SOCY 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: High Culture, Linguistic Relativity
23 May 2016
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Document Summary
We think in language, everyone talks to himself and it is dif cult to think about things for which we have no words. Whorf-sapir hypothesis: categories our minds use to process information are given by our language. In effect language controls how our senses operate, called linguistic relativity hypothesis by some. At a level of vision, hypothesis is false. For vicarious learning through language, it might as well be true. Subcultural boundaries can be recognized through argots (specialized vocabulary of a group). Some societies are divided by language (canada, belgium, switzerland, south africa). Deferential behavior, symbolizes recognition of hierarchy and actors" places in a hierarchy. Flags, and important point: we can develop strong emotional attachments to symbols. Term culture usually refers to the ways of a society. Sometimes we try to be more speci c and say things like dominant or mainstream. Ideal culture is what people and institutions should do, according to cultural norms and value.
