Ch 5: Language Flashcards
Creating and responding to messages
Stanford University professor Lera Boroditsky (2009) on the importance of language
“Could you still have friends, get an education, hold a job, start a family? Language is so fundamental to our experience, so deeply a part of being human, that it’s hard to imagine life without it” (p. 116)” (142).
Language is symbolic. (142)
“Words are arbitrary symbols that have no meaning in themselves” (142)
hundreds of different sign languages around the world; various symbols for “five” (in French = cinq, in electronic computer code = 00110101) (142)
phonological rules (143)
rules governing the way in which sounds are pronounced in a language (143)
syntactic rules (143)
rules that govern the ways symbols can be arranged, as opposed to the meanings of those symbols (143)
“Although most of us aren’t able to describe the syntactic rules that govern our language (Parisse, 2005), it’s easy to recognize their existence when they are violated” (143)
“Sometimes, however, apparently ungrammatical speech is simply following a different set of syntactic rules, reflecting regional or co-cultural dialects. Linguists believe it is crucial to view such dialects as different rather than deficient forms of English (Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 2005)” (143)
semantic rules (143)
rules that govern the meaning of language, as opposed to its structure (143)
“Without semantic rules, communication would be impossible: Each of us would use symbols in unique ways, unintelligible to others” (144).
Language is rule-governed. (143)
“The only reason symbol-laden languages work at all is that people agree on how to use them” (143).
pragmatic rules (144)
rules that govern interpretation of language in terms of its social context (144)
“We learn to distinguish the accurate meanings of such speech acts through pragmatic rules that tell us what uses and interpretations of a message are appropriate in a given context” (144).
coordinated management of meaning (CMM) theory (145)
“…describes some types of pragmatic rules that operate in everyday conversations. It suggests that we use rules at several levels to create our own messages and interpret others’ statements (Moore & Lauters, 2008; Pearce, 2005)” (145).
Language is subjective. (145)
“If the rules of language were more precise and if everyone followed them, we would suffer from fewer misunderstandings. You have an hour-long-argument about “feminism” only to discover that you were using the term in different ways and that you really were in basic agreement” (145).
“These problems occur because people attach different meanings to the same message” (146).
Ogden and Richards’ Triangle of Meaning (146)
“…the triangle of meaning is useful since it clearly demonstrates an important principle: *Meanings are in people, not words. Hence, an important task facing communicators is to establish a common understanding of the words they use to exchange messages. In this sense, communication–at least the effective kind–requires us to negotiate the meaning of our language (Duck, 1994; Fine & Beim, 2007). This brings us back to a familiar theme: Meaning is both in and among people” (146).
Language and worldview. (146-147)
“Some languages contain terms that have no English equivalents (Rhingold, 1988; Wire, 2010)” (147).
Dharma (Sanskrit): each person’s unique, ideal path in life and the knowledge of how to find it
Koyaanisquatsi (Hopi): nature out of balance; a way of life so crazy it calls for a new way of living
Jayas (Indonesian): a joke told so poorly and that is so boring that the listener cannot help but laugh (147)
linguistic relativism (146)
the notion that the language individuals use exerts a strong influence on their perceptions (146)
ie. French American describe series of photos as more romantic and emotional when speaking in French rather than English.
“Examples like these show the power of language to shape cultural identity–sometimes for better and sometimes for worse” (147).
“…linguistic relativism suggests that the terms do shape the thinking and actions of people who use them. Thus, speakers of a language that includes the notion of lao would probably be more inclined to treat its older members respectfully, and those who are familiar with lagniappe might be more generous” (148).
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (147)
the best-known declaration of linguistic relativism, formulated by Benjamin Whorf, an amateur linguist, and anthropologist Edward Sapir (147)
ei. “Following Sapir’s theoretical work, Whorf found that the language spoken by Hopi Native Americans represented a view of reality that is dramatically different from most tongues. For example, the Hopi language makes no distinction between nouns and verbs. Therefore, the people who speak it describe the entire world as being constantly in process. Whereas English speakers use nouns to characterize people or objects as being fixed or constant, the Hopi language represents them more as verbs, constantly changing. In this sense, English represents the world rather like a collection of snapshots, whereas Hopi reflects a worldview that is more like a motion picture” (147).
The Impact of Language (148-155)
Naming and Identity; Affiliation; Power; Sexism and Racism
Naming and Identity (148-149)
- early studies claim people w/unusual names suffer psychologically
- modern studies show people frown upon unusual names/spellings
- perceptions on names change over time (148)
“Sometimes the choice of unique names is connected with cultural identity” (149).
- certain names are a “symbol of solidarity” (such as “with the African American community”)
- others are “a way of integrating the baby into the majority culture” (149)
-link b/w children’s names & socioeconomic status
“…it’s possible to speculate about the socioeconomic status of people once you know their name and date of birth” (149)
