Language and Communication Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about language and communication.

Enculturation

The process of learning and becoming part of a culture through language.

Kinesis

The study of gestures, facial expressions, and body movements in communication.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

The theory that the language you speak shapes how you think and how you perceive the world.

Sociolinguistics

The study of how language connects to society, including its relation to social class and hierarchy.

Deborah Tannen

Observed that boys and girls in America use body language differently (1990).

Noam Chomsky

Proposed that all humans have a built-in ability to learn language, with brains following universal rules.

Robin Lakoff

Observed that women use more 'hedge words' such as maybe and sort of.

Pierre Bourdieu

Studied how 'official' English is treated as better than Black English Vernacular (BEV).