Chapter 3: Language Objectives: Compare and contrast historical linguistics, descriptive linguistics, and sociolinguistics Name the major theories of language in anthropology Describe the relationships between culture, language, and society Discuss the importance of language ideology in reading Scripture

Historical Linguistics Definition: Key Concepts The study of how languages develop and change over time, and how different languages are related to one another morphology language families protolanguage

Descriptive Linguistics Definition: Key Concepts The study of specific features of individual languages such as patterns of grammar, sounds, and so forth as they exist at a given moment in time synchronic research phonetics phonemics phonemes, morphemes grammar “proper” vs. linguistic grammar syntax

Explanation of what language really is Language Theory Explanation of what language really is

Language Theory Structuralism Key Figures/Terms All languages share an underlying binary structure Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) the rules and structure of language do not vary langue vs. parole design features Noam Chomsky (b. 1928) deep structure vs. surface structure generative grammar

Language Theory The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Language shapes people’s perceptions, thoughts, and views of reality. Current linguistic studies add that culture is not just a reflection of language, it changes language.

Sociolinguistics Definition: Key Concepts: The study of how language is used in society includes the study of social judgments of languages and dialects, multilingual societies, and language contact pidgins & creoles language hierarchies linguistic nationalism code switching

Sociolinguistics Social Judgments of Languages and Dialects Dialects are distinct but mutually intelligible forms of a single language. In language hierarchies some languages or dialects have favored political, economic, and social status. Languages are not inherently better or worse than one another.

Sociolinguistics Multilingual Societies In multilingual societies, political dynamics hierarchically arrange languages. Sociology of language studies how people negotiate the relationships of these languages and their uses.

Sociolinguistics Language Contact, Pidgins, and Creoles A creole is a type of language formed when speakers of different languages combine their languages. A pidgin is a language formed when speakers in a multilingual context use a simplified form of one language (often a colonial language) as a common language across a region or group. To understand how language and culture affect each other, it is important to focus on contextual factors like ethnic stratification, social inequality, and political representation.

Language and Scripture Questions of language and language theory are essential in learning how to read and understand scripture. Jesus is the Word of God; the Bible is the words of God. No language is more suitable or appropriate for scripture than any other. Cultural context matters.