Chapter 3- Bonvillain
Language and Cultural Meaning
Foundations of Linguistic Anthropology
OUTLINE: Sapir Whorf Linguistic Relativity Boas’ research among the Yupik (Inuit) Cultural Emphasis Ethnosemantics
– Cultural presupposition– Extended and transferred meaning
Cultural Emphasis
Boas: Language a window into culture
Culture reflected in language– Elaboration of vocabulary– Finer distinctions between items
Inuit snow, seals Nuer cattle U.S. sports
•www.alaskool.org
Ethnoscience as Method
From Cultural Emphasis to Ethnosemantics
Cognitive anthropology/ethno science or ethno semantics
Ethosemantics as a Field Method– Emic & Etic perspectives
Hanunóo Color Terms
Dark Light Fresh Dry Reflecting an agricultural focus.
Linguistic Relativity
Languages are different Languages are arbitrary systems Differences are not predictable
Searching for Universals
Berlin & Kay– Basic color terms
Focal points vs boundaries Sequence
– black & white– add red– add green or yellow– ditto– add blue– add brown– add purple, pink, orange, and/or gray
– Problems: defining basic; no ‘standard’ measure.
How Culture Reflects Language
Linguistic Determinism Sapir… Whorf…
– Strong Whorf…– Weaker Whorf…
Examples… Experiments….
Linguistic Determinism
“Human beings . . . are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society.” (Sapir 1929)
“we cannot talk at all except by subscribing to the organization and classification of data” (Whorf 1940).
Sapir
“The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached.” (Sapir 1929).
Whorf
“We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages.” (Whorf 1940)
Strong Whorf– Language determines thought
Weaker Whorf– Language influences thought.
Examples of Linguistic Determinism: Hopi
time = a process units of time = cycles passage of time = endless repetition of
same cycle.
Experiments in Linguistic Determinism: Yucatec
Grammar stresses material– Connects words for wood, tree, table
Individuals group cardboard items together.
Experiments in Linguistic Determinism: English
Grammar stresses shape– Different words for wood, tree, table
Individuals group boxes together.
Cultural Presupposition
Participants in a speech interaction come to encounters with an array of knowledge and understandings of their culture as expressed and transmitted through language.– Shirley Temple & Punky Brewster– Topo Gigio– El Chavo del Ocho & Cantinflas
Extended and Transferred Meaning
Metaphor & Metonymy Metaphors
– Metaphors of Kinship– Metaphors of the Body– Other metaphors?
Metonymy Review article:Shakespeare in the Bush