ANT253H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Linguistic Performance, Ethnography, Linguistic Relativity
Document Summary
All languages are based on the same principles of structure (morphemes, phonemes, allophones, etc. ) Don"t have to teach a child to want to learn it. No limits on how we can expand ourselves. Doesn"t have to be face to face. Relationship of language to society, social structure, etc. I. e. koasati (indigenous language in louisiana) - men say lawawhol (lifting); women say lakawhos. Indicates different gender roles/perception of abilities according to gender in their society. Men = perceived as doing heavy duty lifting -> specific action being male-based. Women = different duties; actions = hued by different words. Markedness: marks in language to make something stand out. I. e. male language = default in patrilineal society. Carries more information (i. e. mrs. = married woman; marked word) Get rid of markedness by getting rid of marked word. Language changes society ( better than using weapons ) Language adapts and mirrors current society (i. e. they as pronoun because of transgender rights movement.
