SOC101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Stereotype, Social Forces, Self-Image
19 Feb 2013
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Document Summary
A symbol is something that stands for or represents something else. A language is a shared symbol system of rules and meaning. Shared cultural symbols allow us to interact, language is a key identifier of cultural boundaries. 3500 languages in danger of extinction (harrison, 2007) when a language dies so do its related cultural myths, folk songs, legends, etc, resulting in cultural amnesia. Linguistic determinism: sapir-whorf hypothesis, language does in fact determine thought, perceptions of the world are influenced by the limitations of our thought, contemporary research shows little support, most people don"t think this hypothesis hold up. Non-verbal communication includes a whole spectrum of body language: body language, proximity, haptics, oculesics, chronemics, olfactics, vocalics, sound symbols, adornment, locomotion. Subculture: a group within a population whose values, norms, folkways, or mores set them apart from the mainstream culture, often based on race, ethnicity and religion, e. g.
