The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to

Transcript:The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to:
The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology Chapter 5 Silent Languages 1 The transmission of messages w/o spoken word Sign languages analyzing signs Gestures and nonverbal communication Speech substitutes Body language Smell, Taste, Touch Proxemics & Kinesics gender, status, culture & space types of gestures Gesture systems 2 Sign language IS language ‘Language performed in three-dimensional space’ Generally associated with deaf people Often associated with Deaf people Natural vs. Manually Coded sign languages Syntax is complex, unique to specific language American Sign Language (ASL; Ameslan) vs. British Mutually unintelligible; not based on English syntax Signs = concepts, not words (‘right’ vs. ‘right’) Syntax = one sign can stand for several words E.g., “I-ask-her” is one sign vs. Signed English (SEE1 & 2) which follows English syntax 3 Primes Basic elements of signs (correspond to phonemes?) Combine into morphemes Three kinds of primes Hand shape Fist (A), Flat (B), Cupped (C) Hand placement Hand movement Minimal pairs Apple vs. candy (shape: fist hand vs. cupped hand) Summer vs. ugly (place: forehead vs. nose level) Analyzing Signs 4 Sign language is NOT gesture View this ASL example Can you separate the gesture from the sign? What elements of paralanguage play a key role in this performance? Note the gender shift as the performer moves from his pre-performance self to the performance self Men typically perform signs lower than women 5 Body Language Learned in cultural groups Interpreted unconsciously Often overrides verbal language ~60% of communication? Beware of guidebooks. 6 Smell, Taste, and Touch Smell And ethnicity, culture Cigars, perfumes and status Taste And group membership Spicy foods… Touch And gender and power Relation to proxemics… 7 Proxemics Edward Hall, 1950s How people perceive and use space Cowboy proxemics Getting to theatre seats 8 Gender, Status, & Space Entering into someone’s ‘space’ Getting the ‘best’ office Or the biggest bedroom Having one’s own ‘space’ Dens vs. sewing rooms 9 Culture and Space Different arrangements US grids & French circles German doors: closed vs. open Different uses Where to eat in the Comoros Depends on gender, too 10 Kineme with allokines Kinemorphs – meaningful units of visual expression Later, kinemorphs abandoned as a concept, kineme comes to mean both the minimal and the meaningful units. Kinesics – meaningful movement (Birdwhistell) 11 Emblems – direct verbal translation Illustrators – depict or illustrate what is being said Affect displays – convey emotion Regulators –