ANT206 LEC2

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Prepared by Dr. Elaine McIlwraith

ANT206H5S – Cultures & Communication
Week 2 – Language, Thought and Culture & Their Relation to Signs
Land Acknowledgement

  • Acknowledge the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, Seneca, and Mississaugas of the Credit where the University of Toronto operates.

  • Recognize that this meeting place is still home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island.

  • Emphasizes the importance of wording and recognition in social environments.

    • Reference ongoing discussions about land acknowledgment.

    • UTM Student Union's proposal to amend current acknowledgment to include treaty language.

    • Treaty 13 and Treaty 13-A boundaries and their legal disputes leading to a settlement of $145 million with the Mississaugas of the Credit in 2010.

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Course Announcements

  • Review of last week’s topics:

    • Semiotics & Signs

    • Icons & Symbols

    • Indexes and Indexicality (in depth)

    • Revisit Language as Social Action

Plan for Today

  • Topics to be discussed:

    • Language, Thought & Culture

    • Linguistic Relativity

    • The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

    • Studying Language Influences and Effects on Thought

Course Administration

  • Quercus Updates:

    • Access syllabus menu items and updated links to readings.

    • Reminder to read the correct chapter (John Lucy’s “Linguistic Relativity”) for this week’s tutorial.

    • Lecture PowerPoint PDFs available in Quercus under “Modules”.

    • Continue working on proposals and suggested readings are now active under “Library Resources”.

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Volunteer Note-Taking Opportunity

  • UTM Accessibility Services recruiting volunteer note-takers to assist students with disabilities.

    • Responsibilities include:

      • Taking notes for in-person and online lectures.

      • Uploading notes to the Accessibility note-taker database.

    • Registration process includes logging in through UTORid, uploading typed or scanned handwritten notes.

    • Note-takers receive official recognition on their Co-Curricular Record (CCR) for their contributions.

Review of Last Week

  • Topics discussed included:

    • Definition of Linguistic Anthropology & Sociolinguistics.

    • Differences between Linguistics and Linguistic Anthropology.

    • Five linguistic components.

    • Four key terms in Linguistic Anthropology.

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Questions to Jog Our Memory

  • Difference between Chomskyan-Saussurian and Anthropological Linguistic Approaches:

    • Chomsky & Saussure focus on abstract principles and grammar.

    • Linguistic Anthropologists view language as socially situated and inseparable from cultural contexts.

  • Importance of Learning about Saussure and Chomsky:

    • Saussure's foundational theories shape the study of language today.

    • New adaptations of Saussurean principles regularly emerge in linguistics.

Basic Components of Language

  • Five Basic Components:

    • Phonology

    • Morphology

    • Syntax

    • Semantics

    • Pragmatics

  • Multifunctionality of Language:

    • Language serves multiple functions, not merely to convey information.

    • Functions include:

      • Referential

      • Expressive

      • Conative

      • Poetic

      • Phatic

      • Metalinguistic.

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Semiotics & Signs

  • Semiotics: The study of signs.

  • Components of a Sign (Charles S. Peirce):

    • Three parts:

      • The sign (conceptual representation).

      • The object (physical thing represented).

      • The interpretant (meaning created as a result of the sign).

  • Types of Signs:

    • Icons: Relations based on similarity (e.g. drawings, diagrams).

    • Symbols: Relations formed by convention (e.g. national flags).

    • Indexes: Signs that refer to specific contexts (e.g. “here”, “now”).

  • Sign Requires Both Components:

    • Saussure’s distinction:

      • Signified (concept) vs. Signifier (sound pattern).

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Semiotics Study Continuation

  • Understanding Semiosis:

    • How signs achieve meaning and signify things.

  • Peirce's Types of Signs:

    • Icon: Resemblance to the object (e.g. photographs).

    • Symbol: Based on convention rather than resemblance (e.g. language).

    • Index: Direct correlation to the object in some measurable way (e.g. smoke indicates fire).

Examples of Signs

  • Icons:

    • Example: Onomatopoeic words like “buzz” for bees.

Visuals

  • Source for example cartoons and phonetics.

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Examples of Multilingual Roosters

  • Various cultural representations of the rooster's call across languages showcasing iconographic representation.

Comparisons across Languages

  • Afrikaans: koekeloekoe

  • Bengali: kuk-ku-ruk-kooo

  • French: cocorico

  • Japanese: コケコッコー (kokekokkō)

  • Spanish: quiquiriquí

  • German: kikeriki

  • More examples spanning multiple languages to show indexical representation in sound.

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Symbols in Semiotics

  • Symbol Definition:

    • A symbol relates to its object through established conventions.

  • Cultural and National Symbols:

    • Examples: National flags, emblems, and signs of importance.

  • Discusses the role of symbols in communicating societal values and rules.

Indexicality

  • Discuss Peirce’s view of signs and its relevance in understanding language's cultural roles.

    • Indexical signs connect language to specific social moments and identities.

  • Examples:

    • Referring to particular locations or communities.

    • Indexicals signify not just objects but also social identities (e.g. accents, registers).

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Functions of Indexes and Indexicality

  • Indexical signs serve as context-dependent pointers that indicate time, space, social relations, etc.

  • Examples of indexical usage

    • Contextual associations and meanings of spoken indices (e.g. codeswitching).

Nuance in Indexicality

  • Indexes demonstrate the social and cultural intricacies surrounding language, reflecting identity and contextual relationships.

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Characteristics of Indexical Signs

  • Indexical signs establish connections within specific contexts, deeply immersed in social situations.

  • Can be responsive to both gestural and verbal cues, anchoring contexts of communication (exophoric and anaphoric uses).

Scope and Flexibility of Indexes

  • The significance of indexical language varies based on the context, including vast implications and adaptations.

  • Can transpose meanings across settings (e.g. quotes).

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Importance of Indexicality

  • Indexicality is emphasized as a universal feature of human language, crucial in sociolinguistic studies and understanding nuances in communication.

  • Challenges surrounding studying indexicality in linguistic frameworks include social contexts and individual references.

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Language as Social Action

  • Language serves not just informational purposes, but also as a vehicle for societal power dynamics.

  • Recognizes the role of language in social action, evaluation, and reproduction of cultural norms.

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Linguistic Relativity Overview

  • Explores how different languages influence perceptions and cognitive processes.

  • Examining language as it pertains to thoughts, feelings, and societal worldviews.

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Language & Thought Inquiry

  • Questions about the influence of language on thought:

    • Does language itself impact cognitive processes?

    • Do specific languages shape ways of thinking?

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Reflection Questions on Language and Culture

  • Considerations for personal experiences and effects of learning new languages.

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Interconnections Among Language, Thought, and Culture

  • Discussion highlights mutual influence among these domains, presenting how language shapes experiences and cultural understanding.

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Theory of Linguistic Relativity

  • Historically linked to Romanticism and theorists like Humboldt, Boas, Sapir, and Whorf.

  • Challenges conventional thoughts by illustrating the diverse cognitive processes through linguistic practices.

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Whorf and the Study of Hopi

  • Whorf’s Analysis of Hopi Language:

    • Compared Hopi to Standard American English emphasizing views on time and its experience.

  • Grammatical Differences:

    • Hopi is non-objectifying and cyclical in describing time versus English’s quantitative approach.

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The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

  • Misinterpretations of Sapir and Whorf led to contrasting views on linguistic determinism and predispositional influences of language on thought.

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Studying Linguistic Relativity

  • Review of previous studies’ limitations and suggestions for a more nuanced empirical understanding of language, thought, and culture.

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Language in General

  • Examination of language’s existence and its impact on cognition (prelinguistic vs. language acquisition).

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Linguistic Structures

  • Focused analysis on how specific linguistic features influence cognitive aspects (semantic domains, grammatical categories).

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Language in Use

  • Investigation into how specific social language use influences thought and perception through habitual patterns in different contexts.

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Reminders for Next Class

  • Notifications regarding upcoming group activity and reading assignments related to gestures, emphasizing a continuation of semiotic studies.



Key words to memorise

Sign

A unit of meaning made of a form + concept.

Signifier

The sound/image used to represent something.

Signified

The concept or idea represented.

Arbitrariness

No natural link between word and meaning.

Icon

A sign that resembles what it represents.

Index

A sign that points to context (place, time, identity).

Symbol

A sign based on cultural convention.

Interpretant (Peirce)

The meaning created in the mind of the interpreter.

Object (Peirce)

The thing the sign refers to.

Indexicality

How language points to social or physical context.

Multifunctionality

Language performs multiple functions beyond reference.

Pragmatics

How context shapes meaning.

Linguistic Relativity

Language influences habitual thought.

Determinism (Strong Whorf)

Language controls thought (rejected).

Predisposition (Weak Whorf)

Language influences tendencies in thought.

Semiotic Relativity

Having language at all affects cognition.

Structural Relativity

Specific grammatical structures shape thought.

Discursive Relativity

Patterns of language use shape thinking.

Habitual Thought

Ways of thinking reinforced by everyday language use.

Registers

Socially recognized ways of speaking.

Semiosis

The process by which a sign creates meaning through the interaction of sign, object, and interpretant.

Metalinguistic Function

Using language to talk about language.






Copilot review of notes

ANT206 – Week 2 Summary: Language, Thought, Culture & Signs

1. Course Announcements

  • Check Quercus for updated reading links and Week 2 tutorial readings.

  • Read John Lucy’s “Linguistic Relativity” (not Hillewaert yet).

  • Lecture PDFs are under Modules.

  • Suggested Reading List for essays is now available.

  • Volunteer note-taker opportunity with Accessibility Services.

2. Review of Week 1

Key distinctions

  • Chomsky & Saussure: focus on abstract grammar and internal linguistic structure.

  • Linguistic Anthropology: language is inherently social and inseparable from cultural context.

Five components of language

Phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics.

Multifunctionality

Language does more than refer to things—also expressive, conative, poetic, phatic, metalinguistic functions.

3. Semiotics & Signs

Saussure

  • Sign = signifier (sound pattern) + signified (concept)

  • Relationship is arbitrary and linear.

Peirce’s Three-Part Model

  • Sign (conceptual representation)

  • Object (thing being represented)

  • Interpretant (meaning produced in the mind)

Three Types of Signs

  1. Icons – similarity (images, diagrams, onomatopoeia)

  2. Symbols – arbitrary, conventional (stop signs, zodiac symbols)

  3. Indexes – point to context (here, now, you; accents; registers)

4. Indexicality

  • Shows how language anchors meaning in social context.

  • Indexicals can point to:

    • Time/place (“here”, “now”)

    • People (“I”, “you”)

    • Social categories (accents, registers)

  • Meaning depends on:

    • Context of use

    • Cultural norms

    • Linguistic embedding

  • Indexicals have a directive function—they guide interpretation and social action.

5. Language as Social Action

  • Language doesn’t just describe the world—it shapes social reality.

  • Words carry power to influence behavior, identity, and social structures.

  • Duranti: language helps reproduce cultural and social worlds.

6. Language, Thought & Culture

Core question

Does language influence how we think?

Linguistic Anthropology’s stance

  • Language, thought, and culture are mutually influential, not one-directional.

  • Rejects strict determinism.

7. Linguistic Relativity (Sapir–Whorf)

Boas

  • Languages differ but are equally complex.

  • Language may reveal unconscious cultural patterns.

Sapir

  • Language habits predispose how we interpret reality.

Whorf

  • Studied Hopi vs. English:

    • Hopi: cyclical, process-oriented time

    • English: segmented, quantifiable time

  • Led to the idea of Whorfian effects.

Two versions of the hypothesis

  • Strong (deterministic): language determines thought (rejected).

  • Moderate (predispositional): language influences tendencies in thought (accepted).

8. Studying Linguistic Relativity (John Lucy)

Lucy proposes three angles:

A. Language in General (Semiotic Relativity)

  • Does having any language affect cognition?

  • Studies: prelinguistic children, late-signing deaf children, humans vs. animals.

B. Linguistic Structures (Structural Relativity)

  • Do specific grammatical/semantic structures shape thought?

  • Researchers examine:

    • Semantic domains (color, kinship, body parts)

    • Grammatical categories (tense, number, pronouns)

  • Findings: language influences perception of color, space, time.

C. Language in Use (Discursive Relativity)

  • Do habitual patterns of language use shape thinking?

  • Examples:

    • Literacy practices

    • Metaphors shaping conceptual frameworks

  • Language predisposes people to act in certain ways.