1. LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
SOCI 202
SPRING 2012
Instructor: Deniz Yükseker
Koç University

2. Language
A system of arbitrary vocal symbols that human beings use to encode their experience of the world and to communicate with one another Linguistics: scientific study of language Anthropological linguistics/linguistic anthropology (ethnolinguistics): study of language in cultural context

3. Linguistics
19th century linguistics: was concerned with language change over long periods of time (such as language families) 20th century linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure ( ): descriptive linguistics  was concerned with patterns of a language in a given time

4. Saussure’s linguistics
Parole: vocal utterances Langue: stable, universal rules of a language Langue  grammar Langue: a self-contained system The significance of any element in the system depends on its relations with other elements

5. Saussure: the relation between sounds in a language is arbitrary Phonemes: minimal units of sound recognized by speakers of a language Phonology: the study of sound patterns Morphemes: minimal unit of meaning in a language Morphology: the study of rules of combining morphemes

6. Cont’d
Rules for combining morphemes and phonemes Horizontal axis (syntagmatic): linearity of speech Vertical axis (paradigmatic): morphemes that belong to the same “form class” Semantics: categories and rules for relating vocal symbols to their referents

7. Noam Chomsky’s linguistics
Not only morphemes and phonemes, but also Sentences are units of grammatical structure Syntax: the study of sentence structures Surface structure: what comes out of people’s mouths Deep structure: syntactic rules

8. Parallel between: Langue and Parole and Deep structure and Surface structure Linguistic competence: knowledge of grammatical rules Lınguistic performance: actual things people said Chomsky disregarded linguistic performance

9. Language and culture
Anthropological linguist Dell Hymes Communicative competence (contrasted to linguistic competence) Use of language in a cultural setting requires more than linguistic competence To understand communicative competence, we should also look at parole, surface structures and linguistic performance

10. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Anthropologists in mid-20th century: there is a link between language and culture The patterns of a language (its grammar) influence the thought patterns and cultural practices of its speakers  Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Is there any validity to this thesis? It simplifies both language, and human perception

11. Dell Hymes  Speech communities: a community of individuals who regularly interact with one another verbally Not one, but several languages, and not one, but several different variaties of the same language, might be in use in a speech community

12. Regional dialects Social dialects Social registers John Gumperz  Verbal repertoires: sets of weapons that one can employ in verbal and social struggles with others Code switching Disglossia: the use of two different codes (languages) in mutually exclusive social settings

13. Language and social power
Language use is related to power struggles within a society Not all languages or dialects are respected equally Mikhael Bakhtin  Heteroglossia (many-voicedness): there is a struggle over control of public discourse Double-voiced discourse: parodic language, ironic language

14. Language contact and change
Pidgin: a reduced language with a simplified grammar and vocabulary Pidgins may transform into Creoles, which have more developed vocabularies and grammars What is the effect of European colonization on creole formation? What about linguistic colonization today?

15. Is there only spoken and written language?
Ways of communication other than verbal language: Body language Dressing style Consumption styles Body art as language  All of these nonlinguistic symbols acquire meaning within a culture

16. Body art as language
Symbols written on the body can be understood only within a cultural setting They can express: A message Signs of individuality Social status Cultural identity See: