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LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL MEANING

LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL MEANING. Cultural behaviour is not essentially different from other forms of learned behaviour; it is a consequence of the dynamic of social living over many generations, while individual members of the social system are replaced (Foley, 1997: 12).

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LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL MEANING

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  1. LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL MEANING Cultural behaviour is not essentially different from other forms of learned behaviour; it is a consequence of the dynamic of social living over many generations, while individual members of the social system are replaced (Foley, 1997: 12)

  2. The framing of intentions and activities • English: I must go there. • English: I make the horse run. • Navajo: It is only good that I shall go. • Navajo: The horse is running for me.

  3. Language expresses and reflects worldviews • Cultural models: shared cultural attitudes • Language: key for transmitting cultural models • Language ----Proverbs, stories, etc. -- conveying a way of being in the world --guiding human thought and action -- provides moral lessons

  4. Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eresTell me who is your close friend and I will tell you who you are.

  5. Concrete and symbolic meanings • “The horse is running for me” concrete object (horse) • “Don’t cry over spilt milk” symbolic meaning, metaphorical

  6. Why do we study language? • To identify cultural models • Understand the relationship between language and environment • language and society

  7. The Foundations of Linguistic Anthropology • Edward Sapir (1884—1939) and his student Benjamin Whorf (1897—1941) • Sapir: lexicon or vocabulary • Whorf: Grammatical structures • Linguistic research among Native Americans

  8. Edward Sapir • physical environment and social environment through the use of language • Elements of vocabulary influence speakers perceptions • Different experience of our world • The Paiute utilize unique words for valuable geographical locations

  9. Sand flat, semicircular valley or hollow, spot for level ground in mountains surrounded by ridges.

  10. Benjamin Whorf • Influences on though and behaviour • Grammatical structures of language • Grammatical structure and conceptualization of time, number, duration

  11. Whorf studies among the Hopi • Time, number and duration fundamental for Hopi culture • Hopi: Emphasis: continuity, cyclicity and intensity: • English: Emphasis on boundedness and objectification • Morning • “While morning-phase is occurring”

  12. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis • Language influences people’s perception of the world • “Weak version” • “Strong version”

  13. Lexical and Cultural Categories • Taxonomic systems:The classification system that orders things in a logical hierarchical way, a system that orders by indicating natural relationships • Semantic domains: a summative of words (words put together). All sharing a core meaning, related to a specific topic Example: Kinship terms, body-parts words, or colours

  14. Language expresses • Cultural focus: cultural priorities • Transformative • Not static; changes over time

  15. Summary • Members of different cultures express different worldviews through a particular use of their languages (language frames) • Cultural models are expressed and reflected primarily through language • Proverb: • “The early bird catches the worm.”

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