ANTH-101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Benjamin Lee Whorf, Edward Sapir, European Colonialism
Document Summary
Language and communication: an introduction to anthropological linguistics. Language: the system of arbitrary vocal symbols we use to encode our experience of the world: including non-verbal human communication. Signs and symbols (e. g. music, algebra, road signs) Linguistics: the scientific study of language: historical linguistics how language changes over time and why, descriptive linguistics describing the structure of the language, sociolinguistics how we speak in certain social contexts/relationships. Systems of communication are not unique to humans: can be produced in a variety of ways; sound, odor and body movement. Primates use all three, but mostly rely on sound: call systems (e. g. vervet monkeys" three calls for predator) Studies involving chimps and gorillas and american sign language (asl) Non-human primates have the ability to symbol to refer to something with an arbitrary label : e. g. Koko extended the sign for drinking straw to hoses and plastic tubing: e. g.
