Language and Culture

1. Ch. 6 The Development and Evolution of Language: Language Birth, Language Growth, and Language Death

1.1. The greatest amount of research on animal communication since World War II has been devoted to nonhuman primates, especially the chimpanzees. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (pp. 119-120). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

1.2. There is a gradual process by which communication evolved from simple vocalizations and the challenges faced by linguistic diversity in the modern world.

2. Ch. 7 Acquiring and Using Language(s): Life with First Languages, Second Languages, and More

2.1. that code-switching “is the selection by bilinguals or multilinguals of forms from an embedded variety (or varieties) in utterances … during the same conversation.” Eyamba Bokamba (1989:3) Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 154). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

2.2. The process of language acquisition and the multifaceted nature of language use, which is not only biological but also shaped by social and cultural contexts

3. Ch. 8 Language Through Time

3.1. Reconstruction of a protolanguage requires thorough knowledge of historical grammar and good acquaintance with the daughter languages. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 169). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

3.2. linguists use historical reconstruction and language classification to understand the relationships between languages and explore the past.

4. Ch. 9 Languages in Variation and Languages in Contact

4.1. It may come as a surprise to learn that no one knows exactly how many languages are spoken in the world today. One standard source suggests the total is more than 6,900 (Gordon 2005). Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 192). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

4.1.1. One standard source suggests the total is more than 6,900 (Gordon 2005).

4.2. Explains the global linguistic landscape, highlighting the diversity of languages, the dominance of a few families, and the concerning trend of language endangerment.

5. Ch.10 The Ethnography of Communication

5.1. To distinguish among different levels of speech activity, Hymes made use of three terms for the ethnographic analysis and description of speech behavior—speech situation, speech event, and speech act (Hymes 1972:56–57). Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 202). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

5.2. The importance of the ethnography of communication in understanding communication diversity and its potential contribution to resolving social issues in multicultural environments.

6. Ch. 12 Language, Culture, and Thought

6.1. Stephen Levinson (1996:353) showed that “systems of spatial reckoning and description can in fact be quite divergent across cultures, linguistic differences correlating with distinct cognitive tendencies.” Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 240). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

6.2. highlights the ongoing debate about language and its role in shaping our understanding of the world. It argues for a nuanced view that acknowledges both universal human cognitive abilities and the influence of culture and language.

7. Ch. 14 Language, Identity, and Ideology II: Variations in Class, “Race,” Ethnicity, and Nationality

7.1. as Labov (1972a) and others (e.g., Burling 1973) since the 1970s have shown, the grammar of AAE is “a pretty complex set of rules and restrictions” (Rickford and Rickford 2000:115, emphasis ours). Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (pp. 306-307). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

7.2. language variation reflects and shapes social and national identities. It emphasizes the importance of understanding these connections and the potential challenges arising from globalization.

8. Ch. 1 Introducing Linguistic Anthropology

8.1. For Aguaruna, the language serving a manioc-cultivating people of northwestern Peru, Brent Berlin (1976) isolated some 566 names referring to the genera of plants in the tropical rain forest area in which they live. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 5). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

8.2. Linguistic Anthropology studies language as a social and cultural tool, complementing the focus of Linguistics on the internal structure and history of languages.

9. Ch. 2 Methods of Linguistic Anthropology

9.1. Chomsky basically said linguists were not asking the right questions and were not setting their bar high enough. Instead of describing the various structures a language had, we needed to ask what the tacit rules were that allowed speakers to create and use languages in the first place. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 21). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

9.2. Linguistic Anthropology offers a valuable perspective on how language shapes and reflects culture, providing insights into social interaction, power dynamics, and cultural identity.

10. Ch. 3 The “Nuts and Bolts” of Linguistic Anthropology I: Language Is Sound

10.1. Morris Halle wrote that “the sounds … we emit when speaking are produced by complex gymnastics.” Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 58). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

10.2. The importance of language in anthropological research and the need for anthropologists to understand both the structure and social use of language within a cultural context.

11. Ch. 4 The “Nuts and Bolts” of Linguistic Anthropology II: Structure of Words and Sentences

11.1. According to Chomsky, one must assume that children are born with a knowledge of what can be termed universal grammar, in other words, that universal grammar is part of our human biological endowment. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (pp. 80-81). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

11.2. Morphology looks at how morphemes combine to form words, and these words are then arranged according to grammatical rules to create sentences with meaning (syntax and semantics)

12. Ch. 5 Communicating Nonverbally

12.1. Regardless of the society, it is not only how people talk and what they say but also how they present themselves to others that seems to make a difference as to how they are perceived. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 90). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

12.2. Communication goes beyond spoken language and encompasses a diverse range of nonverbal and written systems. It highlights the importance of studying how these systems function within a cultural context.

13. Ch.11 Culture as Cognition, Culture as Categorization: Meaning

13.1. The well-known anthropologist Ward Goodenough claimed (1964:39), “We learn much of a culture when we learn the system of meanings for which its linguistic forms stand. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 218). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

13.2. key findings about how meaning and concepts are formed and expressed across languages and suggest some common ground in how humans process and express meaning, despite linguistic and cultural differences.

14. Ch. 13 Language, Identity, and Ideology I: Variations in Gender

14.1. This dichotomy suggests that “gender” is something built upon a set of cultural and social practices that “amplify, simplify, and give meaning to perceived or actual biological differences” (Ahearn 2012:190). Gender is a social construct that is likely to vary from one society to the next, or even from one social group to another within a society or culture. Stanlaw, James; Adachi, Nobuko; Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (p. 259). Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.

14.2. highlights the complex interplay between language and gender, with a critical eye on traditional views and a focus on how language shapes and reflects social identities.