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Language and Culture Chapter 2
Language and Culture
Chapter 2
Part I
Language Reflects Culture
Language tends to reflect the larger culture
Example: Inuit have many words for snow and seal,
whereas English does not (pg.18)
Inuit language is an agglutinating language that strings ideas into long words
English is an isolating language that puts separate ideas into separate words
Language Reflects Culture
The Inuit deal much more with seals and snow than most English-speakers do, so this should make sense
This is called cultural emphasis: Languages have areas of linguistic emphasis
for aspects they deem important
Cultural Emphasis In Shinzwani (Comoro Islands off the coast of
Africa) There is one word (mama) that means
‘mother’ and ‘aunt’
In this culture, both women help raise the children and therefore there is not a distinction
In English, we have two words, but only one word for ‘cousin,’ though other languages make a distinction between male/female cousins or cousins on mother’s/father’s side of family
English
Hawaiian/Iroquois
Cultural Emphasis In Marshall Islands (Pacific)
There were traditionally only two words for birthing troubles or birth defects
After nuclear tests in the 40s and 50s, there are now many words to describe different birth defects because so many more exist
The language changed as the culture/environment changed
Language Change History of English language
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-did-english-evolve-kate-gardoqui
Ethnosemantics After studying cultural emphasis, the next
step is to try to understand how speakers see their world through understanding their language
Try to understand how they categorize things
This is ethnosemantics: identify how words people use reveal underlying meanings and perceptions
Different from ethnography, which is a detailed study of a culture because it focuses on language
Ethnosemantics 1. Identify the way people divide language
into cultural emphasis; this is called semantic domain
2. Determine the categorization system and use this as a model to understand the speaker’s mental map
3. Use this to create an ethnoscientific model that shows the scientific categorization of the speaker’s world
Ethnosemantics You can use this in the field to learn a new
language from the native perspective
The goal is to try to get from the etic (outside) perspective to the emic (inside) perspective Create a semantic domain
Collect as many words for each domain as possible
Create a taxonomy
Conduct a componential analysis to find culturally important aspects of the language
Prototype Theory Developed in the 70s and 80s to help explain
complications between categories in different languages
This theory says we categorize by prototypes, or the best examples of things, and then use these examples as a way to determine what words go into which categories
Prototype Theory Example: “bird”
Different Meanings Let’s go through some words that have
different meanings in different languages
Can you see how it is easy to have linguistic misunderstandings?
Linguistic Relativity Different languages have different semantic
domains
These seem arbitrary, meaning there is not really an obvious reason in the physical world that something is categorized in a certain way
Example: Sun/Moon
In French, moon/night/woman are connected and sun/day/man are connected
Why are these seen as male or female?
Linguistic Relativity The answer is worldview
Linguistic Relativity: languages are different, they use arbitrary categories, and knowing one language does not allow you to predict another
Example: Rainbow ROY G BIV
Do we really use indigo as a basic color term?
Most English speakers use six colors
Linguistic Relativity Let’s look more at color
Some languages combine color categories (blue/green) and some divide color categories into more specific colors (light blue/dark blue)
The semantic domain of color is not experience exactly the same in all humans
Are There Universals? Linguists want to know if there are universals
that are the same across all languages
In 1969 Berlin and Kay tried to find a universal pattern with colors
They compared focal points (main categories) of color across languages and stated that all languages had a common system to name colors
They also said that those with fewer categories were less advanced than those with many categories
Are There Universals? Stage I: Dark-cool and light-warm (this covers a
larger set of colors than English "black" and "white".)
Stage II: Red
Stage III: Either green or yellow
Stage IV: Both green and yellow
Stage V: Blue
Stage VI: Brown
Stage VII: Purple, pink, orange, or gray (English goes here)
Are There Universals? They showed that societies with few
categories (I, II, III) were technologically simpler than those with more categories
Also that modern industrialized societies were the only ones to reach stage VII
What are some problems with these results?
Are There Universals? It ranks (puts values) on cultures!
It is ethnocentric because English is in the most advanced category
It used categories with multiple meanings (orange is a color and a fruit)
It stated it would not use borrowed words, but “blue” is from French and therefore English should only be in stage IV
Assignment Video Log: Linguistic Relativity
(http://vimeo.com/42744105 ) Give a definition (in your own words) for this
term
Are some languages better than others? Explain
Article: Linguistic Relativity
HW: Do You Speak American?
Article 1. How does language affect people’s
perception of space?
2. What about the perception of time?
3. Shapes/substances?
4. Objects (specifically grammatical gender)?
5. Is it possible to understand another person’s perspective on the world? Explain
Part II
Review Remember from last lecture that language
and culture are interconnected
Linguistic Relativity: languages are different, they use arbitrary categories, and knowing one language does not allow you to predict another
In this view, your culture determines how you perceive the world, and therefore influences your language
Linguistic Determinism
A second view is linguistic determinism Language influences and can determine
people’s ability to perceive the world around them
Proposed by Sapir and Whorf
Sapir (student of Boaz) analyzed the “tyrannical hold that the linguistic form has upon our orientation of the world”
Whorf (student of Sapir) studied how words influenced actions
Sapir and Whorf Whorf created his principle of linguistic
relativity Different languages have different
grammatical structures and rules
These grammatical categories direct how speakers think and see the world
Example is Hopi Language (pg. 33) Single-action vs. Repeated-action verbs
English speakers would not understand these categories
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Another name for linguistic determinism
Two forms: Strong Whorf: language is a prison from
which you cannot escape
Weaker Whorf: language is a room that gives a specific perspective, but lets you leave or go to other rooms
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Cannot test the Strong Whorf form
Since we can learn and understand other languages, the Weaker Whorf form seems more correct
Example: Comparing English with Yucatec language
Yucatec group items by material (everything made of wood goes into one category)
English group items by shape (a table has a specific shape but could be wood, metal, plastic)
Space The way we describe space uses deictic concepts, or
those that name space around our bodies
These are egocentric, or always relating back to your own body (to the right of, above, in front of…). This creates relative systems of space
The description between the two pictures would be different because of the position of the bodies
Space Some languages use absolute reckoning systems,
such as cardinal directions, that are not dependent upon where the body is
North will always remain north, even, if you move
This is geographically based, not biologically based
How might this cause speakers from these different languages to see the world differently?
How can this be influenced by the physical environment?
Los Angeles
New York
Experiencing LD To fully experience language determination,
you must be aware that to use a new language comfortably, you must understand its concepts
This includes rules that are different from your native language
In English, if I give money, I lend it; if I get money, I borrow it
In Shinzwani (Comoros Islands), there is no distinction; money is just transferred (kopa)
Experiencing LD In the Ukraine, there are two types of love
Liubov (general love)
Kokhannia (romantic love)
For time: Czech: 9:15 is a quarter of ten
English: 9:15 is a quarter past nine (pg. 39)
The goal is to be able to think in these terms and switch back and forth
Language, Culture, and Thought
Video: Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-B_ONJIEcE Min 1-13
How do we understand or remember language?
What did Sapir and Whorf contribute to this?
Language, Culture, and Thought
So research on color, shapes, time, and space has shown that language does affect how we see the world
Then there is the language that is symbolic and not straightforward
Example: Time English: a straight line with equal units (hour, day, week,
year, century, etc.)
Hopi: cyclical, remembering and connecting to past events
Non-observable things have only the present tense, so ‘two days’ is ‘one day and another day”
‘Five years from now’ would be ‘this year and the next year, and the year after that…’
Language, Culture, and Thought
The culture of American English is very time-oriented
We have many metaphors to show how valuable it is: Time is money
Wasting time
Running out of time
Other cultures don’t have this Africa Time
Metaphors and Frames
We see the world and speak about the world through frames
These help us understand the cultural meaning behind something Are attached to ideology, or ideas about how
things should be
Robert Levy analyzed hypocognition, or the lack of frames He suggested that high suicide rates in Tahiti
were influenced by the language not having words to express grief
Metaphors and Frames
If something does not fit your frame, it is easy to dismiss
The media can also persuade your opinion by the frames they use to present information
Native vs. Borrowed What is a native word?
What is a borrowed one?
Does English borrow from other languages or do other languages only borrow from English? “West to the Rest” fallacy
We will discuss this more in chapter 9
Guess which words are native or foreign
Moose
Bandage
Elixir
Bathroom
Delicatessen
Bonkers
Capital
Garage
Lemon
Skunk
Tapioca
Llama
Handbag
Typhoon
Stone
Canoe
Admiral
Nippy
Squash
Coffee
Syrup
Fahrenheit
Cliché
Futon
Floor
Guess which words are native or foreign
Moose
Bandage
Elixir
Bathroom
Delicatessen
Bonkers
Capital
Garage
Lemon
Skunk
Tapioca
Llama
Handbag
Typhoon
Stone
Canoe
Admiral
Nippy
Squash
Coffee
Syrup
Fahrenheit
Cliché
Futon
Floor
Guess which words are native or foreign
Moose (NA)
Bandage
Elixir (Greek)
Bathroom
Delicatessen (Ger)
Bonkers
Capital
Garage (Fr)
Lemon (Persian)
Skunk (NA)
Tapioca (SA Indian)
Llama (SA Quechua)
Handbag
Typhoon (Chi)
Stone
Canoe (NA Indian)
Admiral (Arabic)
Nippy
Squash (NA Indian)
Coffee (Arabic)
Syrup (Arabic)
Fahrenheit (Ger)
Cliché (Fr)
Futon (Japanese)
Floor
Globalization Estimated that up to 9,000 languages have
disappeared
Half the remaining 6,900 languages are endangered
Globalization affects this because it promotes the success of few languages that can be used widely
More people now speak English as their second language (350 million) than as their first language (320 million)
This is closely tied to national and ethnic identities so preservation is important
Why don’t we want to lose these languages?
Assignment Article “Does English Still Borrow Words” and
questions
Video Log: Endangered Languages (http://www.voanews.com/content/rosetta-project-preserves-key-to-endangered-languages/1713317.html)
Why is it important to document languages spoken by small groups?
How can this help us understand other languages (“decoder ring”)?
HW #3 “Lost for Words”
Questions (also on class webpage):
1. Everett argues “that the Piraha’s peculiar language is shaped not by some innante language instinct,… but by their extraordinary culture.” Do you agree with this? How does this connect to Whorf and linguistic relativity?
2. Describe how the Piraha have a “practical” view of their spiritual world. Give examples.
3. How does their culture prevent them from using numbers or counting?
4. How does this language provide evidence against universal grammar?
5. The Piraha language has very few phonemes (sounds). Is it a simple or ‘less-evolved’ language?
