4.2 Linguistic Anthropology Notes

The first half of the semester introduced Anthropology as a discipline and anthropological fieldwork.
Questions of cultural universals and particulars.
Aspects of economic anthropology, anthropology of religion, medical anthropology, etc.
Transitioning to linguistic anthropology: understanding the cultural aspects of language.

Language has abstract, cognitive, and biological dimensions.
Reducing language solely to these dimensions misses its richness and complexity.
Examples:
- T A ’ R O O F I N I R A N
- K A R I B U I N S W A H I L I
- BACK-CHANNELING
- PERSONAL SPACE

Important difference between linguistic competence and communicative competence.
Language is more than grammar rules and vocabulary lists; it exists in its spoken form between people.
Language exists inside and beyond the circle.
Language use and its differences are tools for identity formation and grounds for discrimination and the workings of power.

Language is inherently social; it exists only when spoken and used among people.
Language is a cultural resource, meaning we can use it to accomplish different tasks.
Language is socially embedded and culturally influenced.

Language: Is language uniquely human? What does it mean to speak a language? Does it impact the way I see the world?
Language and social interaction: How do we learn a language? And how do we learn to communicate appropriately? How are interactions socially and culturally shaped?
Language and power, language and ideologies: How is language enmeshed with cultural values and social power? How do differences or inequalities (e.g., gender, race, …) get created, reproduced, or challenged through language?