Week 4 ANTH260 Language and Linguistics Edward Sapir 1884 1939 Culture through linguistics Notion of a public discourse Sapir Whorf Hypothesis Inquiry into variation good thing Language according to Sapir Structure of language impacts the way we see the world Language is a purely human and non instinctive method of communicating ideas emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols o Very limiting definition Linguistic Anthropology Language according to Any complex system of communication Each word tasted of the context and contexts in which it has lived its socially charged life Language as a set of socially embedded practices Language is inherently social Speaking is itself a form of social action and language is a cultural resource available for people to use Not merely a set of rules an empty vehicle for expressing thoughts Slang Good standard vs bad Dynamic and changing 5 elements Phonology o Sound of language Morphology o Internal structure of words Syntax Semantics o Meaning in language Pragmatics o The use of language o Structure of sentence phrases clauses and the order of words Key Terms Multifunctionality Language Ideologies Practice Indexicality Signs and Signifiers De Saussure Icon Choo choo train Index Symbol The different kinds of work that language does such as display emotion The attitudes opinions beliefs or theories that we all have about language Structures constrain and give rise to agency and action inequality a large element of this Social reproduction and social transformation of language Language can point to something social or contextual without functioning in a referential way Sign is the link between a concept signified and a sound pattern signifier Sign that refers to its object by means of similarity Indexical sign points to object through some connection or contiguity Smoke refers to fire here or now refers to context A sign that refers to its object by virtue of convention or habit Much of language falls into this category How to Interview 1 Prepare a Topic and interest 2 Beginning the interview Informed consent privacy time a b Non directive versus directive questions c Biased versus non bias questions 3 Sustaining flow a Repeating a word tell me more b No yes no questions 4 Take notes