the backs of their mothers where interaction with her is impossible . But they overhear the talk around them all day long , and people frequently engage their attention in brief interactions . In the of language socialization , researchers go beyond the various stages of language learning to focus on the social in which language is acquired . As social shape the way children learn language , language itself becomes a means of learning about sociocultural life . Whether facing their caregivers or facing out to the social world around them , babies in all cultures learn to be proficient in their languages . And yet , in American culture , the notion persists that language proficiency relies on very precise forms of interaction between caregiver and baby , the American model of . Every culture has ideas about language , how it is acquired , how it varies across social groups , how it changes over time , etc . These ideas are termed language ideologies . Some of these ideas , like the notion that babies have a special window of opportunity for learning language , are supported by linguistic research . Others , however , are challenged by ethnographic and research . Speech Communities and Code Switching A girl described one of her stuffed animals as Here is a snippet of her conversation with her mother Look at his face . so . Jennifer ?

I don know that word . What does it mean ?

Like , kind of stupid . Kind of dumb . Jennifer Oh , Like Clover our dog , when she fell off the couch . Was that ?

No , thats not ! It like Mom , Ijust can explain it to you . You just have to know . All speakers of a particular language form a hypothetical community , sharing a common grammar and vocabulary , as well as a set of understandings about how language is used in different situations . Within this large group are smaller groups of speakers who use the common language in special ways unique to that group . Anthropologists use the term speech community to describe such a group ( 2014 ) Speech communities often have distinctive , grammatical forms , and intonation patterns . Using these features appropriately , members of the speech community demonstrate their membership in the group .

a Language , Community , and Culture The concept of speech community was originally used to describe the distribution of dialects in a language . A dialect is a form of language to a particular region . For instance , in the Philadelphia metropolitan area , it common for local people to pronounce the word water as , as if it nearly rhymes with the word order . It also common to use the phrase for the plural ( as in , better drink some ) Linguists William , Sharon Ash , and Charles famously mapped out these dialectical differences in different regions of the United States ( 2006 ) Over time , a dialect can accumulate such unique linguistic features that it develops into a separate language . Indeed , the distinction between a dialect and a language is largely political . may downplay regional differences as mere dialects in order to maintain linguistic unity , while separatist political movements may champion their way of speaking as an entirely different language in order to justify their demands for independence . FIGURE Map of American dialects . While English is the official language in all areas of the United States , the particular way it is spoken varies from region to region . attribution Copyright Rice University , under BY license ) Other researchers have focused on the speech communities of ethnic groups and immigrants . Researchers use the term vernacular to describe dialects that are not necessarily regional but associated with social categories , such as groups based on ethnicity , age , or gender . Anthropological research on African American Vernacular English ( English , and Native American English have all shown how these shape distinctive forms of storytelling , arguing , and criticism ( Chun and Lo 2015 ) Rather than seeing ethnic as incorrect forms of English , researchers demonstrate how like are highly structured linguistic systems with regular grammatical patterns and innovative ( In formal settings like American classrooms and courtrooms , these alternative ways of using English are too often stigmatized as lazy , unintelligent , orjust plain wrong . Believing their own English to be the correct form , authority often forbid the use of alternative of English and refuse to engage in any effort to understand those forms . More recent research on has explored how speakers maneuver among the styles of language they encounter in their daily lives , engaging in various languages , dialects , and other elements of style . We all use a variety of linguistic styles , and many speak more than one language . Addressing different audiences , US . President Barack Obama used linguistic strategies to Whiten , Blacken , and his public identity , thus subverting racial stereotypes and indicating his membership in a diversity of communities ( and 2012 ) In parts of the world that were previously colonized by Europeans , European languages have been maintained as the formal language of government and education even as most people speak local languages in their everyday interactions with kin , neighbors , merchants , and other community members . In these postcolonial , people tack back and forth between various styles 195

of their local languages as well as shifting between the local language and the European one . Such strategic maneuvering among linguistic styles , called , is done by people in many difference . For many people , the style of language spoken in elite settings such as schools and government institutions has the effect and them . Linguistic anthropologists examine how associated with elite and professional groups become a means of solidarity and exclusion . Anthropologist and lawyer Elizabeth ( 2007 ) conducted participant observation in classes at several American law schools , looking at how law students are taught to think like a lawyer . Using a version of the Socratic method , law professors teach their students to set aside the moral and emotional elements of cases to view them purely as texts subject to abstract , professional analysis . The ability to master the linguistic maneuvering and arcane vocabulary of this form of analysis becomes a prerequisite for becoming a lawyer . The system is thus dominated by people who are trained to set aside humanistic concerns in favor of textual authority and manipulation . study shows how people are socialized by language throughout their lives , not just in childhood . And it alerts us to the way that language can be used to elevate the learned perspectives of elites , dismissing the moral and emotional perspectives of others . and Ritual LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Provide examples of the performative function of speech acts . Describe how ritual language can be performative . Identify the informal ways that people talk back to formal speech . The of Language Speaking as Action Consider the following pairs of sentences . What are the differences between the two sentences in each case ?

Boris and Natasha are married . Boris and Natasha , I now pronounce you husband and wife . Natasha Boris lost his job . Natasha Boris , you re ! Boris Natasha , I ate the last pickle . Boris Natasha , I apologize for eating the last pickle . In all the above pairs , the sentence is a report about an event . The second sentence makes an event happen . In the sentences about the pickle , the second sentence does not make the pickle disappear , but it does create an apology for that action , hopefully altering the consequences of the . In the previous section , we explored how we use language to think and reason about the world around us . This is an essential function of language , but it is not the only one . We also use language to do is , to perform actions in the world . Way back in the 19305 , explored how people use language in culturally ways to play an active part in their societies ( 2012 ) described how the people of the Islands used magical language to compel the growth , bananas , taro , and palms in their carefully cultivated gardens . Magical spells , like all ritual language , aim at making something happen through the special manipulation of public speech . We see the same use of language in other ritual settings like marriages and naming ceremonies . The plot of many a Hollywood romantic comedy hinges on the moment the partners say I do and the pronounces them married . In American marriage ceremonies , it is clear that ritual language is the tool that marries the rings , or the pageantry , or the blessings of family and friends , or any other aspect of the ritual . In his book How to Do Things with Words ( 1962 ) philosopher of language . Austin coined a term for language . The most obvious use phrases like I pronounce , I order , I promise , I warn , or I appoint . Sentences that begin with these phrases are explicitly uttered with the intention of doing something through the act of speaking . As he dug deeper into the performative

function of language , however , Austin realized that are not so much a separate category of utterances but an aspect of most of the things we say . Even when people are making a simple descriptive statement , they are saying it for a reason . The power of speech to make things happen is called . Consider the following sentences The exam is next week . The dog is pawing on the door . The above sentences are statements about an event or situation . However , ifa professor announces to the class , The exam is next week , this is not merely an observation , but a cue to students to study in preparation for the upcoming exam . And if someone tells their roommate , The dog is pawing on the door , they are essentially telling that person to let the dog out . Like metaphor , is one of those aspects of language that permeates everyday speech . Once you learn about it , you recognize injust about everything you say . Spend a few hours paying attention to each utterance as you go about your activities . You that you rarely use language to merely describe whats going on . You speak in order to generate a response or result , even when you just say Hi . The of Ritual Language Just as studied the special language used in garden magic among the , many contemporary linguistic anthropologists study the role language in various ritual settings . In a recent article , Patience Epps and Ramos examine the performance of incantations among the Indigenous community of the northwest Amazon ( Epps and Ramos 2020 ) An incantation is a patterned set of phrases or sentences used to compel a magical result . Among the Hup , incantations are used by elders for protection , healing , and causing harm . While Epps and Ramos were conducting in the area , Hup elders expressed concerns that the young men in the village were not learning the repertoire of important incantations properly , thus endangering the health and safety of the community . The elders invited Epps and Ramos to write down their incantations for healing and protection in order to preserve them for future generations . Epps and Ramos documented and analyzed these incantations in consultation with elders . In the article , Epps and Ramos analyze an incantation used by the Hup to protect travelers on paths through the rain forest . This incantation is recited by an elder before a group of Hup people embark on ajourney . After providing the original text and its English translation , Epps and Ramos describe the incantation structure and poetic features , including the use of metaphor and repetition of phrases . As a whole , the incantation lists various dangers and helpful entities and enacts certain magical practices through the speech itself . At the beginning of the incantation , the elder states that he is enclosing the entire path in a protective canoe , much as a traveler on a river would ride in a canoe . This canoe is named after a particular snake , the mussurana snake ( a constrictor snake that eats other snakes and is immune to their venom . Thus , the incantation is creating a metaphorical shield of protection around the travelers , making them safe from venomous . In the second section of the incantation , the elder lists all classes and of snakes that might be encountered in the rain forest , asserting a kind of taxonomic mastery over the snakes . Summoning the snakes one by one , he tells of lining them up , sitting them down , and feeding them sticky coca and tobacco . The snakes then sit quietly , stuck together by the sticky substance so that they are unable to bite anyone . The incantation goes on to deal with several other malevolent entities and engage with entities to help the travelers in . Informal Teasing , Grumbling , and Gossip Linguistic anthropologists most frequently rely on long periods of , living in the communities they study and witnessing and even participating in ritual events where performative language is deployed . Such events include protection and healing magic , but also naming ceremonies , puberty rites , weddings , funerals , and other rituals that mark the passage of persons from one social status to another . Anthropologists term such rituals rites ( discussed in detail in Anthropology of Food . At such ritual events , elders or religious specialists are called upon to perform the ritual language necessary to publicly move persons from the previous category to the new one . Naming ceremonies are a great example of the power language in rites of passage . In many

West African societies , a baby is not considered a true person until they have been publicly named by an elder or religious in a naming ceremony performed a certain number after the baby is born . Extended family and friends attend the ceremony as markers of their relationship to the baby . Guests bring gifts such as rice and cloth for the baby , and they are rewarded for their attendance with prepared food and kola nuts . During his in southeastern , linguistic anthropologist Nicholas Sweet witnessed the naming ceremony for a baby in a village ( 2019 ) When the family were gathered in the compound of the baby father , the imam rose , faced east , gave the blessings of the prophet , and then performed the naming of the baby girl ( in Arabic , English translation below ) In the name ofGod , the gracious and the compassionate Allah , send blessings on our master Muhammad Allah , send blessings on our master Muhammad Allah , send blessings on our master Muhammad The name of the child has come here , her mother and her fa named her tou The name of the child has come here , her mother and her fa named her tou This is what was written on the tablet May God blessings While carefully recording the formal performative language so important to this naming ceremony , Sweet was also attuned to the more informal kinds of language that surrounded the main action . For instance , just before the imam performance , some friends of the family were gathered around the baby , remarking on her beauty . As a way of showing their admiration , some of the and teased one another about the prospect of marrying her someday . Other relatives teased the baby parents with demands for kola nuts and other food . As dramatically performative as the naming was , this informal language was also performative , providing a way for guests to socially their various relationships to the new person in their community . Someone important had been left out of the of the baby , also named . As the baby was her namesake , Auntie had been invited and should have been a featured guest at the ceremony . But when the time came to perform the ceremony , she had not arrived yet , and so they went on without her . Afterward , as guests were making their way home , they crossed paths with Auntie , who was just then on her way to the event . Realizing that the naming had already been performed , she complained that she had been waiting for someone to fetch her and bring her to the ceremony . Auntie was angry that she had missed the ceremony as well as the gifts distributed afterward . Wrapping a scarf around her head in imitation of an imam , Auntie continued on to the compound of the baby father . Striding ceremoniously into the compound , she addressed a number of elders still gathered there . In a parody of the naming performance , she faced east , delivered the blessings of the prophet , and then announced The name ofthe come here . It is ( Trash Owl ) The audience of relatives erupted in laughter but also protest , interrupting Auntie to correct her with the baby true given name . But Auntie persisted , saying over and over again that the baby name had come and it was Trash Why Trash Owl ?

In this community , it is believed that witches turn themselves into owls when they through the night . Trash seemed to refer to the joke gifts of garbage ( broken , an old sock ) in a small gourd that Auntie presented in lieu of the usual baby gifts of food , cloth , and soap . In the days following the naming ceremony , the teasing name for the baby became a running joke in the community , especially among people who had not been invited to the ceremony but felt that they should have been . In order to quash the teasing nickname , the baby family was compelled to make a number of visits around the community with appeasing gifts of kola in an effort to get everyone to recognize the baby proper name . Once Auntie and the others had received their visits and kola , they abandoned the name Trash Owl , recognizing the baby as , the namesake .

This incident illustrates the power and gossip to steal performative power from the authoritative realm of formal speech , giving excluded and marginalized people a way to talk back to authority . There are many ways this . Often , audiences to formal speech will deliberately misunderstand or creatively interpret the proclamations of authority . Language and Power LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Explain how language can operate as a form of power . Identify how racial categories and bias are expressed through linguistic practices . Describe strategies used by communities to revive their dormant languages . Gender and Language In 2018 , the word was added to the dictionary . The word is as what occurs when a man talks condescendingly to someone ( especially a woman ) about something he has incomplete knowledge of , with the mistaken assumption that he knows more about it than the person talking to does ( Words We Watching 2018 ) The word was inspired by an article written in 2008 by the feminist blogger Rebecca . In the article Men Explain Things to Me , described an incident at a party in which she mentioned to a man that she had recently written a book about a particular photographer Immediately , the man interrupted to inform her about a thatjust came out about that same photographer , a book he had read about in The New York Times . After the man had described the book in great detail , friend intervened to say that the book he was talking about was , in fact , written by . In the wake of article , other women writers described similar experiences in their workplaces , schools , and relationships , and the whole phenomenon came to be called . FIGURE Rebecca , the author of the article Men Explain Things to Me . The term has become a well discussed topic in the years since she introduced the term . credit Rebecca by Charles Commons , BY ) Have you ever witnessed ?

Have you ever to someone ?

Embedded in the very term is a notion about gender and language . The idea is that men and women have different styles of speech , styles that and reinforce inequality between genders . In recent years , many writers have pushed back against the term , arguing that all men do not always speak this way to all women . Some argue that many men are much more respectful and sensitive to the

dynamics of power in their conversations with women . Some argue that privileged White women tend to speak in a way to male waiters and or to people of color more generally . Others suggest that older people speak in a condescending way to younger people , or vice versa . you ever become annoyed with a friend or relative who repeatedly interrupts you ?

Have you ever noticed low some people tend to end their sentences with rising intonation , making everything they say sound like a question ?

How about a person who ignores what you say but then your idea and takes credit for it ?

Many people associate these ways of speaking with gender , the way men speak or the way women speak . As noted in the discussion of language acquisition , every culture has ideas about how language operates , called ideologies . The idea that American men and American women have distinctive styles of speech is a ideology . Whether it is true or not is a question for linguistic research , but this idea has become a widespread way of thinking about gender , power , and language in American culture . the , linguists inspired by the womens movement turned their attention to the way gender shapes different patterns of speech . In her book Language and Place ( 1975 ) Robin argues that women and men are socialized to speak in distinctive ways that empower men and subordinate women . describes women speech as uncertain , excessively polite , and full of hedges , emotional language , euphemism , and tag questions ( Do you think ?

Other linguistic researchers have found that men tend to interrupt women far more than vice versa , even when the women speaking are doctors and the men are their ( and West 1975 , West 1998 ) Building on this research , Deborah generalized beyond speech patterns to describe two entirely different communicative for American men and American women ( 1990 ) When men and women speak to one another , argues , they are speaking , deploying different motivations and expectations for talk . Men engage in conversation to assert their status in a social hierarchy , while women are more interested in building solidarity through social connection . Men authoritatively report information to their , while women engage in conversational rapport with their . In popular media , differences in the speech styles of men and women are frequently linked to purported differences in parts of male and female brains , such the corpus callosum , the amygdala , and the hippocampus . In this way , patterns of speaking are naturalized as biological . Like the pushback against the term , researchers have begun to challenge the view that women and men are embedded in different linguistic with different patterns of speech , motivation , and interpretation . Psychologist Janet Hyde conducted a of hundreds of quantitative studies to see if widespread notions about gender and language were actually borne out by linguistic data ( 2005 ) Along with notions , Hyde was interested in testing the idea that women are and more deferential than men . Focusing on studies of children , Hyde found that boys and girls exhibited no differences at all in reading comprehension , verbal reasoning , and vocabulary . The tendency for boys to interrupt or speak assertively was only very slightly higher than for girls . The girls tendency toward and cooperation with their conversation partners was only slightly higher than for boys . The only differences Hyde found were in smiling and correct spelling ( girls did more ) How do we reconcile research demonstrating differences in the way men and women talk with data that suggests very little difference in the speech patterns of girls and boys ?

One could argue that children have not been entirely socialized into their assigned gender category . Perhaps the discrepancy suggests that ways of speaking are cultural , not biological , and that , for children , the most intense period of socialization is yet to come in adolescence . Moreover , ethnographic research by linguistic anthropologists shows that patterns of speech associated with men and women are culturally relative . Reversing the American stereotypes , anthropologists working in Madagascar and New Guinea have found that women are expected to speak in a more confrontational and argumentative style , while men are associated with more cooperative , euphemistic , and ceremonial speech ( 1974 , 1992 , both cited in 2017 ) So both quantitative and ethnographic research overturn the notion that women and men are biologically engineered to use language in different ways . That leaves us with the conclusion that any differences in the ways men and women talk are entirely cultural . Literary scholar Judith Butler argues that gender identities are

not biological but are performed through language and other cultural practices , particularly those centered on the body ( 1988 ) So when men and women speak in certain ways , they are socially performing their gender identities , whether consciously or unconsciously . Moreover , through their linguistic performances , people enact their own versions of gender in complicated ways that transcend the neat dichotomy of male and female . You probably have a language ideology that tells you how men and women speak in your culture , but do you always speak in the style associated with your assigned gender category ?

Nobody does . And some people rarely do . As these contradictory performances build up over time , the very notion of gender can change . SE PROFILES IN ANTHROPOLOGY Kira Hall Area Kira ( Colorado ) work is situated at the intersection of and linguistic anthropology . In graduate school , she studied with Robin in the linguistics department at the University of , earning her there in 1995 . For her dissertation , she examined the linguistic strategies of in , India . are members of a group in many Indian communities . Most were raised as boys and later adopted the intersex behaviors and language of the identity . Hall analyzed how navigated aspects of gender embedded in Hindi , such as certain verbs and adjectives that are marked as feminine or masculine . She showed how alternate between these forms , as a of their own ambiguous identities . She explored how use obscene forms of language to shame people into giving them money . She showed how they had developed their own secret language as a way of communicating with one another , signaling their identity to others , and excluding from understanding their conversations . Accomplishments in the Field her work at the boundaries of linguistics and anthropology , Hall has held academic positions in the anthropology department at Yale University and the linguistics department of Stanford University . Currently , she is professor of linguistics at the University of Colorado at Boulder , with a joint appointment in the anthropology department . She is also director of the Program in Culture , Language , and Social Practice at . Since 2019 , she has served as the president of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association . Importance of Their Work Hall work highlights how language operates within hierarchies of gender , sexuality , and socioeconomic class . In addition to her work on , she has published articles on language and sociality in autism , female mass hysteria in upstate New York , and Donald Trump use of gesture and derisive humor in the 2016 Republican Party primaries . Race and Ethnicity On many government forms , people are asked to identify their race . Forms in the United States often include categories Black , White , Asian , American Native , and Native Islander . The category Hispanic or Latino is often listed as an ethnicity rather than a race . On the 2020 Census , people were presented with 14 racial categories to choose from White , Black or African American , American Indian or Alaska Native , Chinese , Filipino , Asian Indian , Vietnamese , Korean , Japanese , Other Asian , Native ian , Samoan , and Other Islander . Again , Latino , or Spanish was listed as a question of Even with so many options , many Americans still could not a category that represented their racial or ethnic identity . As you remember from earlier chapters in this text , race is not biological . There is no accurate way to divide up the gradual spectrum of human biological variation , meaning that biological categories of race are entirely imaginary . However , we also know that social categories of race are very powerful tools of discrimination , subordination , solidarity , and action . Earlier in this chapter , we studied how sets of categories , folk , are embedded in language . We saw how different cultures divide up the natural world differently .

Likewise , race and ethnicity are folk , embedded in language and organizing the social world into a neat set of groups . These categories are real insofar as they have shaped the structure of our society , some groups and others . And they are real insofar as they shape our thoughts and actions and even our subconscious habits and tendencies . Like gender , race and ethnicity are performed in language . We use language in conscious and unconscious ways to express racial and ethnic belonging as well as exclusion . Take the use of Spanish catchphrases by Americans who do not speak Spanish . Many Americans intend to be jokey and fun by using Spanish phrases such as hasta la vista ! and no problemo as well as deliberately incorrect ones such as buenos nachos and hasta la bye bye ! Anthropologist Jane Hill found that , White Americans were most likely ( among other Americans ) to use this mock Spanish ( 2008 ) People who use these phrases consider them harmless and even respectful , while Spanish speakers are often insulted by the association of Spanish with silliness . Hill argues that such phrases are only funny because they covertly draw from stereotypes of Spanish speakers as foolish , lazy , and inept . Similar arguments about cultural appropriation and stereotyping can be made about the use ofBlack vernacular speech by White Americans . In the United States , a variety of English called African American English ( or African American Vernacular English , is spoken by many people in predominantly Black communities . With the widespread popularity ofBlack culture , many White Americans have picked up phrases and grammatical features of while knowing very little about the vernacular and the people who speak it as their primary language . To many Americans , is just imperfect English ( it is not , as we see in a moment ) So what are White people signaling when they say things like , lit , on , aa ight ( for alright ) ima ( for I going to ) and , Queen ! Does the use of this language convey respect for the communities associated with Black vernacular English ?

Or does it demean and subordinate Black Americans who speak ?

People who use mock Spanish and mock typically do not mean to insult anyone . The problem is not one of intent , but of context . In American culture , most White people speak forms of English considered standard or mainstream ( 2012 ) In fact , Standard American English ( SAE ) is historically based on the language of Anglo American immigrants . The adoption of White has always been considered critical to successful assimilation by minority and immigrant groups . Success at complete assimilation is often measured by the ability to speak SAE without an accent . But SAE is not speaking without an accent . SAE is an accent of White people whose ancestors emigrated from the British Isles . SAE is the dominant language of American public spaces , including schools , workplaces , government , and media . People who speak SAE without effort or accent can speak freely in these spaces , knowing that their language will be understood and respected . Americans whose primary language is Spanish or often struggle to be understood and taken seriously in American public life . Given this context , it can seem disrespectful for White Americans to appropriate Spanish and as tools of humor while denigrating and the actual speakers of these languages . The issue is further complicated by the widespread and persistent notion among White Americans ( and many Black Americans too ) that is not a language at all , but merely a hodgepodge of slang and bad grammar . This view is simply wrong , another language ideology that has no basis in fact . is a form of English with its own regular system of sounds , grammar , and vocabulary ( For historical reasons , shares many features with the English spoken by White southerners in the United States as well as Cockney English from London ( 2017 ) Rooted in historical experiences of slavery and segregation , Black Americans have developed their own distinctive set of innovative linguistic features to supplement the more basic structure ofAmerican English . Consider the following three sentences He is angry . He angry . He be angry . The sentence is SAE , and the second and third are alternatives . In SAE , this conjugation of the verb to be describes a situation happening in the present . But the SAE present tense of to be is a bit vague , as it can mean right now , this very minute or a more ongoing situation , perhaps describing a person who is

frequently or enduringly angry . helpfully distinguishes between these two possibilities . He angry means angry right now , whereas He be angry indicates a more ongoing situation . In linguistic terminology , the second example is called copula deletion and the third is called the habitual be . Both are used in regular ways to indicate the difference between momentary and enduring conditions . is governed by many more rules and features that provide its speakers with expressive possibilities not available to speakers of SAE . In other words , is not only a vernacular it a more developed and complex form of English . Linguists have been trying to convey this message to the American public since the ( Read more about at the Daily website ( Racism . Rather than recognizing the innovative contributions of like , language policy in the United States as bad English spoken by uneducated and unintelligent people . Linguist John calls this linguistic ( 2003 ) With colleagues Thomas and William , 1999 ) compared the response of California landlords to apartment inquiries spoken in SAE , and English ( In Woodside , California , landlords responded to SAE inquiries percent of the time . Inquiries in received responses only percent of the time and inquiries only percent of the time . Research in American schools and courtrooms corroborates the discriminatory effects of linguistic on access to housing , education , and justice . The use of language to discriminate and marginalize is certainly not limited to American English . Elites in many cultures their own way of speaking as correct and official , using linguistic practices in public spaces to disempower other groups based on class , race , ethnicity , gender , and sexuality . How can people respond to these forms of linguistic ?

For many upwardly mobile speakers of nonstandard and languages , the process of becoming successful has involved the abandonment of their primary way of speaking in favor of standard , elite forms of language privileged in public discourses . But there is another alternative . As speakers of nonstandard and languages move into public discourses , they can hold on to their primary languages , from context to context . Some language activists celebrate the genius of their home languages and work to nurture and revive them , as we will see in the next section . Can speakers languages contribute to the process of celebrating and revitalizing marginalized languages ?

Is it always insulting or racist for speakers ofa dominant language to use phrases from another vernacular or language ?

Some people think so . Certainly it is harmful to use phrases that reference negative stereotypes ( even indirectly ) But what ifyour limited use ofa few phrases can help you communicate with someone from a different background ?

What if SAE speakers started quoting Spanish or in ways that highlight positive aspects of those speech communities ?

What if White people started learning in order to publicize the genius and complexity of this American vernacular ?

What ifyou learn another language or vernacular in order to subvert the forces of cultural segregation in your own society ?

There are no easy answers to such questions . Endangered Languages Repression and Revival In 1993 , a ( woman living on a reservation in Cape Cod , Massachusetts , had a mysterious dream , recurring on three consecutive nights ( 2001 ) In the dream , a circle of were singing in a language she did not understand . When she woke , words of the language stuck with her , and she longed to out what they meant . Were these words of , the language of her ancestors ?

had died out in the . The woman was Jessie Little Doe , a social worker and mother of . Haunted by those words , she began reading through documents from the written in , including letters , deeds to property , and the earliest translation of the Bible printed in the Western hemisphere ( 2001 ) Though frustrated in her efforts to find the meaning of her dream words , she developed a passion for the language of her ancestors and began working with local communities to reclaim their common language of . Community response was enthusiastic . Committed to the project , went to MIT to study linguistics , earning a master degree . Based on her survey of documents , she wrote a dictionary and began teaching students to speak the ( Women of the )

By learning their ancestral language , and her students found themselves reconnecting with culture in unexpected ways . The grammar of , for instance , puts the speaker at the end of the sentence rather than the beginning . Whereas English speakers would say I see you , speakers would say something like You are seen by suggests that this word order highlights the value of the community over the individual , putting awareness of the other ahead of the self . displays alternative logic in the formulation of nouns as well . For instance , in English , animal names reveal little or nothing at all about the animal . The words cat , mouse , and ant are based on arbitrary sounds that convey no information about their . In , however , animal names frequently contain syllables that refer to the animal size , movement , and behavior . The word for ant , for instance , incorporates syllables communicating that the animal moves about , does not walk on two legs , and puts things away . By now , you know that forms of cognition and culture are embedded in language . The languages of the world encode diverse experiences of time , space , life , death , color , emotions , and more . A language serves as a form of oral documentation of the surrounding environment , a survey of the , fauna , topography , and climate of an area . Forms of cultural wisdom are preserved in the stories and proverbs of a language . History is recorded in epic tales and legends . Language can be essential to maintaining cultural identity , the common history and values ofa people while providing them with a distinctive way of communicating with one another . Among the seven thousand languages spoken in the world today , roughly 40 percent of them are in danger of dying out in the next hundred years . A language is considered dead when it is no longer spoken by any living person . was once considered a dead language . Some linguists argue that no language should ever really be considered dead , however , and prefer the terms dormant or sleeping . So long as there are written or audio records of a language , it can come to life again , a process called language revitalization . Returning to a language that has become dormant or endangered , community members can develop strategic programs to spread , nurture , and modernize the language , ensuring it has a future for generations to come . Languages generally become endangered or dormant through processes of colonialism and imperialism . In North America , as Native Americans were forcibly removed from their lands and to reservations in the , they were compelled to send their children to boarding schools where they were forbidden to speak their Native languages or practice their Native cultures . As foreign settlers seized lands in Australia , New Zealand , and Hawaii , they established similar schools , aimed at assimilating Indigenous children by stamping out their language and culture . Elsewhere , more gradual processes of endangerment can occur when a new language offers opportunities for employment and trade only available to speakers of that language . Parents may encourage their children to learn the new language in order to take advantage of these opportunities , and children may come to reject their own language as a backward language of old people . Many , many languages have risen from dead or comatose states , among them Cornish , Hawaiian , Hebrew , the language , the Indigenous Australian language of , the Indigenous New Zealand language of the people , and the Native American languages of the and Blackfoot peoples . Often , as with , the impetus for language revival comes from energetic community members who feel the loss of their language as a threat to their cultural survival . These concerned people create programs to document the language and teach it to children and adults . They establish where the language is spoken routinely and exclusively . Sometimes they work with linguists to develop these programs . The most successful of these revitalization strategies are immersion schools and programs . In the early , language activists developed preschools , called Te , or language nests ( King 2018 ) In these nests , very young children are taught language and culture by and grandfathers in the community . Native Hawaiians have developed a similar program of language nests , called Leo . Early on , some parents worried that children in immersion schools would not learn the dominant national language well enough to be successful in later life , but research has shown that such children do just as well or better in later classroom performance and standardized testing . Many language revitalization projects combine early immersion with later bilingual education ( 2011 , 2018 ) The Immersion School in Arizona provides immersion education for the three years of schooling and then introduces English as the medium of instruction through grade seven . From grades eight to twelve , children are taught in half the time and English the other half .

a Language and Power FIGURE Sign in front of a school in , New Zealand . All classes are held in the language . credit Te by Tom , BY 20 ) One of the challenges of revitalization programs is enough adults in the language to teach it to children . Among the strategies of language revitalization that target adult learners is the approach . The original Language Learning Program was founded in California by the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival ( 2018 ) The strategy has since spread all over the world . In these programs , a speaker and a motivated learner spend 20 hours a week together , using the target language plus gestures and other nonverbal communication to engage in various activities . When successful , language revitalization can empower individuals and energize communities . Learning their heritage language , people come to understand the distinctive genius and complexity of their culture while preserving a crucial means of transmitting that culture across generations . ACTIVITY Dispute Analysis Choose a friend , relative , or acquaintance with whom you might disagree on a particular issue . Suggested issues might include musical taste , what makes a good restaurant , how to behave on a date , the best form of physical exercise , or anything else you feel comfortable talking about but might disagree on . Ask the person if they would consent to being recorded for an anonymous exercise . If so , record a conversation with that person in which you discuss the issue . Then , review the conversation . What seem to be the goals of the two ?

What is the pattern of turn taking ?

What truth or knowledge claims are made by each speaker , and what are the bases of those claims ?

How is authority constructed and challenged ?

How does each one respond to the assertions of the other ?

How does the conversation turn out in the end ?

Suggested Readings , Laura . 2017 . Living Language An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology . ed . West , UK , MA . Alessandro . 1997 . Linguistic Anthropology . Cambridge , UK Cambridge University Press . 205 Key Terms the practice of tacking back and forth between various linguistic styles depending on and . communication the transfer of information from a sender to a receiver can be voluntary or involuntary , simple or complex . dialect a form of language to a particular region . folk systems of categories that people use to organize their knowledge of the world . a gene on chromosome number seven that is found in many vertebrates sometimes called the language gene because the human mutation seems to be associated with language . incantation a patterned set of phrases or sentences used to compel a magical result . language a complex , systematized form of communication involving the use of vocal or gestural units ( words or signs ) that can be combined and recombined in larger structures ( sentences ) that can convey an array of complex meanings . language acquisition the process of learning a language . language ideologies ideas about language that are widespread in a culture , including how language is acquired , how it varies across social groups , how it changes over time , etc . language revitalization the process of reviving an endangered or dormant language using strategies such as immersion schools and master apprentice programs . language socialization the social in Summary Language and culture are closely entwined in the evolutionary development and contemporary diversity of human societies . Human language differs from animal communication in its complexity and , aspects of human communication made possible by unique human biological and genetic features . The complexity of language makes it a powerful tool in shaping human thought , providing categories and metaphors for organizing our information about the world . Though language shapes thought and action in universal ways , many aspects of language vary widely relative to local cultures . The social aspects of language are Critical Thinking Questions . What might humanity be like if humans had which language is learned as well as the role of language in social learning . linguistic relativity the way that language varies across cultures , different environmental , historical , and sociocultural conditions . linguistic common elements found in all human languages , attributable to human anatomy , perception , and cognition . metaphor a linguistic idiom using something concrete to think and talk about something more abstract . mirror neurons special brain cells that seem to enable mimicry . naming ceremony a public ritual that grants personhood by bestowing a name . the functional power of language to make things happen . a very simple set of gestures or utterances that may have preceded the development of human language . hypothesis the theory that the particular language you speak how you think about reality . speech community a community of speakers sharing a common grammar and vocabulary , as well as a set of understandings about how language is used in different situations . vernacular dialects that are not necessarily regional but associated with social categories such as groups based on ethnicity , age , or gender . particularly relative , how children learn languages in various sociocultural as well as how people use language to create speech communities . In ritual , language is used to accomplish social action as well as challenging those actions . As a tool , language structures gender , race , and ethnic dynamics . Recognizing the fundamental importance of language to the preservation of culture , many Indigenous communities have developed strategies to revive their heritage languages using immersion schools and programs . never developed language ?

What social and cultural forms would not be possible without language ?

How would we survive ?

Would we be capable of creating tools or art ?

Would our social relationships be different ?

Would our social groups be different ?

a romantic relationship , one you have experienced or observed . How did it begin , endure , or end ?

Now , make note of how many times in your description you relied on various metaphors . Is it possible to fully describe . List the speech communities to which you belong . Do all members of a speech community share exactly the same vocabulary and practices ?

Do speech communities overlap ?

Aside from weddings , list rituals in your culture that rely on the performance of language . How do people use forms of commentary and back talk to reshape those performances ?

How does language operate as a form of power in schools and universities ?

Consider the romance without the use of metaphor ?

Do these shape the way we think about romance ?

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While Closely Related to Humans , Researchers Discover that Chimpanzees Vocalizations Resemble Human Language Less than You . May , Est 161 ' 2018 . Metaphors ?

Lives By A Cognitive Linguistic Study of Metaphors in Some Addresses by ?

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