Download - Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Communication (Miller Chapter 9)

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

Communication(Miller Chapter 9)


The BIG Questions

How do humans communicate? What are the links between

communication, cultural diversity, and inequality?

How does language change?


Communication

Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages

Most humans are in almost constant communication! With other people, with supernatural beings, or

with pets


How Do Humans Communicate? Language and verbal communication

Language is a systematic set of symbols and signs with learned and shared meanings

Probably developed in humans about 100,000 years ago – when had both the anatomical and mental capacity to do so

Nonverbal language and embodied communication

Communicating with media and technology


Key Characteristics of Human Language Human language has productivity

The ability to create an infinite range of understandable expressions from a finite set of rules

Human language emphasizes the feature of displacement The ability to refer to events and issues

beyond the immediate present Humans have the physiological capacity

for speech


Properties of Human Verbal Language

Has distinctive sounds (or phonemes) Meaningful sounds

Has a vocabulary (or lexicon) Meaningful words Focal vocabularies – clusters of words that

refer to important features of a particular culture

Has a syntax (or grammar) Rules and patterns for making words

meaningful


Verbal Languages around the World Use Different Sounds to Convey Meaning


Example of a Focal Vocabulary – Saami are indigenous people of Scandinavia and Russia


Saami – where they live


Human Verbal Language

Key Characteristics

Productivity

Displacement

Formal Properties

Sounds

Grammar

Vocabulary


Nonverbal Language and Embodied Communication

Sign language and gestures Gestures are movements, usually of the hands,

that convey meanings Some gestures may be universally meaningful, but most

are culturally specific and must be understood in its cultural context

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Sign language is a form of communication that uses mainly hand movements to convey messages

May be used by the hearing impaired as their main form of communication

May be used in situations where verbal communication is forbidden or undesirable


Some South African Gestures that a Man Might Use


Nonverbal Language and Embodied Communication Silence

Is an important component of communication

Can be associated with power or lack of power

Can be associated with respect, or may use silence in situations of ambiguity May be misinterpreted as ignorance


Nonverbal Language and Embodied Communication Body language

Involves the body sending and receiving messages

Including dress, hair styles, postures, eye contact, walking style

Convey messages about age, gender, sexual interest or availability, profession, wealth, and emotions Give boys blue baby blankets and girls pink

baby blankets


Hair style is also a form of communication


Communicating with Media and Technology

Media anthropology is the cross-cultural study of communication through electronic media and print media Looks at the messages conveyed, the

audience response, and the social effects of this

Critical media anthropology asks to what degree access to its messages is liberating or controlling, and whose interests the media serves



The politics of journalism News stories are packaged differently by

journalists depending on the intended audience

How “accurate” is “the news”? Culture and advertising

Advertising to Latinos Promotes a monolithic image of Latino culture Effects – identity change, missed opportunities

to tap into specialized Latino markets



Communication technology and inequality The digital divide refers to social inequality in access

to new and emerging information technology, especially access to up-to-date computers, the Internet, and training regarding their use

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu_cheappcnov01,0,2887350,full.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout

Knowledge is power! Computers with Internet provide a lot of knowledge

and networking opportunities, so provide power Help people preserve and learn ancestral

languages, record agricultural and medicinal knowledge, protect culture, improve lives


Culture and Mass MediaJournalists in war zones write a story about the same event differently, depending on whether it’s for a US or European newspaper

Media anthropologists study the media process and content, the audience response and the social effects of media presentations

Critical media anthropologists ask to what degree access to media messages is liberating or controlling, and whose interests the media serve


Human Communication Fieldwork Research on human communication involves

fieldwork and participant observation Often very detailed analysis of tape recordings

and video recordings – sometimes even frame by frame!

Fieldwork Challenges Translation

Literal translation Communication always occurs in a cultural context

Observer’s paradox The research process alters people’s normal behavior

Especially when being video taped! People want to act “correctly” and more formally


Language, Thought, and Society: Two Theories

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis Argues that language

determines how we see the world and our behavior

People who speak different languages inhabit different “thought worlds”

e.g. If a language has many different words for different kinds of snow, someone who speaks that language can “think” about snow in more ways than someone can whose language has fewer “snow” terms

Language shapes culture and thought

Sociolinguistic model Study of how cultural and

social context shapes language

Argues that social position determines the content, meaning, and form of language

Culture shapes language


Critical Discourse Analysis Critical discourse analysis focuses on

the relations of power and in equality in language Looks at the linkages between social

inequality, power, and language


Critical Discourse Analysis Various classes, genders, ethnicities,

other subcultures have their own distinctive communication styles (or registers) Include variations in vocabulary, grammar,

and intonation


Critical Discourse Analysis Gender in Euro-American Conversations

Characteristics of female speech include… Politeness Rising intonation at the end of sentences Tag questions

Male speech Less polite Assertive tone Rarely use tag questions Interrupt women in speech more than women

interrupt them Both genders use indirect responses


Critical Discourse Analysis Txt talk

g2g pos :’( ?

jj lmao :D ?


Critical Discourse Analysis Txt talk

g2g pos :’( Got to go, parents over shoulder, crying face

jj lmao :D Just joking, laughing my ass off, laughing face


Critical Discourse Analysis African American English (AAE) /

Ebonics Debate on whether ebonics should be

embraced in the classroom Or whether African American students are

expected to shed their culture and language at the door while conforming their language to American Mainstream English


Language Change

Language, like culture, is always changing! Adding new words in changing times Borrowing words from other languages Languages may be destroyed


Historical Linguistics Historical linguistics is the study of

language change through time Often compare lists of words and grammatical

forms in different languages Can sometimes tell where people migrated to

and which cultures had contact with each other in various points in time based on language similarities and difference

Can determine language families – languages descended from a parent language Example: the Indo-European Language Family


The Indo-European Language Family


Two Possible Locations for the Origins of Proto-Indo-European


Language change through migration: the spread of Bantu languages in Africa


Writing Earliest written languages – about 4000 BCE Were made up of logographs

Signs that indicate a word, syllable, or sound Writing and the rise of the state

Writing is often associated with state-level political organization

Recordkeeping is an essential task of a state Writing for ceremonial purposes / tombs Writing for artistic expression / poetry

An empire without writing: khipu among the Inca of the Peruvian Andes in the 14th century Cords of knotted strings of different colors, for

keeping accounts and recording events


Khipu


Colonialism and Nationalism Beginning in the 15th century, colonialism

was a major force of language change Colonial powers declaring their own language

as the language of government, business, and education

Often suppressed indigenous languages and literatures Indigenous languages were viewed as being

“uncivilized” Led to discrimination against those who spoke

these languages and the extinction of many languages

Led to increase in bilingualism – competence in a language other than one’s birth language


Colonialism and Nationalism Pidgin

Is a language that blends elements of at least two parent languages that emerges when two different cultures with different languages come in contact and need to communicate

Is a secondary, rudimentary language in addition to the speakers’ own native language

Usually limited to functional domains, for example, trade and basic social interactions

e.g. – owners needing to communicate with slaves, slaves needing to communicate with other slaves


Colonialism and Nationalism Pidgin


Colonialism and Nationalism Creole

Is a language descended from a pidgin with its own native speakers, richer vocabularies, and more developed grammar

Is a primary language


Colonialism and Nationalism National policies of language assimilation

Soviet Union English-only movement in the U.S.


Example of nationalism and linguistic assimilation in Russia of the Komi language


Globalization and Language Change Global languages

96% of the world’s population speaks 4% of the world’s languages

English is the most globalized language in history British colonial expansion influenced this – the

British made English the official language of the colonies

Takes on regional variations – Spanglish, Japlish, and Tex-Mex

Pros – ease of communication, more economic opportunities

Cons – linguistic imperialism


Endangered Languages Documenting declining languages is still a

key part of what linguistic anthropologists do Degrees of language loss

Language decay – language shift, when speakers have limited vocabulary in their native language and more often use a new language in which they may be semi-fluent or fluent

Language endangerment – when a language has fewer than 10,000 speakers

Language extinction – language death, occurs when the language no longer has any competent users


Endangered Languages

There are about 7,000 languages in the world today Over half are endangered (less than

10,000 native speakers) A quarter have less than 1,000 speakers


Endangered Languages Why bother trying to maintain or

revitalize linguistic diversity? Why should we care?


Endangered Languages Why bother trying to maintain or

revitalize linguistic diversity? Diversity is a good thing in and of itself

Diversity (biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity) is a sign of a healthy planet

Certain aspects of a culture and a culture’s history and identity are lost when a culture’s language is lost Important knowledge of different ways of life and

different ways of thinking about and dealing with life’s challenges may be lost when a language is lost

Stories which teach important life lessons, knowledge of plants and their medicinal uses, etc.


Endangered Languages Efforts to revive or maintain local

languages face many challenges Political opposition from governments that

fear local identity movements Limited financial resources to support

minority language programs Deciding on which language or which

version of a language to maintain or revive is difficult and always a political decision Who will decide? How will the decision be made?


The BIG Questions Revisited

How do humans communicate? What are the links between

communication, cultural diversity, and inequality?

How does language change?

Download - Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Communication (Miller Chapter 9)

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