Anthro 4 Final

Abjad

A writing system in which each letter represents a consonant, while vowels are left out and inferred by the reader. One symbol = one consonant. (Hebrew, Arabic, Ugaritic)

Abugida

A type of writing system where each primary character represents a consonant combined with a default "inherent" vowel. One symbol = consonant + vowel. (Brahmic, Ethiopic)

Logogram

A single written symbol or character that represents an entire word or meaningful unit of language (a morpheme). One symbol = one concept. (Chinese, Japanese, Mayan Script)

Syllabary

A writing system in which each distinct symbol represents a single spoken syllable. (Katakana Japanese, Cherokee, Mayan Script)

Alphabet

A writing system where one symbol represents one sound. One symbol = one sound. (Latin, English, Spanish)

Semasiograph

A symbol or sign used to communicate meaning directly without representing spoken words. (Red stop octagon, hazard triangles)

Rebus Principle

Using existing symbols to represent the sound of a word rather than its meaning. (I

Cuneiform

The oldest writing system. Wedge shaped marks on clay tablets for 3000 years in the Ancient Near East. (Elamite, Hurrian, Hittite)

Hieroglyphs

A writing system that uses pictorial characters to represent objects, ideas, or spoken sounds. (Ancient Egyptian Writing, Mayan Writing)

Turtle Shell Divination

A 1600 BCE Chinese practice of cracking turtle shells, oracle bones, and ox bones in fire for divine knowledge.

Hangul

The writing system for the Korean language. Created by King Sejong in 1443.

Sequoyah

A Native American that created the Cherokee Syllabary in the 1810s.

King Sejong

One of the kings of Korea. Created Hangul for the Korean language.

Mesrop Mashtots

In 405 CE he developed the Armenian Script.

Yuri Knorozov

Russian linguist that decoded the Mayan Script. (Evil cat guy)

Orthography vs Script

Different languages may use the same writing system (script) but an orthography that represents phonemes (small units of sound that distinguish one word from another) differently. (Honor vs honour, recognize vs recognise)

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

A standardized system of symbols used to represent the sounds of spoken language. It provides a one-to-one match between a speech sound (phoneme) and its written symbol. The IPA is not based on what we speak but how we speak anatomically and linguistically.

Place of Articulation (IPA)

Defines the exact location in the vocal tract where airflow is restricted or blocked to produce a consonant. It describes where the sound is made.

Manner of Articulation (IPA)

Describes how the vocal tract (lips, tongue, and throat) restricts airflow to produce consonant sounds.

Vernacularization

The process of translating and adapting ideas, texts, or global concepts from a high-status, formal language (like Latin or classical Sanskrit) into a local, everyday spoken language. It makes knowledge accessible to the general public and promotes cultural identity. (Through the printing press and the mass market of readers)

Liturgical Language

A language formally used by religious communities for worship, prayer, and sacred texts, even though the practitioners may speak a different primary language in their daily lives. (Hebrew, Latin)

Print Capitalism

Benedict Anderson’s theory describing how the mass production and commercial distribution of printed materials (newspapers and books) in vernacular languages helped create modern nation-states.

Martin Luther

The printing press allowed him to share his revolutionary ideas and spark mass readership and the Protestant Reformation. (Nailed his theses to the chapel door)

Benedict Anderson

A political scientist known for theorizing that the circulation of print is the reason for the rise of the modern nation state.

Nation

“An imagined political community - and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign”. Nationalism should be studied more like kinship or religion, than as other “-isms” or politics or philosophy.

Reformation

A 16th century political and religious upheaval in Europe. Splintering Western Christianity and giving birth to Protestantism.

The Jesuit Relations

A collection of annual reports, correspondence, and journals written by French Jesuit missionaries operating in New France (North America) between 1610 and 1791. They serve as some of the most critical primary records for early Indigenous languages in North America.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized reason, science, and individual rights.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Philosopher that was critical of The Enlightenment. He helped inspire the French Revolution.

Kondiaronk

Native American Wendat chief that signed the Peace of Montreal. A treaty that ended decades of war between the French, Dutch, and dozens of other native tribes.

Oka Crisis

A violent 78 day standoff between the Canadian government and the Mohawk Nation. Caused by a golf course officially sitting on native land.

Noble Savage

A stereotype suggests that "primitive" human beings are morally superior because they live in harmony with nature and are uncorrupted by societal greed, materialism, and artificial laws. The archetype contrasts the perceived moral corruption of modern societies with the idyllic simplicity of indigenous or pre-civilized life.

The Myth of the Myth of the Noble Savage

The stereotype of the Noble Savage was never true. Being called an inferior breed or the embodiment of ancient wisdom are equally as annoying.

Schismogenesis

Coined by Gregory Bateson in the 1930s to describe how individuals or groups define their social identities and behaviors in opposition to one another, leading to progressive differentiation. (Counterculture, nerds vs jocks)

Selective Writing Systems

Visual scripts that represent a portion of speech. Can be adapted to express abstract ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc.

Bound Writing Systems

Rigidly tied to specific, unalterable ritual contexts. Its sole purpose is to allow the reader to remember some piece of specific information, nothing more.

Winter Count

A historical record and document of every winter. A winter count keeper would keep track of all the counts that came before.

Indigenous Language Families of California

Uto-Aztecan, Athabaskan, Algic, Hokan, Chumashan, Penutian, Yuki–Wappo,

Athanaskan Languages

Hupa, Navajo, Apache

Uto-Aztecan Languages

Aztecan, Nahuatl, Corachol, Taracahitan/Tepiman

Chumash Languages

Obispeño, Barbareño, Purisima, Cuyama, Emigdiano, Ventureño, Cruzeño

Algic Languages

Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwa), Fox, Micmac, Cree, Miami, Shawnee

Iroquoian Languages

Cherokee, Huron, Seneca, Onondaga, Nottoway

US State Names Language Origins

Algonquian, Iroquoian, Uto-Aztecan, Hawaiian, Spanish, French, Latin, etc.

Media Ideologies

People’s beliefs, attitudes, and strategies about the media that they use that function in ways parallel to how language ideologies function. (Media in text messages, vs on socials, vs on email, vs in a handwritten letter)

Counterpublic

Alternative social spaces, discourses, or communities formed by marginalized groups to challenge mainstream narratives, foster solidarity, and articulate their own identities and political interests.

Emic vs Etic

The emic perspective represents the "insider's" viewpoint, while the etic perspective represents the "outsider's" viewpoint. Emic is a category recognized within a community. Etic is a category only recognized by analysis.

Bahasa Gay

Slang or coded languages developed by LGBTQ+ communities in Southeast Asia, most notably in Indonesia and the Philippines. It functions as playful wordplay, a tool for discreet communication, and a way to build community and shared identity.

Polari

Secret slang and coded language historically used in the UK among the queer community, as well as by actors, circus performers, and sailors.

Cryptolect

A specialized variety of language used by a specific subculture or social group. It is deliberately designed to be obscure, misleading, or unintelligible to outsiders, allowing the "in-group" to communicate privately, build solidarity, and maintain group boundaries.