1. Linguistic Anthropology
An Introduction

2. /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ Some English Phonemes Bilabial stop Alveolar stop
(“pot”)
/b/
(“bot”)
/t/
(“tot”)
/d/
(“dot”)
voiceless
voiced

3. What is Anthropology? Anthropo logy anthropos - ἄνθρωπος legein - λέγω
from the Greek
anthropos - ἄνθρωπος
meaning “man; man-faced; a human being”
from the Greek
legein - λέγω
meaning “to speak”

4. The “Study of” or “Science of”
bios + logy = the study of bios (“life”)
geo + logy = the study of geo (“earth”)
psykhe + ology = the study of psykhe (“breath”, “spirit”, “soul”)
theos + logy = the study of theos (“God”)

5. Four-Field Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Biological (or Physical) Anthropology

6. Cultural Anthropology
Focuses on the role culture plays in human life
Culture is
Learned by individuals as they grow up within a group
Passed on from generation to generation
The primary means by which humans adapt to
their environments
Constantly changing

7. Archaeology Focuses on human life in the past Humans of the past
Relied on their cultures to adapt
Shared many common features with recent and modern humans
Saw their cultures change as a result of the same processes that change cultures today

8. Linguistic Anthropology
Focuses on the role language plays in human life
Language is
Learned by individuals as they grow up within a group
Passed on from generation to generation
The primary means by which a human learns
his/her culture
Constantly changing

9. Biological Anthropology (aka“Physical Anthropology”)
Focuses on humans as biological organisms
Biological organisms
Have similar features and needs
Are the products of evolutionary and environmental forces
Are genetically unique

10. Four-Field Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Biological (or Physical) Anthropology
Applied Anthropology (aka the “fifth field”)
the cultural fields
the biological field
making it relevant

11. Linguistic Anthropology
Uses all of the tools of Anthropology (and other fields) to study language
Examples
What did language evolve?
What biological features make language possible?
How do languages change?
How does language affect culture (and vice versa)?

12. Other Questions What does human language actually do?
How does human language do this?
How is human language like non-human systems of communication?
In what ways is human language different from non-human systems of communication?