AN101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Tok Pisin, Phoneme, Linguistic Relativity
Document Summary
The system of arbitrary vocal symbols (or their equivalent) we use to encode our experience of the world. The articulated sounds of speech can be transferred into visual speech symbolism (written words, reading lips, sign language, smoke signals, etc. ) Language is so ingrained in our everyday life and seems so natural that we do not question it: We forget it is learned and culturally acquired. Animals have a type of communication (instinctive cries) but not a language as a symbolic system of communication learned in society. This kind of reaction is instinctive and not symbolic. Language is a symbolic intentional way of communicating. They vary in different languages, from society to society. The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. These sounds do not come naturally out of nature. They are cultural constructions, that is why we find cultural variation. The universalist approach: focuses on the universal aspects of languages.
