03/13/24
language and cognition
Noam Chomsky
- Argues that there are many shared characteristics in all languages and claims these are
due to the underlying structure of the human brain
- ethnosemantics- the study if classification systems of animals, pants, colors,and other
aspects of a cultural domain. Systems if classification in language helps nthropologust
understand other aspects if a cultural system
- all lanaguages apply rhe concept of markedness to form distinguished categories. In
English the unmarked category is usually mite general and inclusive of the two, while the
marked category is more specific. For example English, lion is the unmarked category,
lioness is for marked gender
- lamnague use is a very importantt component of how they think about themselves, ppl
around them, what they, how they value as a linguistic and social concept.
Shared characteristic
- phonemes = unique sound. Very language has between twenty and forty basic sounds
called phoneams. Do not has meaning themselves but know when they r put together
with a work
- morphemes- units of language that carry meaning
03/18/24
What else language can identify political decisions, gender distinctions,
gender and language
- there are a lot of stylistic differences
- may share distinctive speech patterns within a culture and consciously or unconsciously
manipulate their speech use to conform to ot resist dominant group language norms
03/20/24
ebonics/ African American English= African American English, especially when regarded as a
language in its own right rather than as a dialect of standard English.
- teachers should incorporate linguistic terms that the students have already been using
- there was an uproar of teachers speaking Ebonics and speaking like that to the
students. They wants teachers to understand that kids that speak this language are not
using bad grammar , its not English slang, not lazy English, it is a consistent system of
nouns, verb forms, and some of those verb forms are not the same as English verb
forms and they mean something different, not that kids are making a mistake with the
way they are speaking. They are expressing the continues verb form (i be going to the
store)
, - parents can either feel positive or negative about kids being adopted or american
English
1) Positive- have a better opportunity to what they had
2) negative- could be distancing from their culture
How children learn langauge
- at birth- can determine the mothers langauge, speech anatomy is in place
- infants- nonligitsic sounds, can later pronounce vowel and consonant transitions like
dada and by the end of the first year word production usually begins
- 24 months- toddlers can pronounce 50 different words
- age 2- can pronounce grammatical speech in the form of word combinations, using
50-150 words
- children learn the importance if word formation, language style, and word order early in
language acquisition
03/25/24
notes on section 1
- depending on where you are that’s how you can view psychology
- Sample sizes are important to take into consideration
03/27/24
symbolism
- metaphor only relates to speech not every single thing
- People behavior is framed according to s set of symbols of cultural ideas.
- anthropologist learn to read culture like a text and to analyze these symbols.
- Symbol sin culture are concerned with the meanings of words, actions, and objects.
Symbols are also expressive and convey emotions
Other kinda of symbols
- totemic animal- an animal that represents the spirit if the originating ancestor in some kin
based social systems. Certain groups who observe totems have a very special
relationship with that totem like the wouldn’t kill it or eat in some cultures you do eat it
and that makes it special
Symbolism of color is important too
- example wearing white on your wedding
- or wearing red is done by the Indians or Chinese
- wearing a specific color during morning
Use of space symbolic (physical space)
- gender specific spaces, neighborhoods, day and night spaces, religious space, age
group space
- ex- synagogue in judusiam or Islamic groups
language and cognition
Noam Chomsky
- Argues that there are many shared characteristics in all languages and claims these are
due to the underlying structure of the human brain
- ethnosemantics- the study if classification systems of animals, pants, colors,and other
aspects of a cultural domain. Systems if classification in language helps nthropologust
understand other aspects if a cultural system
- all lanaguages apply rhe concept of markedness to form distinguished categories. In
English the unmarked category is usually mite general and inclusive of the two, while the
marked category is more specific. For example English, lion is the unmarked category,
lioness is for marked gender
- lamnague use is a very importantt component of how they think about themselves, ppl
around them, what they, how they value as a linguistic and social concept.
Shared characteristic
- phonemes = unique sound. Very language has between twenty and forty basic sounds
called phoneams. Do not has meaning themselves but know when they r put together
with a work
- morphemes- units of language that carry meaning
03/18/24
What else language can identify political decisions, gender distinctions,
gender and language
- there are a lot of stylistic differences
- may share distinctive speech patterns within a culture and consciously or unconsciously
manipulate their speech use to conform to ot resist dominant group language norms
03/20/24
ebonics/ African American English= African American English, especially when regarded as a
language in its own right rather than as a dialect of standard English.
- teachers should incorporate linguistic terms that the students have already been using
- there was an uproar of teachers speaking Ebonics and speaking like that to the
students. They wants teachers to understand that kids that speak this language are not
using bad grammar , its not English slang, not lazy English, it is a consistent system of
nouns, verb forms, and some of those verb forms are not the same as English verb
forms and they mean something different, not that kids are making a mistake with the
way they are speaking. They are expressing the continues verb form (i be going to the
store)
, - parents can either feel positive or negative about kids being adopted or american
English
1) Positive- have a better opportunity to what they had
2) negative- could be distancing from their culture
How children learn langauge
- at birth- can determine the mothers langauge, speech anatomy is in place
- infants- nonligitsic sounds, can later pronounce vowel and consonant transitions like
dada and by the end of the first year word production usually begins
- 24 months- toddlers can pronounce 50 different words
- age 2- can pronounce grammatical speech in the form of word combinations, using
50-150 words
- children learn the importance if word formation, language style, and word order early in
language acquisition
03/25/24
notes on section 1
- depending on where you are that’s how you can view psychology
- Sample sizes are important to take into consideration
03/27/24
symbolism
- metaphor only relates to speech not every single thing
- People behavior is framed according to s set of symbols of cultural ideas.
- anthropologist learn to read culture like a text and to analyze these symbols.
- Symbol sin culture are concerned with the meanings of words, actions, and objects.
Symbols are also expressive and convey emotions
Other kinda of symbols
- totemic animal- an animal that represents the spirit if the originating ancestor in some kin
based social systems. Certain groups who observe totems have a very special
relationship with that totem like the wouldn’t kill it or eat in some cultures you do eat it
and that makes it special
Symbolism of color is important too
- example wearing white on your wedding
- or wearing red is done by the Indians or Chinese
- wearing a specific color during morning
Use of space symbolic (physical space)
- gender specific spaces, neighborhoods, day and night spaces, religious space, age
group space
- ex- synagogue in judusiam or Islamic groups
