Anthropology Optional (Social context of language) by Sourabh Mishra

Model Answer

Question #1. Write short notes onSapir-Whorf hypothesis.  10 marks (150 words)

Approach

1. Introduce the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
2. Edward Sapir- Language Influences Human Thought
3. Conclusion

Introduction: Linguistic anthropology focuses on how people use language in a particular culture. Linguistic anthropologists often work with people who have unwritten (purely spoken, or oral) languages or with languages that very few people speak.

Linguistic anthropological work may involve developing a way to write a formerly unwritten language. Some linguistic anthropologists specialise in reconstructing dead languages (languages no longer in use) and their connections to living languages, a study known as historical linguistics.

Edward Sapir- Language Influences Human Thought:

• It is important to note that language, to some extent, shapes the way people view and think about the world.
• Culture is directly related to human thought. Some Linguists even say that language actually determines thought. It also shapes behaviour and culture.
• The concept related to this outlook is termed as Linguistic Determinism. This is associated with the research of anthropologists, Edward Sapir (American Linguist and student of Franz Boas) and his student and American linguist Benjamin Whorf.
• Based on their research, they proposed Sapir - Whorf hypothesis, in which they proposed how language determines human thought.
• For example if a language has no word to denote ‘snow‘ as used in English, then a person brought up in that culture cannot think of snow as it is implied in English.

Conclusion: Thus, Linguistic determinism proposes that language, to some extent, determines the way we think about the world around. As the thought pattern changes, the cultural situation of that society also changes accordingly.

Question #2. Mention the major branches of linguistic anthropology and discuss language use in social and cultural settings. 15 marks (250 words)

Approach

1. Introduce the linguistic anthropology
2. Understanding and Importance of the Linguistic anthropologist's study
3. Meaning and linguists philology
4. Language- Social and Cultural Relation
5. Examples- The Negroes in America
6. Socio-linguistics studies
7. Conclusion

Hints:

Introduction:

 The most distinctive feature of humanity is its ability to speak. Humans are not alone in the use of symbolic communication. Studies have shown that the sounds and gestures made by some other animals, especially the apes, may serve functions comparable to those of human speech; yet no other animal has developed a system of symbolic communication as complex as that of humans. The branch of anthropology that studies human languages is called Linguistic Anthropology.

Understanding and Importance of the Linguistic anthropologist’s study:

• Anthropological linguistics may also make a significant contribution to our understanding of human facts.
• Linguistic anthropology seeks to discover the ways in which languages are similar or different from one another.
• Linguistic anthropologists study the origin, nature, meaning, and development of languages in relation to culture and patterns of speech, patterns of acting, behaving, and communication as found in different cultures.
• The areas of linguistic anthropology include structural linguistics, social linguistics, and historical linguistics.

Meaning and linguists philology:

• Language allows people to preserve and transmit their culture from one generation to another. Through the study of language in its setting, anthropologists can understand how people perceive themselves and the world around them.
• 19th-century linguists were engaged in describing and classifying languages into families and subfamilies on the basis of their similarities and dissimilarities. The subject was then referred to as philology and not linguistics.

Language- Social and Cultural Relation:

• The structure and content of language to a great extent are influenced by culture. We can say that linguistic diversity is the result of cultural diversity.
• According to Overton Brent Berlin, a famous American Anthropologist, the increase in the number of words indicates cultural complexity.
• Language reflects cultural situations. The socialisation process of a child is also influenced by language.
• The status of people, their living condition, their environment, and the way of subsistence can be understood through languages.
• The study of the relationship between language and culture, and how they mutually influence each other is examined under the sub-discipline of Ethno-linguistics.
• It examines how a language reflects the traditional natural environment. Ethno-linguists, in their interaction with the group under study, learn to understand the prevailing social and cultural situation.

The relationship between culture and language can be well understood through the examination of the following areas:

• Language Influences Human Thought
• Language indicates Social Roles and Statuses
• Culture Influences Basic Vocabulary of Language
• Language helps to share Cultural Symbols
• Language is a medium of Acculturation and Enculturation
• Language is a vehicle of Culture

Examples-

The Negroes in America:

• The Negroes who enter America from Africa wholly adapted themselves to the new language. Today 16 million American Negroes speak English while their forefathers know nothing but their African Negro language.

Languages are neither the product of geographical conditions nor climatic condition. They are entirely social.

Socio-linguistics studies:

• Likewise, persons in different religious sects use different terms. It is important to remember that languages are spoken by members of different societies. All societies have their own unique cultures.
• So, Individuals in different societies use language based on social categories such as gender, age, class, caste, and ethnicity. Socio-linguistics studies the relationship between language and society.
• It examines how social categories influence the use of speech. Thus, it is concerned with the ethnography of speaking. It examines cultural and sub-cultural patterns of speech variation in different social contexts.

Conclusion:

Linguistic anthropology is the study of language as part of social life. It considers language, as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice. Linguistic anthropologists employ the methods and techniques used in anthropology. The scope of linguistic anthropology includes the structure of language, its properties, the origin and evolution of language and language families.