Complete List of Terms and Definitions for Anthropology Exam 18

Terms Definitions
logosyllabic writing logosyllabic writing
Pidgins/Creoles **Naturally-occurring new languages arising from language contact situations. One of the few examples of language birth in recent times.**
Pidgins-(system of communication)no native speaker: Creoles-put together this pidgin consisting of vocabulary/ sounds/ structure of languages involved
heteronormativity Those structures, institutions, relations and actions that promote and produce heterosexuality as natural, self-evident, desirable, privileged, and necessary; not a natural instinct
Stereotypes and conversational styles ...
Risk Situtuations: Can be high/low/negative/positive= terms of address and taboo
authentication process-ness of being real; fantasy-makers/phone sex, travestis
Lexicon: all the words of a language
Morpheme the smallest linguistic unit that carriest semantic meaning
pragmatics knowledge of socially appropriate use of language/paralanguage
"Standard" dialect - Dominant/Prestige
- Linguists say the "correct" dialect is spoken by political leaders, used in literature, and taught in schools
- Standards dialects are usually used when comparing languages
burden of communication conflict between different standard language ideologies
cognitivist theories applied to language learning, theories that suggest that children develop language simultaneously with their mental abilities
arbitrariness a design feature of language referring to the fact that there is no necessary or causal connection between a signal and its meaning
Reappropriarion Kweyol is a traditional languge & should be part of folklife(music,dancing) and appreciated as a part of a broader 'creole culture'
Morphology: the study in which words are constructed out of smaller units that have a meaning or grammatical function.
Which aspects of language are affected by change? ...
Majority Rules Strategy in historical reconstruction, the assumption that, if there is no phonetically plausible reason to choose a particular sound for a reconstruction, then the choice should be based on whichever sound appears most frequently in the correspondence
superstandard english deviation from normal SE; lexical formality, carefully articulated phonological forms, prescriptively standard grammar
Pidgin - a language that has developed, through contact, out of two unrelated languages
- simple languages that use a small amount of phonemes
- has no native speakers, is always a 2nd language
- primarily trade languages
semantic sign a graphic mark that represents a specific idea or meaning
proxemics the study of how people perceive and use space
total feedback a design feature of language referring to the fact that speakers can hear themselves talk
official language a language designated as official by government policy
Linguistic Anthropology: the study of ways in which communication differs and is used throughout human cultures./ interrelationship between language and culture.
Ethnograohy of Speaking Focuses on describing features of different speech communities: explicit norms(being told)/implicit norms(what you know)/ details verbal;nonverbal;social expectations surrounding the interaction
universal grammar term used to describe the phenomenon that children seem to have an innate skill for acquiring language. Coined by Noam Chomsky
aspects of ideologies are present in individuals and institutions; confuse belief with knowledge; reflect and support interests of specific groups of people, usually elites; composed of cultural symbols/beliefs
An attempt to assist people in maintaining endangered languages is known as? Language revitalization
Descriptive/structural approach to language Describing the structure and patterning of a language on its own terms
arbitrariness principle no natural reason why a particular sign should be attached to a particular concept→ only the consistency in the system of signs allow communication of the concept each sign signifies; arbitrary involves not the link between the sign and its referent but that between the signifier and the signified in the interior of the sign
Kinesics (160) The study of body movements, facial expressions, and gestures.
duality of patterning a design feature of language referring to the fact that discrete units of language at one level (such as the level of sounds) can be combined to create different kinds of units at a different level (such as words)
Language change as a result of contact between two or more languages most frequently takes the form of: vocabulary changes
Language Extinction occurs when there are no more speakers of a particular language
Kanzi is characterized as a "linguist's nightmare" language-learning abilities seem inexplicable; defies the Chomskyan model which can't explain why a speechless ape would have innate tendency to learn English
Speech substitutes (168) - Systems of communication in which sound signals substitute for spoken words or parts of words.
- usually made by whistling or drumming
Linguistic competence (117) - A speaker's underlying ability to produce (and recognize) grammatically correct expressions.
internal change a change that occurs due to the way speakers of a language gradually modify their language over time
Piere Bourdieu, J.Austin, J.Searle make theories about.. Speech Act: Authority, Real Action, and Culture
why does suggestion work? because of the unconscious beliefs in the subject being hypnotized/suggested to
Dialect versus language - Dialect - a specific variety or subdivision of a language; a way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular group of people; the dialects of a single language differ systematically but are mutually intelligible.
- Language - different languages are not always mutually intelligible. Also, language can be based on political boundaries. Ex: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian - all similar, but political boundaries make them different languages.
active construction of a grammar theory applied to language learning, the theory that children observe and interact with the world around them and form theories about language from their experiences (same as theory theory)
Garrett claims that Jouk Bois's broadcasting style and use of the creole language serves to confront and even resist regional power dynamics and discourses
High language versus low High language = formal variety of the language
Low language = everyday variety of the language
problem with rigid distinction between langue and parole - relationship between signifiers and signified for some signs are NOT arbitrary (onomatopoeia); only get their meaning in specific contexts
- signs are the building blocks of utterances
-doesn't help us understand the nature of social relations as they are lived
Rich point (141) - The kind of moment in which things "go wrong" in a speech situation
Who might prefer the label Serbo-Croatian over the labels Serbian and Croatian for this language? those in favor of a unified Yugoslavia
Which approach to grammar is most useful to anthropologists who need to learn unfamiliar
languages in the field (generative approach vs. descriptive approach)? 		The descriptive approach is more useful, it tells how people actually speak, and not how they should speak.
Garret's article on St. Lucia focuses on The role of Carribean creole languages in nation-building processes
Relationship of sign language to spoken language (169-170) - sign languages do not mimic spoken language word for word
- They are complete languages with their own grammar
"To name a color is an act of relating, not recognizing"- sign systems are about differences that make a differnce, colors are semiotic codes