Anthro Midterm

The Relationship of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language

Whorf - Though/Behavior and impact on Language

What was Whorf’s hypothesis about about language?

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, suggests that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview and cognition, implying that language shapes thought.

What does Hopi believe about time?

Time is an indefinite thing and we experience it when we experience it 

How do Hopi relate time to physical objects?

They perceive time as connected to events rather than a linear progression, suggesting that time is not a quantifiable entity like physical objects.

• 10 rocks; but not 10 days; 10th day

• use different adjectives and numbers to refer to time than to physical time

What is SAE perception of time?

adjectives can be used to describe time and physical objects a like 10 minutes;10 rocks

• Linear construct: past, present, future

Tense system for Hopi?

• Realis: things that you know for sure; present, past, saw with your own eyes

• Irrealis: things that you don't know for sure; future, hypotheticals, hearsay

• Thinks in terms of process and preparation: everything unique like a plant, shaped by process of growth

Lakoff and Johnson’s take on metaphors associated with time?

we rarely talk about time in literal terms

Utilize metaphors based on our experiences of movement and space

• Time is valuable; "You're wasting my time," "I don't have time to spare,"

• Running out of time

Metaphors to describe anger - Lakoff

• Related to physiology of anger: adrenaline - blood pressure - internal anger

Catherine Lutz’s main argument

emotions are “unnatural” - they are not biologically given but culturally constructed and filled with symbolic meaning

General Ifaluk belief of emotion

Ifaluk ethnopsychology views emotions as, above all, relational, social, and communicative tools

vs.

Western perspectives that often view emotions as individualistic, internal, and often irrational states

Lutz - Unnatural Emotions

Lutz on American view of emotions

Love - romantic love, towards people close to you, or someone you take care of

• also for activities and thing

• characteristics who like about someone else

American anger

Anger - anger is something we dont have control over

• explained by Lakoff: anger is heat; anger is pressure

• cant control it, but can be fuel to energize

Ifaluk love

Love:

• Fago - sadness, compassion, love

• love and affection, caring for someone else

• someone who is a calm and gentle person

• like pity

• felt for those less fortunate; children, someone with no family

Ifaluk anger

Anger: Many different types of anger

• Song - justifiable anger

  • reaction when someone does smth immoral

  • hierarchal divide

• Tang: frustration about misfortune

• etc.

What does Star Treck tell us about emotion?

Spock (Star Treck)

• cold and emotionless

• can make the rational decisions - functions on brain power

Trump and presidents - Should they be emotional

irrational, erratic, driven by emotions

fine line between passion and overemotional outbursts

Lakoff and Koveses - Model of Anger in English

What is Lakoff and Kovecses’ argument about American assumptions about anger and how these are embedded in our language?

metaphors for anger rooted in bodily experience

• Literally feeling body heat up and become irrational

1. The body is a container: "He was bursting with anger."

2. Anger is heat: "You make my blood boil."

3. Intensity is fluid level: "His anger welled up inside him."

4. Loss of control is explosion: "He blew his top.

Pronouns of solidarity

TU

• informal - shows solidarity

• we are close, friends, same type of peroson

• lower status pronoun

• less ambiguity between people

  • talking to person

  • know them weel

  • equal or lower status

Vous

• formal

• we don not know each other well, formal situation

• higher status

• ambiguity

  • youre a stranger

  • higher status than me

  • talking to a group

What historical events affected use of pronouns?

Middle ages:

• shift in social standards

• Nobles used vous mutually among themselves to show respect, while tu was restricted to close peers, family, or intimate friends.

French Rev:

• change in vous and tu - we are all one - more common to us “tu”

• rise of a new middle class

• increased usage of vous to avoid appearing rude or wrongly assuming equality

1960s:

• radical youngsters calling professors informally with “tu”

Impacts of pronouns

1. Social divisions through pronouns 

2. Today, we don't have tu and vous as common pronouns 

3. Terms of address: what you call someone when you are talking to them; mommy

4. Terms of reference: what you call someone when talking about them; my mother

Masculine pronouns are not only for boys

Japanese pronouns: What are their implication formality, age, politeness

• boku/ore (masculine) being used by highshcool girls

  • assert dominance, independence, coolness, creating new assertive personas

  • Boku: young-masculine, kindve like mamas boy

  • Ore: informal, assertive

vs.

• watashi/atashi (feminine) rejected by school girls

  • watashi: polite, neutral

  • atashi: feminine, cute, informal - most rejected

More about the high school girls:

• girls would act in other “not polite” ways

• Also used uchi, which is considered less feminine and more gender neutral

What is “Portrait of a Whiteman”?

• Apache find Anglo American offensive/humorous

• INterpertive and social function to jokes

Jokes make fun of:

1. Insensitivity and Loudness

• lack coolness of Apache - loud, pushy, disruptive

2. Excessive Familiarity/Lack of respect

• break social boundaries

• treating everyone as close friends

• kissing, shaking hands, talking too much

3. Arrogant Incompetence

• they think they know everything while knowing nothing abt local culture, social behavior, and landscape

4. Ignorance of of proper interaction

• dont respect privacy or personal space

Apache serious vs. non serious jokes

1. playful - jokes are considered not serious bc they are humorous, exaggerated performances

• told in relaxed social setting

2. “Serious” -symbolic power - jokes convey accurate, exaggerated, criticisms of behavior that goes against Apache cultural identity.

American jokes

1. nterpret a situation or person that causes anxiety in a way that brings some relief - showing everyone has the same experience 

2. Social function = using jokes to bond groups of people together and/or let people know when their behavior is unacceptable 

Function of “Karen”

• socially accepted way of creating standard

• white privilege and entitlement

• make fun and judge unruly behavior

• empower the weaker person in the dynamic

Interpretive (cognitive) Function of Joke

• help Apache make sense of the “Whiteman”

• create structure model of behavior

• turn irritating actions intro comprehensible and laughable thing

Social Function

• serve as commentary, cultural criticism

• psychological “self defense”

• flip power dynamic by making fun of oppressor

Fijian Joke system

Kai Colo

Hillbilly jokes

• people who are not sophisticated

• don’t speak English well

  • mom mixing up Englsih terms

• don’t brush their teeth

• get excited about Mcdonalds

viaviakaivalagi

Want to be a Whiteman

• jokes people who try to act like Whitemen

  • Fijian women ‘sorority squatting’ with Fiji bottle

  • friend tease and join her in the squat

• bond group together around common fear of appearing unsophisticated

• at the same time distance yourself from people who really are unsophisticated

Cultish

Why do people join cultish movements?

• cohesive and unique ideology

• charismatic leader

• us-them mentality

• strong sense of community

  • too many choices in individual capitalist systems

• motivate you to behave in new ways

How do cult groups use language to people to join?

Code switching

• Jim Jones (The Peoples Temple)

Love bombing

• “God loves you just the way you are”

• “Your neighbor may gossip about you, but God knows who you really are”

• make people feel special

• charismatic leader is key here - can entertain whatever a specific person need

In-group language

• us-them mentality

• strong sense of community

  • Desire to belong to a community; to contribute to something larger than oneself

Loaded Language

• emotionally charged

• implies ideology

  • mass suicide - Revolutionary act

  • mainstream Christianity - Luciferian

New terms + Names

• Give existing terms new meaning

What psychological tools are used to get people in cultish movements?

Gaslighting

• isolate one away from regular support system

Confirmation bias

• notice things that confirm the belief system

Loss aversion

• tendency to feel loss more than gains and try to avoid loss 

Keep people from questioning cults

Scientology

• Buy levels of enlightenment

• Engrams: subconscious command like recordings in the mind; could be from past life 

• Auditors: help individuals understand their engrams and clear their associated mental block

The People’s Temple

• Jim Jones

• mass suicide - rev. suicide

  • lang. tool used to reframe death

Other movements worth mentioning

Neplali Love Letters

How has literacy empowered women?

• writing love letters has allowed for women to have more agency in choosing their love partner

• give women more access to information

• change from arranged marriage where all the choice in his the family

• can contribute to economic development - utopian theory

How does it preserve gender hierarchies?

• physical evidence that can be used against women

what are the components literacy vs. media as form of communication?

• just because there is access does not mean that everyone is gonna pick up the Communist Manifesto

• media can be many forms of things

Face-face comm. vs. literacy

Literacy: affordances of phone:

• gives access to more info

• long distance comm

• privacy

• persistence - record stays around

• spreadable - can be sent to people

How do affordances help us understand the impact of a media of communication.?

Affordances: properties of media comm. That “make possible

• sometimes encourage, certain types of practices, even if they do not determine what practices will unfold 

1. Things you can do easily 

2. Things you cant do easily 

3. Things that enable what you might not have intended

Mobile Secrets

Why were phones predicted to lead to economic development?

• access automatically is assumed to bring economic development

• give more access about the market

• MPesa - easy to buy different phone plans

• connection to health services

• improve job access software developers

Why have they failed for economic improvemnt?

• remote regions do not have same access

Define: politics of pretense

everyone wants to manage impressions

Things effecting mozambique

• post cviivl war until 1922

• impact to countries infrastructure and lack of stable economy

• loss of civil service jobs that used to go to youth - change in structural policies

---

leads to:

• blocked aspirations

• generation of youth who is educated and expected to get reasonable office jobs

• few jobs actually available

What are the economic and historical factors that cause people to want to hide what they are doing and to keep up a public facade?

• men cant provide

• women cheating and having more than one partner in order to live well

How have marriage practices changed over the past 50 years?

traditional:

marriage as a contract bt two groups + labolo echnage

• women have to e modest

• family honor controlling women

• namorar= dating

  • men stalk and lurk

  • echane letters

  • women must stya modest

change:

young men gain more agency

• had their own money

• chose wives out of love and pay their own bride wealth

• men are established as providers

young men could no longer be providers

• no ciil service job = no money

• men still expected to provide

• women now have to also take on provider role for family

• still notion of respectability

What are the expectations of males and females in relationships?

• men are providers

• if woman has multiple partner = secret — aided by rovacy of phone

• overall lack of trust between partners

How do men and women use mobile phones in order to pursue goals and keep up a good appearance at the same time?

• women make men buy them things, including cell phone hours

• women have multiple relationships in order to get by

  • some women sell their bodies

• still must do pervasive acts in secrecy

Define: “chular”

exchanging sexual favors for material things

Describe the ways young women use phones to cultivate a number of relationships

How do mobile phones facilitate redistribution and decrease the gap between those with resources and those without

Describe the ways mobile phones have “subverted” gender expectations.

affordances of cell phone in Mozambique

• communicate over long distances faster than landline or letter

• cheaper than landlines

• can communicate with very little money

• you can text; more private

• images and preset messages if you are illiterate