Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Chapter 13 - World View
Michael O’Neill and Randall Wood. 2015.
The Grammar of Happiness: Discovering the Unique Communication Style of an
Amazonian Tribe. Green Planet Films
Unresolved Question
- Does language shape the way we think and see the world (linguistic relativity)?
- Or is there a genetic component to language faculty so that the human brain is
hardwired with a basic framework for organizing language (universal grammar - i.e.
there is a a similar structure in all languages)?
Universal Grammar (Noam Chomsky)
- The theory of the genetic component of the language faculty, usually credited to
Noam Chomsky. Accordingly the human brain is hardwired with a basic framework
for organizing language that creates a universal grammar—a similar structure in all
languages.
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- The idea that di erent languages create di erent ways of thinking.
Does Daniel Everett adhere to the theory of the universal grammar?
No, because if the argument is about culture, there is nothing universal about
culture.
In the lm “The Grammar of Happiness” we learn more about Daniel Everett, a
linguist who is best known for his studies of the language of the Pirahã people of
the Amazon basin. For Everett, which element plays the most signi cant role in
the structuring language?
• religion
• emotions
1
fi ff ff fi
, Tuesday, November 26, 2019
• culture
• biology
Week 13
November 26, 2019 Part I – World view
Rumspringa
Rumspringa (meaning "running around"): "it is a time for the youths to attend their
parties and do those kinds of things (...) it is the time during which a person needs to
make his individual choices as to whether he will follow Jesus Christ or not and you
cannot make that decision until he is accountable which is generally accepted as over
the age of 16. He will hopefully of course make that decision positively, not only follow
Christ but also to be baptized and to become a member in the order of Amish.”
Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957)
Victor Turner (1920–1983)
Rite of Passage
A category of ritual that enacts a change of status from one life stage to another, either
for an individual or for a group.
3 primary stages in all rites of passage (according to Victor Turner)
(1) Seperation (physically, psychologically, or symbolically—from the normal, day-to-
day activities of the group)
(2) Liminality (period of outsiderhood set apart, from normal society that is key to
achieving a new perspective on the past, future, and current community). (Rumspringa
is during this phase)
(3) Reincorporation (returns of the individual to everyday life; the individual
reintegrates community transformed by the experience of liminality and endowed with
a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and connection to the larger group)
2
Chapter 13 - World View
Michael O’Neill and Randall Wood. 2015.
The Grammar of Happiness: Discovering the Unique Communication Style of an
Amazonian Tribe. Green Planet Films
Unresolved Question
- Does language shape the way we think and see the world (linguistic relativity)?
- Or is there a genetic component to language faculty so that the human brain is
hardwired with a basic framework for organizing language (universal grammar - i.e.
there is a a similar structure in all languages)?
Universal Grammar (Noam Chomsky)
- The theory of the genetic component of the language faculty, usually credited to
Noam Chomsky. Accordingly the human brain is hardwired with a basic framework
for organizing language that creates a universal grammar—a similar structure in all
languages.
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- The idea that di erent languages create di erent ways of thinking.
Does Daniel Everett adhere to the theory of the universal grammar?
No, because if the argument is about culture, there is nothing universal about
culture.
In the lm “The Grammar of Happiness” we learn more about Daniel Everett, a
linguist who is best known for his studies of the language of the Pirahã people of
the Amazon basin. For Everett, which element plays the most signi cant role in
the structuring language?
• religion
• emotions
1
fi ff ff fi
, Tuesday, November 26, 2019
• culture
• biology
Week 13
November 26, 2019 Part I – World view
Rumspringa
Rumspringa (meaning "running around"): "it is a time for the youths to attend their
parties and do those kinds of things (...) it is the time during which a person needs to
make his individual choices as to whether he will follow Jesus Christ or not and you
cannot make that decision until he is accountable which is generally accepted as over
the age of 16. He will hopefully of course make that decision positively, not only follow
Christ but also to be baptized and to become a member in the order of Amish.”
Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957)
Victor Turner (1920–1983)
Rite of Passage
A category of ritual that enacts a change of status from one life stage to another, either
for an individual or for a group.
3 primary stages in all rites of passage (according to Victor Turner)
(1) Seperation (physically, psychologically, or symbolically—from the normal, day-to-
day activities of the group)
(2) Liminality (period of outsiderhood set apart, from normal society that is key to
achieving a new perspective on the past, future, and current community). (Rumspringa
is during this phase)
(3) Reincorporation (returns of the individual to everyday life; the individual
reintegrates community transformed by the experience of liminality and endowed with
a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and connection to the larger group)
2
