ANT 101 Lecture 11

Language

is the system of arbitrary symbols people use to encode their experience of the world

Phoneme

- A distinct unit of sound in a particular language
- No language makes use of all the sounds that humans can produce
- English has approximately 38 different sounds
- Different speakers of the same language can use phonemes in different patterns, creating accents

Syntax

description, sentence structure
- the study of the rules that govern sentence structure and the construction of sentences

Communicative Competence

is the mastery of adult rules for socially and culturally appropriate speech

Creole

creole languages traditionally thought of as pidgin languages that have been passed on to a new generation
- creating native speakers of the language
- ex: Haitian Creole
--> French, Portuguese, Spanish, Taino (Caribbean language), and Bantu/Kwa/Fon (West African Languages)

Pidgin

these languages develop between members of a community that possess distinct native languages
- represent a language with no native speakers
- exhibit many of the same linguistic features as non-pidgin languages although often simplified grammar
- involve the radical negotiation of new meanings

Language Endangerment

- at the beginning of the 21st century, anthropologists and linguists began working to maintain or revive languages with small numbers of native speakers
- such languages are in danger of disappearing because younger people in the speech community stop using or never learn their native language

When does language loss occur?

it occurs when there are no more native speakers

What are the 4 UNESCO levels of language endangerments?

1. Safe
2. Vulnerable (not spoken by children outside the home)
3. Definitely endangered (children not speaking)
4. Severely endangered (only spoken by the oldest generation)

What are 8 severely endangered languages in Oklahoma?

- Comache
- Wichita
- Kiowa
- Caddo
- Chickasaw
- Muskogee
- Shawnee
- Yuchi

Speech Communities

languages that are associated with specific groups of people
- members of a _____ speak more often with each other than with other people

What is the structure and nature of animal communications and how does it differ from human communication?

- human language depends on symbols
--> symbolic language
--> creative use of symbols to communicate
- animal communication expresses emotions
--> responses to stimuli

Terrence Deacon

- suggests that human call systems coevolved with human symbolic language
- identifies 6 different human calls

What are the 6 human calls Deacon identified?

- laughing
- sobbing
- screaming with fright
- crying with pain
- groaning
- sighing

Examples of nonverbal communication:

- Clothes that people wear
- length of time people keep others waiting for them
- body gestures, or kinesics
- the acceptable distance between 2 or more people in a social setting, or proxemics
- call systems

Chomsky's Concept of Universal Grammar

the human brain contains a predefined mechanism (universal grammar) that is the basis for the acquisition of all language

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

suggests that language has the power to shape the way people see the world
- we don't just shape language to the way we view the world, language shapes us

What do sociolinguists study?

they study language in its social context

What do historical linguists study?

they study how language changes over time