ANTH 1101 2 October Language Language or dialect Combining languages pidgins and creoles o Dialect is a variant of a language spoken in a certain geographical area the number of speakers and the area itself can be of any size possible sub dialects o However the distinction between a language and a dialect is very subjective and often influenced by cultural and political factors o Max Weinreich A language is a dialect with an army and a navy China mutually unintelligible dialects but they re all Hindi and Urdu mutually intelligible but considered two considered one language separate languages o Dialects are varying forms of a language that reflect particular regions or social classes and that are similar enough to be mutually intelligible American Tongues o Pidgin language is a simplified language usually a hybrid of two languages e g English and Wolof which is used for communication between those two linguistic groups usually one ruling and one being ruled Usually colonialism and slavery o Creole language is a pidgin language which has been learned as a first language by the children of pidgin speakers and has become elaborated through use into a fully developed language Cajun o The Ebonics debate what s at stake Suite for Ebony and Phonics John Rickford Ebonics is not slang it is a dialect because it share many words and other features with other informal varieties of American English but has distinctive patterns of pronunciation and grammar Oakland School Board approved a resolution recognizing it as the primary language of African American students o Africanisms in American English David Dalby Languages in Senegal host of slave trade sites Language and power o Linguistic nationalism refers to attempts by whole countries to proclaim their independence from outside influence or domination by purging their language s of foreign terms Can also refer to efforts to revive dying or lost languages associated with a particular living group Ex Zaire revival France and Japan protectionism For the Wampanoag of Southeastern Massachusetts cultural identity has become inseparable from language revival o Ethnic minorities and immigrant communities Language as identity as a unique and special heritage ANTH 1101 2 October Helps the group preserve boundaries and autonomy outside dominant language For precisely this reason states and other powerful institutions often pressure minority groups to learn the dominant language and abandon their own Types of specialized vocabularies o Slang is informal or unauthorized language consisting of words and expressions considered inappropriate for formal use it develops freely and changes quickly and is often associated with a particular group o A technical vocabulary is a set of words used within a particular profession that has been developed by professionals in the field they may be found in glossaries manuals etc o A focal vocabulary is a set of words and distinctions that are particularly important to certain groups those with particular foci of experience or activity such as types of snow to Eskimos or skiers May be or can include slang but is distinct from technical vocabularies Focal vocabularies give insight into what is centrally important to a group the group They may also reveal implicit cultural models shared within Ex the Nuer have approximately 400 words for cattle Ex cocktail waitresses 2 October ANTH 1101 Human Ecology environment How do humans extract food and other needed resources from their How do these extractive practices shape human culture And how does human culture shape extractive practices Typologies of human food production and resource extraction Ecology and culture Adaptation o Interaction between changes an organism makes on its environment and changes an environment makes on an organism o Behavioral changes o Adaptation doesn t produce the best extraction solution but a workable solution o Hunting and Gathering Hunting wild animals and gathering wild plant foods as a way Oldest and most universal form of human adaptation to the Only a quarter of a million people support themselves this way Of all humans ever living about 90 percent were hunter of life today environment gatherers Components No farming or raising food animals Mobile lifestyle Gendered division of labor Small social groups 20 people maybe up to 100 Few possessions no permanent settlements Food sharing Few status differences egalitarian Ancient genes and modern illness The major chronic illnesses which afflict humans living in affluent industrialized Western nations are promoted by a mismatch between our genetic constitution and a variety of lifestyle factors which have bioenvironmental relevance Modern hunter gatherers live only in environments undesirable for other purposes Inuit Hunting and Gathering traditional patterns Environment scarce plant resources mobile and irregular game supply Different animals are available for exploitation in different seasons Inuit groups follow a seasonal round of movements to follow and use resources in different areas as they become available ANTH 1101 2 October o Spring salmon and trout drop off winter equipment in a cache repair skins intensive work time for women hunt using weirs o Summer fishing is the main food source family could put up 15000 pounds of fish in the summer move inland o Autumn pack up summer camps move to intercept migration paths of caribou o Winter dark and cold recover winter equipment build igloos seal hunting possible live in larger settlements some whaling Has changed a bit from government pressure environmental regulations o Pastoralism animals Form of subsistence based on care of herds of domesticated Domestication process whereby humans modify either intentionally or unintentionally the genetic makeup of a plan or animal population to make them better suited to human use Characterized by a symbiosis between humans and animals Benefits for animals protection from predators and illness help finding food help reproducing Benefits to people food blood meat dairy products other useful products leather wool mobility ability to use marginal ecological areas Primarily found in the old world Components Relatively low population density between hunter gatherers and agriculturalists All pastoralist societies supplement their subsistence somehow through hunting and gathering gardening agriculture or trade Herd animals can live off land that is too harsh cold dry rocky steep for agriculture Therefore