ANTH 195 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky, The World Academy Of Sciences
Document Summary
Language allows us to communicate, not just by words. Language-a systemaic set of symbols and signs with learned and shared meanings. Convenionality or arbitrariness-absence of intrinsic relaion between communicaion element (speech sound) and thing or event to which it refers (referent) [k], [ ], [t] are not meaningful in and of themselves. Producivity-language is created and speakers can create new messages and understand new messages from new speakers. Producivity (openness) simply involves taking a few elements and generate unlimited combinaions of expressions. Ability to refer to things and events not present, nonvisible, intangible, or nonexistent: not present ex. yesterday, not visible ex. God, intangible ex. emoions, nonexistent ex. unicorns ability to represent unseen parts of the world: part of tool making ability: to conceive a design. We are not limited to the present or even to actual things. Sapir-whorf hypothesis: name ater edward sapir and benjamin lee whorf.
