language and culture Sociolinguistics

Does language influence what we believe and how we behave? Does language determine how we perceive the world?

Two linguists Benjamin Lee Whorf An anthropological linguist Edward Sapir A linguist at Yale University

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis People from different cultures think differently because of differences in their languages. (linguistic determinism)

“the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized in our minds-and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds.” –B. L. Whorf

Examples Eskimo different terms to describe snow Hawaiian different terms to describe sea waves Kunwinjku (an Australian Aboriginal language) different terms to describe ?

Does treating chairs as masculine and beds as feminine in the grammar make Russian speakers think of chairs as being more like men and beds as more like women in some way?

Schlüssel ‘ key’ "hard," "heavy," "jagged," "metal”, "useful”, "golden," "intricate," "little," "lovely," "shiny,“ "tiny,“ "beautiful," "elegant," "fragile," "peaceful," "pretty,“ d "slender,“ "big," "dangerous," "long," "strong," "sturdy," and "towering." Brucke ‘bridge’ "hard," "heavy," "jagged," "metal”, "useful”, "golden," "intricate," "little," "lovely," "shiny,“ "tiny,“ "beautiful," "elegant," "fragile," "peaceful," "pretty,“ "slender,“ "big," "dangerous," "long," "strong," "sturdy," and "towering."

Different concept of time East African Swahili time runs from dawn to dusk, rather than midnight to midday. 7am and 7pm are therefore both one o'clock while midnight and midday are six o'clock. Words such as asubuhi 'morning', jioni 'evening' and usiku 'night' can be used to demarcate periods of the day, for example: saa moja asubuhi ('hour one morning') 7:00 a.m. saa tisa usiku ('hour nine night') 3:00 a.m. saa mbili usiku ('hour two evening') 8:00 p.m.

Counter-examples Colors: You cannot identify colors which your language does not have a name for. A reversed Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis The physical and socio-cultural environment determines the distinctions that the language develops.

The weak form of the hypothesis Linguistic relativity The categories provided by a language may make it easier to draw certain conceptual distinctions.

Linguistic categories and culture Misconceptions: Simple societies cannot have complex grammars. Simple societies possess only primitive languages.

Swahili noun classes classprefixsingulartranslationpluraltranslation 1, 2m-/mu-, wa-mtupersonwatupersons 3, 4m-/mu-, mi-mtitreemititrees 5, 6Ø/ji-, ma-jichoeyemachoeyes 7, 8ki-, vi-kisuknifevisuknives 9, 10Ø/n-, Ø/n-ndotodreamndotodreams 11u-uabackyard 14u-utotochildhood

Linguistic categories and culture The classification of linguistic categories is the reflection of culture. Language encodes culture Examples: Tahitians: ‘sickness’=‘sadness’ An attack from evil spirits

Gender in noun German Der Banhoff, der Wagen Die Luft, die Dame Das Boot, das Jahr

Discourse pattern in culture The pattern of communication is different from one culture to another. How we talk American culture vs. Chinese culture

Politeness in culture Positive politeness Express social solidarity and minimize social distance Emphasize shared attitudes and values On the first name (FN) basis Negative politeness Express oneself appropriately in terms of social distance and respect status differences On the title-last name (TLN) basis

Linguistic politeness in different cultures Refusing an invitation How to get enough food in Taiwan