Ant Study Lecture Notes PDF

Ant study LEC 9 October 7th ================= Would you describe people's beliefs in objects or witches as - - - Objectives Why anthropologist warn against the unreflective use of concepts like magic and witchcraft Magic as - - - - - (example of witch doctors and our proj...

Ant study LEC 9 October 7th ================= Would you describe people's beliefs in objects or witches as - - - Objectives Why anthropologist warn against the unreflective use of concepts like magic and witchcraft Magic as - - - - - (example of witch doctors and our projections of magic and such) Evolutionary approaches to spiritual beliefs and religion - - - - - - LEC 10 October 9th week 7.2 =========================== **Witchcraft and sorcery** -------------------------- **Questions of magic and misfortune** ------------------------------------- - - - **Monday:** - - - **What is logical? What is rational? To whom?** - - - E.E Evans-Pritchard (1902-19073) - - - (Major misfortunes, and illnesses were considered to be caused by witchcraft) (The azande would say illness was caused by witchcraft) - - - - - - What/How did evans-pritchard contribute to anthropological thought? ------------------------------------------------------------------- - WItchcraft in africanist anthropology ------------------------------------- - - - - - - Adam Mshforth and Madumo Witchcraft in post-apartheid South Africa In said book, - - - - LEC11 Week 8.2 Oct 21 ===================== To see midterm results go to office hours Linguistic Anthropology ----------------------- What is cultural about language? - - - - - - - - - - Three sets of questions ----------------------- - - - The relationship between language and culture: which comes first? Which affects the other? LEC12 Week 8.2 Oct 23 ===================== What is language ---------------- - - - How did we get to Linguistic Anthropology? William Jones - Historical linguist - Historical Linguistics ---------------------- Language: as a warehouse of vocabulary items, a source of comparison with others Goal: To discover.. Ferdinand De Saussure --------------------- - - - - - Saussure as a structuralist --------------------------- - - The arbitrariness of the sign ----------------------------- - How to make sense of sounds? ---------------------------- Saussure argued that you need to figure out the system that underlies the mess: the structure and the rules that allow people to communicate. - - 1. 2. - So... What's the situation? --------------------------- - - - Why does it matter? ------------------- De Saussure laid the foundation for a lot of how we think about and study language New variations of Saussarian principles emerge all the time Indexicality ------------ The sign is only a sign if one can link the signifier with the signified Semiosis: meaning making ------------------------ - 1. 2. 3. Week 9.1 Nov 4 ============== **Animal communication** ------------------------ Whether animals have language and if they are capable of human language. - - - - - - **HOCKETT'S DESIGN FEATURES** ----------------------------- The linguistic Charles Hockett came up with a list of 13 design features of language. Design features are the characteristics of language that distinguish it from other communicative systems. If a system lacks even one of those features, it is communication and not language. We will discuss five features of language, that are commonly considered to indicate that animals communicate, but do not approach the complexity of human language. - - - - - **ARBITRARINESS** ----------------- - - - Resembles what it stands for (showing teeth to fight) Points to what it stands for (dog urine points to their presence) - **But...** **Dancing bees** - - - - **Vervet Monkeys** Vervet monkeys in Eastern Africa have three different calls, for three different predators, with different responses. Eagle: hide in the middle of the tree Snake: stand up on your behind legs Leopard: hide high up in the tree With speakers, rather than actual predators, do they still respond correctly? Why is this significant? **TRANSMISSION** ---------------- - - - **PRODUCTIVITY** ---------------- - - **DISPLACEMENT** ---------------- - - - - **REFLEXIVITY** --------------- - - - (animals are not capable of all of them) The question lingers whether they are capable of language, But they are capable of communication Week 9.2 Nov 6 ============== - - - **Do animals have the capacity for language?** ---------------------------------------------- - - - - **GUA AND VICKY** ----------------- **WASHOE AND KOKO** ------------------- **PROJECT NIM** --------------- **Kanzi, the bonobo** --------------------- - - - Occam's razor (prefer the simpler explanation) Nov 11 Week 10.1 Language and worldviews ----------------------- Franz Boas ---------- "Father" of anthropology in North America Focused on disproving racist assertions about "primitive" languages, races, and cultures. All linguistic and cultural practices are equally complex and logical. Language might facilitate certain types of thinking and could provide a way of understanding patterns of culture and thought. (Said language was simply a way to culture) Edward Sapir ------------ Argued for language shaping one's behaviours along with Whorf Benjamin Lee Whorf ------------------ - - - - Whorf and Hopi notions of "time" -------------------------------- - (leads to debate about whether differing concepts in languages affect worldview, and if so to what extent?) **Comparison between English and Hopi** --------------------------------------- How do grammatical categories differ and how does that impact habitual thought? **English** treats time as units that can be isolated and counted (three days, five months ago, in two hours) Focus on schedules, historical sequencing **Hopi** non-objectifying, cyclical notion of time, time as part of the flow of events Focus on "eventing" - - - - **Sapir-Whorf "Hypothesis"** ---------------------------- Grammatical categories of particular languages will lead speakers to think about things in different ways. Linguistic determinism (strong version): the language you learn will determine the life you view the world (like a prison) Linguistic relativity (moderate version): The language you speak won't necessarily determine how you view the world (like a comfortable kitchen, freedom.) **Can we test this empirically?** NOV 13 ====== Three sets of questions: ------------------------ **Language** How are meanings made? What does it mean to speak a language? Does it impact the way I see the world? How do we learn a language? **Language and social interaction** How are interactions socially and culturally shaped? Language and power, language and ideologies How do differences or inequalities (e.g. gender, race, age\...) get created, reproduced or challenged through language? - How to study linguistic relativity? ----------------------------------- Three questions - - - Three angles Semiotic relativity: language-in-general Structural relativity: linguistic structures (how does the structure of a lang shape worldview?) Discursive relativity: language use (does the way we talk about things shape our worldview) Semiotic relativity (language in general) ----------------------------------------- - - - KNOWING A LANGUAGE, AND PARTICULARLY THE ABILITY TO USE CONVENTIONAL SYMBOL AND COMPLEX GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES, HAS AN IDENTIFIABLE COGNITIVE EFFECT. **Animals** Focus on here-and-now, no abstract concepts, no complex relationships, no theory-of-mind Animals who learn human language? Appears to enhance some animals' abilities to process information, understand complex situations,\... But remains limited: no theory of mind, no new words, no syntax **Children** The language you speak has an effect on your ability to hear and produce sounds in natural speech contexts. For example, aspiration in Swahili (mto as river or pillow). (Your native language may affect you learning languages later on) Theory-of-mind research (put yourself in their shoes to predict,understand what they may do) (Children with limited language development wont display theory of mind) (children with hearing disabilities and sign language vs lip reading) (conclusion: language is important in cognitive development) Does the development of language facilitate the development of theory-of-mind? Structural relativity (linguistic structures) --------------------------------------------- Main line of enquiry: How does speaking one or more specific language (e.g. Hopi versus English) Influence thinking? How do specific structures within a particular language, such as grammatical categories, influence thinking or behaviour? Tests and studies in this group focus on how morphosyntactic configurations of meaning affect thinking. Tests are usually comparative across languages. Single words? ------------- (inuit 1000 words for snow example (just because they have more words does not mean they see the world different ) ) Semantic domains and grammatical categories ------------------------------------------- Grammatical categories (habitual or obligatory) e.g. noun classes, pronouns,\... Semantic domains: kinship, colour,\... Words that are learned in reference to each other (e.g. mother, father, aunt, uncle,\...) How languages see colours differently Linguistic variation can influence the way colours are perceived (varying boundaries of linguistic colour categories can affect colour cognition) (Does having extra semantics change the way you see the world?)(watch video linked) Relative vs. Absolute --------------------- Spatial Frames of Reference --------------------------- (How you refer to objects in space) (relative to you vs (absolute or compass directions)) Absolute frame of reference: maintain a constant awareness of their position, run a mental compass in the unconscious background Approximately one third of the world's languages Discursive relativity --------------------- (language use) -------------- Main line of enquiry: does using language in a particular way influence thinking? Can language use (rather than linguistic structure) have an impact on cognition? Illegal or undocumented?(same meaning) (can certain words used shape people\'s views) Metaphors Time Illness Summary ------- Linguistic relativity The proposal that the language we speak influences or shapes the way we view the world. This relationship is predispositional rather than deterministic Remains controversial because of its supposed implications Three different angles Semiotic: relation between having language and cognitive development Structural: relation between grammatical structure and habitual thinking Discursive: relation between word use/ways of speaking and thinking about particular topics. NOV 18 WEEK 11.1 ================ **Language acquisition and socialisation** ------------------------------------------ If the language we speak impacts the way we view the world, is the way we learn language also culturally mediated? **Acquisition versus socialisation** What's the difference? **How do we become competent speakers?** ---------------------------------------- Linguistic competence and communicative competence Acquisition and socialisation How do we acquire language? How do we learn to *use language*? How are we socialised into particular ways of speaking and using language? How do we learn to use a language in *a socially and culturally appropriate way?* Nature vs. nurture? (Do we have to have input, is nurture the main factor) ** Today -- language acquisition** What is it? What different approaches/theories exist? What objections can be offered to them? ** Wednesday -- language socialisation** What is it and why might it be important? What do studies teach us about language socialisation? In different cultural contexts? In the North American context? Throughout our lifetime? **Initial thoughts** B.F. Skinner: social environment or nurture (argued for nurture) Argued that children learn through Association Imitation Reinforcement **Objections?** What about "mistakes" children make? He hitted me Mouses (these are interesting because it shows they don't exactly mimic us, but that they also understand conjugation) What about new sentences children make? Adults do not (consistently) correct mistakes. **Noam Chomsky** ---------------- (argued that there is an innate ability to learn languages in children) Innatist He observed that 1\) children are able to produce and understand new sentences that are not similar to those previously heard. 2\) we all have the capacity to perfectly learn whatever language when we are first born Chomsky concluded that children have an innate, instinctive capability to learn a language. "language acquisition is based on the child's discovery of what from a formal point of view is a deep and abstract theory -- a generative grammar of his/her language." (1965: 57-58) Similar to Saussure: speech is messy, language is structure and rules (a system) We all have an innate language device that allows us to form rules out of speech, to deduct the system from the messiness we hear. On what basis? Chomsky noted that children Learn their mother tongue very easily Are exposed to little correct language use Do not copy, but deduce rules (not a repertoire, but a generative grammar) Language as an innate faculty Language Acquisition Device (LAD) A set of tools provided at birth that focuses specifically on the acquisition of language Universal Grammar (UG) The basis upon which all human languages build, and which the LAD is pre-wired to detect Linneberg's Critical Period: proves innateness? Important note: there is input, but children as passive **Chomsky's critics** --------------------- Competence vs. performance (Saussure-like)? Only linguistic competence? Meaning as secondary, reduces language to grammar "colorless green ideas sleep furiously" What is core grammar? Disregards the social context in which a child learns their first language Input is not entirely deficient Language as part of general cognitive development, no separate "device" Takeaways: language nurture or nature, proponents for both and how newborns are the subject of it November 20 week 11.2 ===================== **Language acquisition and socialization** ------------------------------------------ Question: If the language we speak impacts the way we view the world, is the way we learn language also culturally mediated? **Acquisition versus socialization** What's the difference? Chomsky on bilingualism? A child is perfectly capable of learning two languages at the same time(consistent exposure) (Relearning a language is easy even if one forgot) What about sign language? () **The critical period** **Two questions** Is there a critical period? What happens if a child does not hear language between 2-7 years of age? (a child will be able to acquire a language efficiently in this time period, After this you may not be able to acquire the language with native proficiency, this supports Chomsky) (after 7, with no prior language hearing, with enough input, they would be able to learn) How does the social environment impact language acquisition? (How do we test this ethically? Case of genie) The case of Genie (never interacted in language, a feral child, she initially picked up vocabulary but was not able to formulate sentences over two words, grammar or syntax, genie's cognitive function was affected by various things) Nature vs nurture (not really agreed upon) **Conclusions?** The development of linguistic abilities is linked to the maturation of cognitive processes. Whether this is tied to an innate language device is not agreed upon Rather, it is likely linked to our overall development, our capacity for symbolic representation, or even social needs can aid language development. But\...even if we accept that there is an innate aspect or quality that allows us to learn language, is the social completely devoid of meaning for language acquisition and Socialization? If we say no, how does social impact language learning? (caregiver register, parent talking to child example) How does the innate human capacity to learn a language intersect with the culturally and linguistically specific factors of a child's upbringing? What did you learn from **Deb Roy's** video? What was interesting? (caregivers simplify their language, yes there are innate parts to language acquisition, but in addition to social impact (caregiver register) ). (there's no comparison of the study to other cases in different economic classes, places etc, so we cannot definitely say caregiver register is imperative in language acquisition) Ideologies of language acquisition **Analytical tools?** --------------------- **Language Ideologies:** The attitudes, opinions, beliefs or theories we have about Language. (social ideologies affect how we interact with infants, and also how that affects their language acquisition) ** Examples** Elinor Ochs and Bambi Schieffelin North American, Kaluli and Samoan **NORTH-AMERICAN** Children as competent interlocutors Dyadic (one on one, face to face) conversations Effort to interpret what children say Self-lowering (simplify language) Child-raising **KALULI** Very little dyadic conversation Turns the child away from the mother, to face the social environment Not spoken to, but spoken for, confidently and in full sentences Interactions not based on anything the child has initiated **SAMOA** No simplified language use Not spoken to, except for maybe commands Child expected to accommodate the social context No effort to interpret a child's incorrect sentences Children are not viewed as appropriate interaction partners (the Kaluli and samoan children acquired their language fluently, a common misconception is that they don't) (The children were socialized into their social contexts, hierarchy, big families, values of place etc) **CAREGIVER REGISTER IS NOT A GIVEN** The simplified, clear speech of middle-class North American is not necessary for the acquisition of language by young children Caregiver speech is a sociological phenomenon Simplifying speech is not a universal, and not a natural process. It is not a prerequisite for language acquisition, nor does it speed it up. Societies differ in their expectations of what children can and should communicate Children are socialized into very different kinds of social beings through culturally specific uses of language. Children take an active role in constructing a language that is most useful to their needs and to their social status. **Three important conclusions** ------------------------------- Language acquisition and language socialization are inherently interconnected. The process of acquiring language is deeply affected by the process of becoming a competent member of society. The process of becoming a competent member of society is realized to a large extent through language. Whatever the socialization practices, children will become fluent speakers in their native language. **Language Socialization** -------------------------- Throughout the Lifespan Language socialization does not end with childhood. Taking on new social roles, as happens after joining a social club, becoming a parent or acquiring a new profession, will almost always be accompanied by --and at least partially accomplished through- the learning of new ways of speaking. As a first year university student, you are socialized into campus life and language use. As an anthropology student, you are socialized into anthropology lingo. **Language socialization** -------------------------- in North America Shirley Brice Heath Post-segregation Southern United States (late 1960s) How do different communities socialize their children into language? What are the effects of home and community environments on learning language that is needed in the classroom and job settings? (Heath, 1983: 14) How do different socialization practices reflect in other aspects of a child's development? Three communities socialize their children differently into literacy, which differently impacts their school performance later on. This cannot be explained on some basis of "race." Mainstream education is often aligned with upper-middle class practices. **Summary** ----------- Language acquisition and language socialization go hand-in-hand. No matter how children are interacted with, they all learn their mother tongue perfectly. Language acquisition is not just about an innate capacity to learn language, but goes together with becoming a competent member of society. Language socialization continues throughout one's lifetime. TUT nov 21 3 concepts from class Final will be exam 2 pages roughly Evidence and tie it Solid stance Essay question will be relevant to last 3 lecs specifically in november Articles important and know who did what Citings huge ("in lecture" is fine) NOVEMBER 25 =========== Make up class dec 3 regular class time Exam jam dec 5 4-5 Final exam dec 6 9-11am Exam material- 2nd half **Language and race** ===================== **Three sets of questions** **Language** How are meanings made What does it mean to speak a language ? does it impact the way i see the world How do we learn a language **Language and social interaction** How are interactions socially and culturally shaped? **Language and power, language and ideologies** How do differences or inequalities (e.g. gender, race, age\...) get created, reproduced or challenged through language? LEARNING OBJECTIVES [Monday] What is the folk theory of race, and how do anthropologists object to it? What connections exist between language and race? Standard language ideology, language subordination, and accommodation theory [Wednesday] How is racism enacted through language? How do covert forms of racism perpetuate inequalities? Defining race **What is "race"?** "Folk theory" of race: race as a basic category of human biological variation, combined with the idea that each human being can be assigned to a race. **Defining race** **What is "race"?** "Folk theory" of race: race as a basic category of human biological variation, combined with the idea that each human being can be assigned to a race. What objections can you formulate to this "folk theory"? Human populations are not unambiguously, clearly demarcated, biologically distinct groups There is greater genetic variation within so-called racial groups (94%) than between them (6%) There is gradual rather than abrupt physical variation (e.g. skin colour is not a binary trait) Physical traits (skin colour, hair type, etc.) are inherited independently from one another These facts render any attempt to establish lines of division among biological populations both arbitrary and subjective. **THUS\... race as a social fact** **As a social category race is real:** it influences people's life trajectories and identities Rather than a primordial biological essence, better thought of as a process of racialization or racial formation. The concept of race provides us with insights into the cultural and social meanings people ascribe to perceived or actual biological differences, such as skin colour or hair type. But parameters of racial classification are **not a biological given.** People cannot be grouped into racial categories based on a set of phenotypic features Race means something different in each society because it is **a social construct** and varies from place to place The selection of certain features as belonging to a particular racial category is an arbitrary selection based on the particular socio-historical context. **This is inherently tied to discussions of power and inequality** **(**race is a social construct**,** has a lot to do with history compared to biology) AAA Statement on race Physical variations in any given trait tend to occur gradually rather than abruptly over geographic areas. And because physical traits are inherited independently of one another, knowing the range of one trait does not predict the presence of others. For example, skin color varies largely from light in the temperate areas in the north to dark in the tropical areas in the south; its intensity is not related to nose shape or hair texture. Dark skin may be associated with frizzy or kinky hair or curly or wavy or straight hair, all of which are found among different indigenous peoples in tropical regions. These facts render any attempt to establish lines of division among biological populations both arbitrary and subjective. How people have been accepted and treated within the context of a given society or culture has a direct impact on how they perform in that society. The \"racial\" worldview was invented to assign some groups to perpetual low status, while others were permitted access to privilege, power, and wealth. The tragedy in the United States has been that the policies and practices stemming from this worldview succeeded all too well in constructing unequal populations among Europeans, Native Americans, and peoples of African descent. Given what we know about the capacity of normal humans to achieve and function within any culture, we conclude that present-day inequalities between so-called \"racial\" groups are not consequences of their biological inheritance but products of historical and contemporary social, economic, educational, and political circumstances. **Language and race?** "I don't care about the color of our skin, but speak that dialect of yours someplace where it won't insult my ears." "You were a successful engineer in the Ukraine, sure, but why can't you speak real English?" "If you just didn't sound so corn-pone, people would take you seriously. You're the best salesperson we've got, but must you sound gay on the Phone?\" (how language can be a method of discrimination In Lippi-Green, p. 66 **Standard Language Ideology** ------------------------------ Language as apolitical? One language -- One nation ideology Standard Language Ideology: "a bias toward an **abstracted, idealized, homogenous spoken language** which is imposed and maintained by dominant bloc institutions and which names as its model the written language, but which is drawn **primarily from the spoken language of the upper-middle class**." (Lippi-Green, p. 67) **Education as central in this process** Children are socialized into particular prejudices and into the language ideology of the middle-class. Dominant institutions promote the notion of an overarching, homogenous standard language, which is primarily Anglo, upper middle-class, and ethnically white (Lippi-Green, p 68) Why do people buy into this? Why do they comply with their own subordination? **Markedness:** not speaking the standard stands out, it is marked **Language as capital:** speaking the standard comes with a reward **Accommodation Theory** ------------------------ On who is the communicative burden? \- Who is expected to "fix" their language to be understood? Who is expected to make the effort for the interaction to run smoothly? Who accommodates whom? \- See video at the start of class The accents we hear go through our language ideology filters. Who can reject can reject the communicative burden? "I signed up for this chemistry course but dropped it when I saw the Teaching Assistant. I shouldn't have to have TAs who can't speak English Natively." (Lippi-Green p. 72) November 27th ============= Language and race ----------------- Week 10.2 --------- **Monday's recap** - Standard language idiology One language, that is "better," "neutral" **Ideology of the monoglot standard** A community or nation state having one homogenous language, the standard. Unity depends on it. A refusal is viewed as a threat, an unnwillingness to integerate. Language subordination and accommodation. **African-American English** What are some ideologies surrounding AAE? - - **But** - - - - **Invariant or habitual "be"** - - - **Double Negatives** I can't get nothing done Existed before, even common in shakespeare Throughout history became stigmatized Common in other languages e.g French: je ne veux rien The idea that this is illogical is a language ideology All dialects..... Ask vs aks Most horrendous of errors Goes back hundreds of years Lack of corrrepsondence between sound and symbol in English Only few are stigmatized based on socio-cultural and political context **Racism in language** Overt racist talk But what about covert racism? How does racism enter our eveyrday talk? Racism is nto just quality of individuals but rather a product of institutions December 2nd Language and gender Three sets of questions - - Reading: elaborates slides from lecture - - December 3 ========== Do women and men speak differently? ----------------------------------- - - - Gossip - - - - - - - -