Linguistics

Linguistic anthropology

the study of human language including their structure, history, and relation to social and cultural contexts

Language

a system of symbols with standard meanings, though which members of a society are able to communicate; it is an integral part of culture

Communication

the act of transferring information to others

Non-human communication and how it differs from human language

productivity: flexibility and creativity

displacement: humans have communication with highly abstract concepts; able to refers to past, present and future

Arbitrariness: worlds have a direct connection with the concrete objects or abstracts symbols they represent

combining sounds to produce meaning

Descriptive linguistics

phonology: the study of the sounds in language and how they are used

morphology: the study of how sound sequences convey meaning

lexicon: the words and morphs, and their meanings, of a language

syntax: set of rules (conscious or unconscious) underlying how sentences or phrases are constructed in language

Origins of language

• possibly 50,000 years ago

• likely a genetic component (FOXP2 Gene)

• not solely biological

• pidgin and creole languages may resemble early human language