Linguistic Anthropology and Language Diversity
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Questions and Answers

What was the conclusion of Franz Boas regarding cranial measurements among European descendants in the US?

  • Historical circumstances have no effect on cranial structure.
  • Cranial plasticity results in significant variation. (correct)
  • Cranial consistency remains constant across generations.
  • The cranial measurements support the theory of phrenology.

    • What does systemic racism primarily rely on?

  • The behaviors of individuals within a community.
  • Institutions, customs, and legal-political doctrines. (correct)
  • Transient cultural trends and beliefs.
  • The efficacy of social movements.

    • What was a key issue with the G.I. Bill of 1944 in relation to race?

  • It primarily benefited white veterans over black veterans. (correct)
  • It was designed only for veterans who served in combat.
  • It was focused on educational benefits for all minorities.
  • It provided equal benefits to all veterans regardless of race.

    • Which of the following describes redlining?

    <p>Denying financial services based on race or ethnicity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the political harms associated with cultural appropriation?

    <p>Amplification of power dynamics and commercialization.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is settler colonialism primarily concerned with?

    <p>Displacing native inhabitants to establish a new society.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements is true about the Iroquois League?

    <p>Its structure served as a model for the American system of democracy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does tribal citizenship typically get determined?

    <p>By individual tribes with some requiring 'blood quantum'.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a significant limitation faced by federally recognized tribal nations in the US today?

    <p>They exhibit limited political sovereignty despite recognition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes the land designated for Native use by the US government?

    <p>It is often land taken from Native tribes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What issue did the Standing Rock pipeline protest primarily address?

    <p>Environmental impacts on sacred lands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is 'blood quantum' in the context of tribal citizenship?

    <p>A measure of Native ancestry needed for citizenship.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do the scandals involving Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug highlight?

    <p>Misrepresentation of cultural identity and ethnicity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the primary occupation of the Hutu population?

    <p>Farmers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which colonial power exacerbated ethnic tensions between Hutu and Tutsi?

    <p>Belgian</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following conditions is an example of structural violence?

    <p>Poverty and lack of medical supplies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How were the Hutu and Tutsi originally viewed before colonial influence?

    <p>As fluid groups without significant division</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What significant change occurred in Rwanda in 1959?

    <p>Independence from colonial rule</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which issue does Paul Farmer emphasize in his work related to war?

    <p>War has deep roots in poverty and neglect</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is NOT an example of 'stupid deaths' as defined in the context provided?

    <p>Deaths resulting from direct violence</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What describes stateless nations in the context of the content provided?

    <p>Groups that identify as a nation but lack recognition from a state</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a phenotype primarily concerned with?

    <p>The observable physical characteristics of an organism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements reflects a core idea of the race myth?

    <p>Race lacks a biological basis and is a flawed classification system.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to the content, how much genetic variation is there within racial groups compared to between them?

    <p>More variation within groups than between them</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does scientific racism typically assume about different races?

    <p>There are significant biological differences across races.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which characteristic is NOT mentioned as an observable phenotype?

    <p>Blood type</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one major reason why racial classifications are considered culturally varied?

    <p>The criteria for classification differ across societies.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is emphasized as a significant misconception regarding phenotypes?

    <p>All individuals in a racial group share the same phenotype.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which condition is cited as an example of characteristics that may provide evolutionary advantages?

    <p>Sickle cell trait in regions with malaria</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What distinguishes human language from nonhuman primate communication systems?

    <p>Ability to discuss abstract concepts and the past or future</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which characteristic is inherent to human linguistic capabilities but absent in call systems of nonhuman primates?

    <p>Ability to form new expressions using language rules</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key function of kinesis in communication?

    <p>Interpreting body movements and gestures</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the gene FOXP2 contribute to in humans?

    <p>Capability for clear speech articulation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In descriptive linguistics, which area focuses on the structure of speech sounds?

    <p>Phonology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements about morphology is true?

    <p>It involves the study of meaningful units of speech called morphemes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes the productivity of language?

    <p>Enables the creation of new and unique expressions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does cultural transmission play in language development?

    <p>Facilitates the passing of language through social and environmental interactions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does 'displacement' in human language refer to?

    <p>The ability to communicate about nonexistent or past events</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a characteristic of nonhuman primate call systems?

    <p>They produce a fixed number of calls in response to specific stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Linguistic Anthropology

    • Focuses on diversity, comparison, and changes in language
    • Reconstructs ancient languages by analyzing modern descendant languages
    • Explores the role of language in colonization and globalization

    ### Language

    • Spoken and written as primary means of communication
    • Transmitted through learning
    • Based on arbitrary learned associations between words and things they represent
    • Primary means of communication, but not the only means

    Linguistic Differences

    • Reveal varied worldviews and patterns of thought across cultures

    Nonhuman Primate Communication

    • Call Systems: Limited number of sounds produced in response to specific environmental stimuli

    Sign Language

    • Apes communicating with humans using gestures
    • American Sign Language (ASL) uses a limited set of gestures analogous to sounds in spoken language

    Cultural Transmission

    • Communication through learning as a fundamental attribute of language
    • Productivity: speakers use language rules to create new expressions understood by others

    Displacement

    • Absent in call systems
    • Humans can discuss objects, places, and events not currently present
    • Allows for communication about the past and future

    The Origin of Language

    • FOXP2 Gene: A mutated gene that explains why humans speak and chimps don't
    • Individuals with non-speech version of the gene have difficulty with fine tongue and lip movements for speech

    Nonverbal Communication

    • Kinesis: Study of communication through body movements, stances, gestures, and expressions
    • Intonation, pitch, pauses, and even silence convey meaning
    • Cultural differences in interpretation of nonverbal cues

    The Structure of Language

    Descriptive Linguistics

    • Scientific study of a spoken language
    • Focuses on grammar elements
    • Examines phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax

    Phonology

    • Study of speech sounds in a language
    • Determines which sounds are present and meaningful in a language

    Morphology

    • Study of how sounds combine to form meaningful units
    • Morphemes are meaningful units of speech
    • Morphemes include words and their meaningful parts

    Rwandan Ethnic Conflict

    • Hutu (~85%): Primarily farmers
    • Tutsi (~15%): Mainly pastoralists, historically linked to monarchy
    • Class and division of labor differences
    • Historically distinct groups were not ethnically separated
    • Belgium colonialism imposed an ethnic hierarchy, elevating Tutsi and marginalizing Hutu
    • Rwandan Ethnic Identification Card introduced in 1959 during independence
    • Escalation of conflict led to the Genocide in 1994

    Other Former Colonies with Similar Ethnic Tensions:

    • Cyprus: Greeks and Turks
    • Sri Lanka: Tamils and Sinhalese

    Paul Farmer (1995-2022)

    • Pioneer of medical anthropology
    • Physician and activist
    • Emphasized the role of political and social circumstances in conflict and suffering

    Stupid Deaths

    • Deaths resulting from solvable issues but left unaddressed

    Structural Violence

    • Social conditions that harm people routinely including: poverty, corruption, neglect, war, corporate greed
    • Lack of access to basic needs, resources and opportunities

    Stateless Nations

    • Groups identifying as a nation without recognition by any state
    • Example: Kurdistan

    Tribal Nations

    • Indigenous peoples of North America, migrated from Asia around 1200 years ago
    • Pre-Columbian population estimated at 18 million
    • Over 300 spoken languages (half now extinct)
    • Colonization and displacement contributed to language decline

    Settler Colonialism

    • Foreign people occupy a region, seeking to replace native inhabitants with a new society
    • The US is a settler colonial society with origins in English, primarily British, colonization

    Iroquois League

    • Pre-colonial governing confederacy of six Iroquoian-speaking nations: Cayuga, Oneida, Onandaga, Seneca, and Mohawk
    • Model of a state constitution
    • Precursor to the American system of democracy

    Tribal Nations Today

    • 547 federally recognized (as of 2022)
    • Each led by tribal councils, with limited political sovereignty
    • Members are also US citizens
    • Maintain traditional systems and limited sovereignty over their lands and taxation

    Native Reservations

    • Land set aside by the US government for Native use and control
    • Over 300 miles of reservation land overlapping Canada and the United States
    • Many Native Americans live on reservations due to land loss
    • Standing Rock pipeline protests highlighted environmental concerns and opposition to pipeline construction on sacred land

    Tribal Citizenship

    • Determined by individual tribes
    • May require blood quantum (certain amount of Native ancestry)
    • Native citizenship focuses on community and belonging
    • Ancestry alone doesn't guarantee citizenship

    "Mohawk Interruptus" by Audra Simpson

    • Examines the limitations of Native sovereignty in the face of border control

    Race and Ethnicity

    • Recent scandals involving Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug highlight the issue of racial identity and belonging

    Phenotype

    • Observable physical characteristics of an organism
    • Influenced by genetic traits and environmental conditions
    • Skin tone, eye shape, and hair color are phenotypic traits

    Scientific Racism

    • Unsound scientific theories used to legitimize racial hierarchies

    Phrenology

    • Belief that skull measurements indicate intelligence and racial differences
    • White Europeans were associated with longer foreheads (deemed intelligent)

    The Race Myth

    • Race is a flawed classification system with no biological basis
    • Uses physical characteristics to create supposedly discrete groups

    Evidence against the Biological Reality of Race:

    • Humans share more similarities than differences across "racial" groups
    • No genetic traits unique to any "racial" group
    • More genetic variation within "racial" groups than between them
    • Racial taxonomies are culturally varied, not scientifically objective

    Franz Boas

    • Challenged phrenology by studying cranial plasticity in European immigrants
    • Found that cranial size varied significantly across generations due to environmental factors

    Systemic Racism

    • Institutional structures that perpetuate racist attitudes
    • Examples: "G.I. Bill," redlining

    The "G.I. Bill"

    • A law passed to provide benefits to World War Two veterans
    • Denied benefits to Black veterans

    Redlining

    • Denying financial services to residents of certain areas due to race or ethnicity
    • Currently illegal but legacies persist

    Cultural Appropriation

    • Taking or using aspects of someone else's heritage without permission or compensation
    • Can be inappropriate, harmful, or unwelcome

    Political Harms of Cultural Appropriation

    • Disrespect for sacred symbols
    • Distortion and misuse of cultural expressions
    • Commercialization of cultural heritage
    • Loss of artistic control
    • Loss of livelihood
    • Reinforcement of unequal power dynamics

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    Linguistic Anthropology PDF

    Description

    This quiz delves into the key concepts of linguistic anthropology, exploring how language varies across cultures and its role in colonization and globalization. You will also learn about communication methods in humans and nonhuman primates, including sign language and call systems. Test your knowledge on the diverse ways language shapes our worldviews.

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