🗣️ DAY 2 — Language, Kinship, and Political Organization

Linguistic anthropology

Studies how language reflects and constructs culture, identity, and power.

Communication vs Language

Communication = any meaning exchange; Language = symbolic rule-based system.

Linguistic relativity

Language influences perception and worldview (Sapir–Whorf hypothesis).

Example of linguistic relativity

Russian has two words for “blue,” shaping color perception.

Metaphors in culture

Conceptual links revealing cultural values (e.g., “time is money”).

Language ideologies

Beliefs linking language forms to morality, intelligence, or class.

Example of language ideology

Appalachian English stereotyped as “uneducated.”

Face (Goffman)

A person’s desired social image during interaction.

Face-work

Strategies to maintain one’s own or another’s face through politeness.

Code-switching

Alternating between linguistic varieties depending on context.

Code-meshing

Blending speech varieties to express hybrid identity.

Speech community

Group sharing norms for language use and meaning.

Linguistic capital

Prestige gained from mastering “legitimate” language (Bourdieu).

Kinship

Cultural system defining social relationships and family.

Types of kinship

Consanguineal (blood), Affinal (marriage), Chosen/Fictive (social).

Descent systems

Matrilineal (mother), Patrilineal (father), Bilateral (both).

Matrifocal vs Matriarchal

Matrifocal = female-centered; Matriarchal = women hold authority.

Rite of passage

Ceremony marking a change in social status.

Stages of rite of passage

Separation → Liminality → Reincorporation.

Public vs Private sphere

Cultural division between work/politics and home/family.

Political organizations

Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State, Nation.

Egalitarian vs Ranked vs Stratified

Equal access / hereditary prestige / unequal class system.

Forms of power

Physical, Structural, Economic, Knowledge, Ideological, Demeanor, Nurturant.

Hegemony

Power maintained by consent through cultural common sense.

Citizenship

Legal status plus emotional/cultural belonging.

Symbols of membership

Markers like flags, passports, language, dress.

Othering

Labeling groups as outsiders to maintain hierarchy.

Counter-mapping

Reclaiming territory by redrawing maps from local perspectives.