Linguistic Anthropology PDF

**Linguistic Anthropology** \- interests in diversity, comparison, and changes in language \- reconstruct ancient languages by comparing their contemporary descendants and discovering history \- explore the roles of language in colonization and globalization **Language** \- spoken and written a...

**Linguistic Anthropology** \- interests in diversity, comparison, and changes in language \- reconstruct ancient languages by comparing their contemporary descendants and discovering history \- explore the roles 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 the things they stand for \- principle means of communicating, but it isn\'t the only one we use Linguistic differences \- To discover varied worldviews and patterns of thought in a multitude of cultures \- **NONHUMAN PRIMATE COMMUNICATION** **Call Systems** \- the natural communication systems of other primates (monkeys and apes) \- consist of a limited number of sounds---calls---produced only when particular environmental stimuli are encountered \- when primates encounter food and danger simultaneously **Sign Language** \- apes learning how to converse with people through means other than speech \- American Sign Language (ASL), used by hearing-impaired Americans \- limited number of basic gesture units that are analogous to sounds in spoken language **Cultural Transmission** \- communication system through learning is a fundamental attribute of language Productivity \- speakers routinely use the rules of their language to provide entirely new expressions that are comprehensible to other native speakers **Displacement** \- absent in the call system \- humans can talk about things that are not present \- we don't have to see objects before we say the words \- we can discuss the past and future, share our experiences with others, and benefit from theirs **The Origin of Language** **FOXP2** \- a mutated gene that helps explain why humans speak and chimps don't \- those who have the nonspeech version of the gene cannot make the fine tongue and lip movements for clear speech and unintelligible **NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION** **Kinesis** \- The study of communication through body movements, stances, gestures, and expressions \- not just what it is said but how it is said \- we vary on our intonation and the pitch or loudness of our voices \- strategic pauses and even by being silent \- however, cross-culturally we have different definition of these gestures \- body movements communicate in social differences **THE STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE** **Descriptive Linguistics** \- the scientific study of a spoken language \- focus on elements of grammar \- structural aspect of communication \- involves several interrelated areas of analysis, phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax **Phonology** \- study of the sounds that come out when someone's speaking \- recognition of someone\'s ethnicity just by hearing how they sound like \- study of speech sounds, considering which sounds are present and meaningful in a given language \- the range of speech sounds in a given language **Morphology** \- how sounds become meaningful units of speech \- units of speech that are meaningful when a person speaks \- studies the forms in which sounds combine to form morpheme \*Morphemes -- words and their meaningful parts (not about the syllables) Ex.: dog -- a word, but a compilation of sounds that comes out with meaning Dogs -- by adding the s-sound it provides another meaning which is the plurality **TWO TYPES OF MORPHEMES** **1. Free morphemes** \- can stand alone and have meaning (e.g., dog) **2. Bound morphemes** \- only have meaning when paired/combined with others (e.g., the s-sound in 'dogs' or un- in 'untie') Lexicon \- a complete list of a language\'s words and morphemes and their meanings \- a dictionary containing all its morphemes and their meanings Syntax \- the arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences \- how words are arranged to form coherent utterances/sentences \- using sentences as an indication of how you try to construct a sentence **SPEECH SOUNDS** **Phoneme** \- a sound contrast that makes a difference, that differentiates the meaning \- can be found in a given language by comparing minimal pairs \- words have different meanings, but they differ in just one sound \- contrasting sounds therefore phonemes **Phonetics** \- the study of speech sounds in general **Phonemics** \- studies only the significant sound contrasts (phonemes) of a given language **LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY** \- the study of linguistic practices in social contexts, including how they develop, and how they change \- focus on how the language is being used \- how does language influence our own identity **THE SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS** \- different languages, and grammar produce different ways of thinking \- perceiving another world because of language can perceive a person's identity \- the significance of gender-based language in identifying a person\'s gender **Quakers, 17th century English** \- global, liberal \- a religious community \- wanting to bring back primitive Christianity \- language is not just about communicating about God but also about talking to God \- Silence -- you shouldn't speak unless God shakes you to speak \- Language and grammar -- trying to indicate that everyone is equal \- modifying their language to reflect their theology **FRAIL VOCABULARY (Phenomenon)** \- within a particular language is an indication of the way of life \- a set of words/phrases that pertains to a way of life \- an elaborate set of words to describe things **CREOLIZATION** \- how creole language is created \- emerged when two different languages emerge together over a period of time \*Colonization -- an element from a colonizer emerges from the grammar is coming from the dominant culture or colonizer \* Dialects -- languages that is spoken by minority **DIGLOSSIA** \- dialect switching \- speaking our language but switching into radically different dialect according to settings \- switching to registers of the same language **CODE-SWITCHING** \- when switching from one language to another \- famous example: Spanglish \- identifying patterns \* Language is not just a tool but is linked to our culture **WARFARE** **Is warfare inevitable?** \- Warfare is essentially something about our human nature that wants us to commit Is war always an expression of the same human impulse? \- It is hard to say since so much modern warfare has resulted from distinctly modern processes like: 1. Increased global trade/Commerce 2. European colonization/Euro-American 3. Rise of Nation-state Is it an impulse at all? THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA \- lasted for 30 years \- different kingdoms fight over each other for resources \- European politics is redefined with sovereignty recognition of self-determination \- separation of the independent nation \- a principle shared by different kingdoms in Europe \- respecting boundaries **WHAT IS STATE?** \- a complex sociopolitical entity, with 1\. **Territory** 2\. **Sovereignty** -- right and power to self-rule, 3\. **Rule of law** -- having a legal system to rule 4\. **Government** -- the tasked of carrying out the rule of law and protecting citizens 5\. **Citizenship** -- legal category 6\. **Social** **stratification** -- different levels of society, based on wealth \- the modern state could be identified also as nations \- somewhat different from state \- traditionally refers to population with shared (ethnic category) \- goes along with the territory of a state \- most countries are multi-ethnic \- nationalism can also be divisive, where all native residents are all citizens, but the domination of one's group can exclude others **MILITARY** \- protect the sovereignty \- a function of war, it exists to protect the state **WARFARE** \- organized aggression between political limits (e.g., states, tribes) typically in armed combat \- soldiers have no direct connection to the issue at all, they just take orders \- war is nearly universal however warfare differs in reasoning \- people think that warfare is a form of expression **COMMON EXPLANATION FOR WARFARE** **1. Biological/Evolutionary approach** \- humans have evolved to wage war, based on principles of wages for reproductive success and territorial sovereignty \- it is written in our genetic code this tendency of warfare \- kind of impulse that we inherited from our biological code as an expression \* **Territorialism** -- demonstration by protecting ourselves against the enemy Impulse: cooperation **2. Culturalist Approach** \- warfare coincides with particular values and beliefs that encourage violent conflict (e.g., revenge, Sorcery, sacrificial, conquest, etc.) \- cultural theories are better than evolutionary ones, but both risk minimizing historical and material circumstances \- a culture that has an instinct about the battle \- reductionist, risking the minimalism of certain explanations on why warfare happens **The YANONAMI** \- amazonian tribe (Brazil, Venezuela) \- once called "the fierce people" because of high violence/tribal warfare \- having war-like behavior through their cultural values \- later studies found that warfare is linked to external factors such as epidemics and unequal access to steel tools \- outsiders being the source of this instinct **3. Historical Materialist Approach** \- war occurs when political/military traders believe it will protect or improve their material circumstances in historically changing conditions \- warfare is different among different violence, it's politically linked motivation **MARGARET MEAD (1910-1978)** \- argued, based on fieldwork in Samoa that how we experience adolescence is culturally, not biologically determined \- teen angst that we go through is not as universal with people at that time \- having the same biological changes but different experiences because of culture \- how we live determines how we are raised \- warfare is not necessarily biological because it is not universal \- extended a similar argument to warfare: if it isn't universal, it must not be a biological inevitability \* Warfare is an "invention"...... and so is belief in its inevitability **HEGEMONY** \- the dominance of ideologies and values that mainly serve the interests of the ruling class but are widely accepted nonetheless \- perhaps "war is inevitable" is a hegemonic idea? **CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS** \- discovery of new world/America \- holiday since 1937 \- navigator and entrepreneur (speculator) \- proposal to the Genevive Kingdom to navigate to East Asia \- didn't land in East Asia but Bahamas **SPREADNESS OF HIS FRONTIER** \- In the late 20^th^ century, people started questioning his heroism **INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY** \- why is it significant? \- native was here first \- Indigenous refers to people who ascended from a region's native (pre-colonial) population \- IDP descents the Columbus / 1942 narrative and reminds of a wider process such as: \- the devastating impact of European expansion on Indigenous civilization \* Historians are saying that the place is not occupied due to its unstructured government, it's an act of taking the land by force \* This world system is like a division of labor and how they circulate \* Nations that are not wealthy only get resources from the resources of the weaker ones \* Importance: the strength of a powerful society didn't emerge independently but rather relies on other weaker state's resources \- dependent on the extraction of resources **COLONIALISM** \- political, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended time \- a project that lasted a century \- European / Western colonialism has experienced our Modern history \- political control and changes in religious belief **DISCOURSE (HISTORY)** Michel Foucault (1926-1984) \- discourse is an established way of talking about a subject that shapes what we know about it \- things we accept as 'knowledge' and 'truth' are produced by discourses \- discourse are often a function of power and it also limits what we know \* Doesn't mean that this is truth, but we are kidding ourselves if we assume that we know the truth if we just simply talk about it \* Might produce conflict due to discourse being difficult to discuss because there are specific aspects of it \* Subsume by the narrative of Western progress \- modern vs. primitive can blind us to the significance of the old way of living \- Book: Europe and the People without history **SLAVES HARVESTING SUGARCANE** \- initial signs of commodity \- structured around this product manufacturing to gain wealth which causes lives due to exploitation \- cheap labor using slaves **UNCONTACTED TRIBES** \- nomadic foragers living in primitive states \- assumption: they must be like our primitive ancestors **THE MASHCO PIRO PEOPLE (PERUVIAN AMAZON)** \- probably lived in a permanent settlement, traded food or supply with other tribes \- what happened: the invention of the automobile happened \- being bulldozed and traumatized by the industrial terrorists **RUBBER BARRONS** \- rushing down to extremely gained profit \- forced Indigenous tribe to work for them, some who didn't want to were massacred, and some did due to exposure to diseases (epidemic) \- modern history that drove them to this current condition (isolated) \- demonstration of discourse \- the spread of global power **COLONIALISM** \- hard to define due to historical deficiency **DISCOURSE** \- how our knowledge is limited \- creating certain brackets on how knowledge is formed **WORLD SYSTEM THEORY** \- power dynamics that interconnect function in a particular way \- enhancing power using exploitation **PATTERNS OF VIOLENCE** - Global South has an unstable government - Central old tribal animosity - 20th century most of the countries that were colonized by the Europeans managed to be independent of colonialism \* Independent didn't mean sovereignty and because they still carried certain influences from the colonizer - Certain countries didn't exist as is but were created based on colonial power Ex.: Main ethnolinguistic/tribal regions of Nigeria - Politically unstable/corrupt - Causing some evil war and ethical war against each different region - When the colony of Nigeria was created there were no Nigerians, no identity, and no name but it was decided to be organized by the Europeans (British) - Organizing them into group, colony, and territory - Nigerian is not an identity - Once colonized they were formed to be in a unified state \* The British do not want unity but cooperation so they can manage and maintain control **"INDIRECT RULE"** \- a colonial policy of exploiting Indigenous power structures and divisions in service of imperial power and control \- kept local customs intact but only when deemed politically useful \- involved manipulation and favoritism, seeking corruption and interethnic rivalries \- created a new pattern of leadership \- reproduce patterns of favoritism, stocking rivalry, and corruption \- the form they are not used to is difficult to grasp, making corrupt engraved in their mind **RWANDA GENOCIDE (1994)** \- ongoing conflict civil war, Rwanda became famous during 1994 \- tribal animosity existing \- once unified state before colonialism **TWO MAJOR RWANDA POPULATION** 1\. Majority: Hutu (\~85%) \- farmers, agriculturists 2\. Minority: Tutsi (\~15%) \- mainly pastoralists \- historically linked to the monarchy \* These two groups before colonization were not separated ethnically Differences: class and division of labor \* Not fixed difference, there's a fluidity (they have a choice) \* Traditionally not separated ethnicities but the Belgian colonial rule turned them into bitter ethnic rivals \* Belgians inflicted chaos by making Tutsi superior and Hutu inferior RWANDA ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION CARD \- ethnic status \- 1959 gained independence \- escalation of conflict \- 1994 - close to approaching deal \* This conflict did not just happen because they hate each other but because of the term of infliction of colonialism using unfair treatment and manipulation Other former colonies where colonial tactics worsened ethnic tension or rivalries include: \- Cyprus: Greeks and Turks \- Sri Lanka: Tamils and Sinhalese...many more.., **PAUL FARMER (1995-2022)** \- pioneer of medical anthropology \- physicians and humanitarian activist \- he wanted the world should understand that war doesn't happen in a vacuum \- political and social circumstances \- mines came from another country \- lift men from poverty \- provide medical supplies and services **STUPID DEATHS** \- deaths are results of problems that could be solved but didn't "Event violence vs. structural violence" **STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE** \- Social conditions (poverty, corruption, neglect, war, corporate greed, etc.) that routinely put people in harm's way \- not having access to basic needs and help and opportunity \- poverty means not having access to what they need, opportunities, education **"Stateless Nations"** E.g.: Kurdistan \- see themselves in the nation but also included from other countries but this country does not recognize them rather as they are different from them **TRIBAL NATIONS** \- native Americans (Indigenous) \- migrated from Asia c. 1200 years ago \- Before Columbus \- population \~ up to 18 million (less than half today) \* Not all native Americans belong to tribal nations and not all tribes are nations \- \~300 spoken languages (half are now extinct) \- why does declination happen? \- massive depopulation of the western \- colonialism SETTLER COLONIALISM \- when a foreign people occupy a region, seeking to displace and/or replace native inhabitants and establish a new society \- The US is a society that was built in settler colonialism by English but mostly British Iroquois League \- a pre-colonial governing confederacy formed by live Iroquois-speaking nations; \- Cayuga, Oneida, onandaga, seneia, and mohawk \- Iroquois is like a prototype as a model of a state constitution \- a precursor to the American system of democracy \- tribes are forced to give up some of their rights to claim civil rights \- 20th century: The government stopped recognizing these tribes as a nation TRIBAL NATION TODAY \- 547 federally recognized (as of 2022) \- usually led by tribal councils \- limited political sovereignty \- members are also US citizens \- even though some of the tribal nations have sovereignty, they are not independent \- they can have their traditional system \- they can have their sovereignty in their properties and taxation NATIVE PRESERVATIONS \- land set aside by the US government for Native use and under native control \- 300 miles of reservation land overlaps in Canada and the United States \- most of their lands were taken over so they had to reside on these reservations Standing Rock pipeline protest \- tribes protest against the pipeline being built against the sacred land \- not just a political issue but there is an environmental issue in this project TRIBAL CITIZENSHIP \- determined by individual tribes \- sometimes require a 'blood quantum' Blood quantum: a certain amount of blood to be considered for this citizenship \- but Native citizenship and identity are primarily about community \- native ancestry doesn't guarantee citizenship by itself \- citizenship is determined by the chief \- not everybody is allowed to just pass the borders \- Mohawk interruptus by Audra Simpson \* Sovereignty does not work in a manner of traveling but a freedom to explore move pass border because it is their right RACE AND ETHNICITY A tale of two scandals! Rachel Dolezal Jessica Krug How did these two women do these? \- appearing from something or some other ethnicity \- what's the scandal about? \- lying, aspect of deception \- ample evidence to mislead someone from their lies ETHNICITY \- a sense of belonging to an ethnic group, or people who claim a shared cultural identity, based on factors like: 1\. Ancestry/heritage/Language 2\. Location/Nationality 3\. Religion \- can be a combination of two like: Ex.: Irish American, mother is Irish and father is American (ancestry) Chinese -- from China (nationality) Hindu -- religion Arab descent -- came from an ancestry of Arabians (ancestry) \- essential concept but used in different ways \- often seen as ascribed status i.e., assigned at birth/otherwise involuntary \- having no control with \- little or no control with Ex.: birth parents, genetics, skin color \* But ethnicities are socially constructed and can change depending on situational factors \- ethnic labels shift and evolve overtime \- not only the fixed stable objects \- individual life certain aspects change on being perceived making us think this way too Ex.: the way of life is different, but you can choose and will never change HISPANIC/LATINO \- Hispanic -- people who live in the US with Hispanic heritage \- people who live in the same Hispanic country \- Latino -- a unified, more inclusive category for people who speak in Spanish \- the post-colonial effect made them unified \- but not all Latin Americans do not speak Spanish ASIAN/ASIAN AMERICAN \- classifying yourself means accepting an alliance with the part of the continent Asia \- International adoption \- different from the parent's identity \- supposed you were born in another country and came here to America several factors are being counted into account: \- accent, how you look \- lifestyle, mannerisms, embracing certain parts of your identity ETHNICITY 1\. who our families tell us we are 2\. How we choose to self-identify 3\. How we are perceived/labeled by others in society \- what do we tell people who we are and what identity do we embrace the most \- but how do we perceive others RACE \- Based on European ideas tat there are different specific breeds \- emerges from the effect of colonialism RACIAL TAXONOMIES/ TYPOLOGIES \- assumption: the identity of the word can be categorized into different types TYPES OF RACIAL TAXONOMIES 1\. Phenotype \- the observable physical characteristics of any organism/species (such as humans) \- visible effects of genetic traits that develop in response to environmental conditions \- skin tone, eye shape, eye colors (effects of genetic traits that are affected by environmental conditions) \- primary evidence that is scientifically subjective SCIENTIFIC RACISM \- what scientists assume didn't really happen 2\. Phrenology (skull measurements) \- different racial types have different skull shapes (sizes) \- there is an inconsistency in the length of the skull or cranium \- White European -- longer forehead (intelligent) THE RACE MYTH "Race is a flawed system of classification with no biological basis, that uses certain physical characteristics to divide the human population into supposedly discrete groups." \- using superficial physical differences to categorize \- a basis for an institutionalized \- the discovery of privileges that make race a flawed system HOW DO WE KNOW THAT IT IS FLAWED? 1. Across label "racial" groups we are all alike than different \- there are few mammals that are homogenous \- this conclusion of evolution races the modernity like now \- no human population in the place or in contact with other \- broad influence \- as much as 99.9% alike, externally identical \- The remaining 0.1% is where phenotypes come in 2. There are no genetic traits or "bundles" of traits that are unique/exclusive to any group \- sickle cell -- blood disorder, sometimes born with this \- some characteristics are evolutionary advantages \- defense against malaria 3. There is more genetic variation within "racial" groups than between them \- there's within genetics \- most of the time you see more similarities and differences: \- variations such as skin tones, hair types, eye colors \- people get fixated on certain groups by basing on subjective impressions but sometimes humans have to categorize 4. Racial taxonomies are culturally varied (not scientific / "objective") \- e.g., Brazil vs. USA \- comparing the differences in how genetic characteristics are being ignored \- most European descent that makes them more dominant \- societies with a history of enslavement and movement to limit certain populations \*" color line" -- discourse between categorizing populations towards either black or white \- wider variety of categories not just a black and white RACIAL "TYPES" (tipos) in Brazil - Lotteros (blond) - Brancos (white) - Morenos (tanned, brunette) - Mulatos - Pretos ("black," African) - Pandos (indigenous, South Asian, African) \- having the affect of racial hierarchical assumptions HYPODESCENT \- when "mixed-race" individuals are automatically classified as members of the more minority/less privileged group \- common in societies with racial hierarchies \- e.g., huit 1967, anyone with even "one-drop" of African ancestry was legally black in many states over as laws reinforced segregation and bans against racial intermarriage \- based on the idea of being mixed-race you're do be categorized as minority who less privileged \- reason why it is still hard to talk about our identity more openly \- humans love category because this gives us this kind of certainty \- the need to categorize is the need to essentialize "Race" is based on fallacies, reinforce by ideologies \- the need is diven by not regonicing the difference but to make a structure 1880s -- big wave of migration \- Jews and Italians from Europe \- escapeong Romans \- poverty due to economic crisis \- how wage jobs living at the ghetto \- being unwanted, religious outsiders \- inferior racism \- being not accepted for being sseen as an outsider \- socially marginalized \- economically marginalized \- assumption: dominant group of society not wanting to lose their privileges \- rationale: they don't want certain races to be an American because this takes away their privilege CULTURAL ASSIMILATION \- when minority groups comes to resemble a society's majority culture by assuming its values and behavior \- generational changes \- education, intermarriage, religions, etc. \- coercion \*Assimilation doesn't happen at all that hold on to their culture, traditions, and beliefs... there are groups that are prevented because of their system FRANZ BOAS \- testing the hypothesis of phrenology by making measurement of two generations of European in the US \- alternative hypothesis: should be a cranial consistency \*found the opposite because of cranial plasticity (showing lots of variety) \- a lot of variations that can be defined by historical circumstances \- different time migrated \- different environment and great factors \- how they've been treated when migrated here \- not that they're capable of assimilation but prevention SYSTEMIC RACISM \- the presence of institutions, customs, and legal-political doctrines that reproduced, rely on or reflect the influence of racist attitudes \*the system is not about the behavior of the people but rather how institutions inflict this assimilation The "G.I Bill" ---1944 \- a law that was passed to provide benefits for veterans of the world war II \- students loan (example) only provided to white and not black veterans \*whiteness is not really an identity, it's more of like a privilege REDLINING \- the practice of denying financial services (mortgages and loans) to residents of certain areas, based on their race or ethnicity \- illegal today CULTURAL APPROPRIATION \- taking or using some aspect of someone else's heritage without permission or recompense in inappropriate, harmful, or unwelcome ways POLITICAL HARMS OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATION - Disrespect for sacred symbols - Distortion/misuse of traditions - Commercialization of cultural heritage - Loss of creative/artistic control - Loss of livelihood - Amplification of unequal power of dynamics