Anthropology Midterm Part 2 Flashcards
language definition
“Human language is a system of vocal-auditory communication, interacting with the
experiences of its users, employing conventional signs composed of arbitrary
patterned sound units and assembled according to set rules.
is language innate?
part of our innate abilities that evolved within our species
what is the the language instinct?
By the time children are two they have largely mastered a very
complex grammatical structure that is a part of the particular language that is spoken in their culture.
Language is something that is both innate and _______.
learned
the essence of language is a way of
thinking and acting.
language requires two or more individuals
at least one speaker and one receiver.
the vocal-auditory channel
all languages use the same channel for sending and receiving; the sound organs of speaking and hearing.
How does the vocal-auditory channel work?
the vocal-auditory channel uses sound waves or the vibrations in the atmosphere, which are both
transmitted and received by individuals. These vibrations are set in motion by the activity of the speech
organs. And all languages organize these vibrations in essentially the same way; as small units of sound
created by the mouth and larynx that can be combined and recombined in distinctive ways.
why is the vocal-auditory channel important to our evolution?
because relying on sound as opposed to sight or smell or touch
means that we can communicate about things that are not in our immediate presence, and we can
communicate efficiently while doing other things.
Communication between humans does take place through other
channels as well, such as
the tactile channel (touch), the visual channel (sight), and the olfactory channel (smell)
Transitoriness (DF)
Also called rapid fading, transitoriness refers to the temporary quality of
language. Language sounds exist for only a brief period of time, after which they are no longer
perceived. Sound waves quickly disappear once the speaker stops speaking. This is also true of visual
signs or gestures. In contrast, writing, which is a reflection but not language itself, is more permanent
Feedback (DF)
This means that speakers of a language can hear their own speech and thus can
control and modify what they saying as they are saying it. Moreover, we can see and interpret how
others are receiving the messages we are sending and alter accordingly.
interchangability (DF)
This refers to the idea that humans can both send and receive messages.
Humans are not limited by only being a hearer or a speaker, we can do both. Moreover, anything that
one can hear, one can also say.
duality of patterning (DF)
if sounds are the building blocks of language, or the code of language, those blocks need to be built
into larger structures of meanings such as words, sentences, stories, etc. Through language, dozens of
distinctive sounds are organized into scores of syllables, which become the basis of thousands of words,
and millions of possible sentence
example of duality of patterning
Words like
can,
tan,
ban, and
fan, for example, each use two similar symbols (the two ending sounds)
and one distinct symbol (the beginning sound). It is the unique combination that makes these words
meaningful.
multiple reinvestment
instead of having unique
symbols for each and every thing or idea we want to express, we have a few symbols which we can
combine and recombine in ways that convey a infinite range of meanings.
discreteness (DF)
his means that languages are
made up of small, discrete, and repeatable units that can be combined together in rule-governed ways.
It is the grammar of a language that determines how these combinations are made
discreteness example
As an example, in English we use the sound of “s” at the end of a noun to make it a plural. It is this
small bit of language, the “s”, which can be used on most nouns and can only be put at the end of a
word.
inaccessibility
While we all utilize the grammatical structure of the language we speak, we learn it without specifically
learning or memorizing the rules of the language – it is subconscious. You might study grammar later in
life, but by that time you are already fluent in the use of those rules. And this fluency starts early – by
about the age of 4
inaccessibility example
To continue with the example above, you learned to add “s” to the end of nouns to make them plural
when you were a child simply by hearing the language being used by others. No one had to explicitly
state this rule to you, and you don’t think about the rule when you use it
openness or proximity (DF)
the small components of language can be combined in an infinite
number of ways. This means that each speaker of a language is also an innovator, constantly
coining new phrases, sentences, and often even new words
prevarication (DF)
what a person says can be
false and can be done with the express desire to trick or deceive others.
language is reinforced by both ____ and ____ gestures
audible & visible
paralanguage
Paralanguage includes sounds such sneers, laughs, etc.
