Topic: Language, Cognition, and Culture
replies.
Purpose: To articulate the relationship between language, perception, and culture
Task:
- Watch the following TED Talk from an expert (Dr Boroditsky ) on linguistic relativityhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k
- Addressing the following:
- Pick out 1 example Dr Boroditsky uses to explain how language affects our perception/the way we think
- Relate your example to 1 vocabulary term or idea from chapter 8and1 vocabulary term or idea from chapter 3 (the chapter on perception)
- That means you will be relating your example to two terms/ideas from the powerpoint slides-one from chapter 8 and one from chapter 3
- This should be 5-6 sentences
Chapter 8: Communicating Verbally Chapter 8: Communicating Verbally Agenda Language is symbolic Language has constitutive and regulative rules Language is flexible and evolves over time Cooperative communication Defensive communication Communication apprehension Language, culture, and perception Arrival: Communicating with Aliens Amy Adams’ character (named Louise) is an expert linguist The US military has asked her to try to communicate with recently arrived alien life forms The military is concerned that the aliens might be dangerous Arrival clip here Link in slide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaknXLvgJI4 Backup clip: https://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=ViCU5rTsSHQ Arrival: start at 44: 00-46:50 3 Questions to consider as you take your notes In the clip on the previous slide: Why do you think she takes off her hazmat suit? Why does she move closer? Louise suggests that a “ little curl” added to a symbol might indicate a question. Why do you suppose she thinks that? Why do you think Louise calls it a “proper” introduction at the end of the clip? Question curl statement at 44:27 4 How would you introduce yourself? Take 1-2 minutes, and decide how you would introduce yourself to someone with whom you share no language whatsoever No shared vocabulary, no shared body movements, no shared alphabet Then try introducing yourself to the person to someone in your house, on facetime, etc What did you do? What body movements did you use? What sounds? Communication relies on shared meaning So it is difficult to even introduce yourself if you don’t have any shared vocabulary or culture Language is Symbolic Language is Symbolic “Arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract representations of phenomena. Symbols are the basis of language, much nonverbal behavior and human thought.” Julia Wood, Communication Mosaics, 8th edition, p.11 Language is Symbolic Basically a symbol is something inherently arbitrary that we have collectively decided represents something else For example the we have decided that when you draw some lines together in a certain way, it represents the letter A. And the letter ‘A’ itself represents part of words, to which is assign meanings, etc. The letters B+R+I+D+G+E+T, when put together in that order, can represent ME, your teacher! Language is symbolic Cow (English) Bó (Irish) Vaca (Spanish) Different symbols used to represent the same animal But in each respective language, there is collective agreement that those letters and sounds, in that particular order, symbolize a certain kind of animal Language is symbolic Reference to the animal is the literal meaning You can also use rely on non-literal, implicit or connotative meaning (which we’ll get to more later) To use the word “cow” as an insult Used derogatorily In the U.S., often used to call someone fat It is often gendered/sexist (used more often to insult women) In England, the connotations are broader In England it is essentially equivalent to calling a woman a “bitch” Language is Symbolic The idea is this: There is nothing about, for example, a desk, that “naturally” means we have to call it a desk Part of how you know this is that other languages call it something different! But in English we use the word “desk” to indicate that we mean: generally a flat surface that you do work on, either to get paid at a professional job or for school Words represent objects, people, and ideas Language is Symbolic However, it is not just that words represent objects, people, and ideas in a simple, 1:1 manner The word desk contains lots of symbolic meanings! Symbolic meanings and desks These are both desks, but do they signify the same thing? What does each desk tell you about the person or people using it? Could you swap out one desk for the other? Why or why not? These two desks symbolize different things These two desks symbolize different things The desk in image on the top looks like it might be in a law office or in the office of someone relatively high up in a company It looks somewhat expensive, it takes up space (so it couldn’t be in a small office) The small desk on the bottom is one we associate with school If you walked into a law office and saw this little desk, you might be concerned about the credibility of the lawyer What kind of event are they attending? What role does the woman have? What about the little girls? How do you know? Do these symbols necessarily hold true in every country/culture? What kind of event are they attending? You probably guessed they are attending a wedding You know this because of the woman’s white dress, the style of the dress, her hairstyle, her jewelry You can guess that the little girls are bridesmaids because they are wearing matching, fancy dresses Plus the setting looks more like a church or the hallway of a venue of some kind What kind of event are they attending? Most of you probably guessed “wedding” That’s because you interpret symbols all the time You are interpreting the meaning of their clothing, the hair, the jewelry, the setting, because you interpret symbols constantly Notably, white dresses do not necessarily symoblize “bridal” in every culture. Red is often a bridal color in other cultures Language has rules. But it’s also flexible The rules are bendy Language Rules Constitutive rules: these define word meaning Which words represent which people, ideas, objects We know what the word “desk” means Language Rules Regulative rules: rules about how you communicate Grammar Also the rules you have with people This book doesn’t consider this a “regulative” rule but other communication books do What is and isn’t ok with some people vs others Is it ok to teasingly insult your friends but not your mom? You have rules about how to communicate Language is flexible Language changes and evolves! People in different geographical areas develop different idioms or ways of speaking the very same language Language is Cultural You communicate your culture through language and your culture is created through language Language is inextricably linked to culture because a shared language means that you share meanings and ideas with the people who speak our language Dialects: people who speak the same language but with variations in accents, vocabulary, etc Language evolves A few years ago, the word “app” was meaningless You would have thought someone saying “app” was probably talking to a baby, saying “goo-goo-ga-ga-app-app” It would have sounded like nonsense But language grows and evolves and we add words to our languages! Language is flexible “a particular language’s constitutive rules—which define the meanings of words—may also shift.” (p.206, 5e) That means that the definitions of words can change over time For example: For example: The word “nice” used to mean “Precise or particular in matters of reputation or conduct” “Nice” also used to be used to describe foolish behavior Currently, the word nice generally means “pleasant” or “agreeable” Language is flexible and changes over time, with use Abstract symbols also change over time Diamonds did not always symbolize love and marriage The association was not popularized until a 1947 De Beers ad campaign De Beers changed the meaning of diamonds into a necessary luxury item specifically one associated with romance and love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP3RpxPqw08 27 Reminder from last week and changes to the cultural meanings attached to the color pink The link to watch the video in YouTube is here The symbolic associations with diamonds and pink changed over time Denotative Meaning This is the meaning you find in dictionaries; the literal definition of a word (p. 208, 5e) You can also call this content level meaning For example, “pink” refers to a particular color on the color spectrum and a “desk” refers to a particular kind of furniture When I say that the meaning of nice changed over time from referring to “foolish behavior” to meaning that something is pleasant and agreeable, I am referring to changes in the denotative meaning of the word “nice” Connotative Meaning “additional understandings of a word’s meaning based on the situation and knowledge we and our communication partners share.” (p.208, 5e) Relationship level meaning If we say that someone is a “pretty pink princess” we know that “pink” is referring to more than just a color; it is feminizing the person being described That is connotative meaning Our previous example of calling someone a “cow” as an insult also relies on connotative meaning We understand that the person is not literally a cow, the animal, but rather than we are insulting them by suggesting that the person has cow-like qualities Watch this TED Talk by Dr Lera Boroditsky This is a bit longer than the videos I normally have you watch, but this is replacing the lecture I would normally give you in class on these rather complex ideas about language, culture, and thought She is an expert in linguistic relativity She a cognitive scientist who studies language and cognition How language affects the way we think, and perceive the world around us Dr Boroditsky is currently on the faculty at UC San Diego Previously, she was on the faculty at MIT and Stanford Link to watch video in YouTube Your online activity will be related to this video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k 32 Language + Cognition Dr Lera Boroditsky’s TED talk highlights a few important things Language is tied to culture Language is tied to the perception process Think back to the perception process Language helps shape the things we select to notice from our environment (what is salient to us), how we organize the things we select, and how we interpret those things Language shapes reality Sapir-Whorf hypothesis Language fundamentally affects the way we perceive the world We can’t conceive of/imagine something if cannot name it Because language (and therefore the way we name things) varies from culture to culture, and because language plays a huge role in shaping our view of the world, our perceptions of the world will vary from culture to culture The importance of naming Naming: “creating linguistic symbols for objects” (209, 5e) We have a linguistic symbol for this animal It’s “cow” in English Begin at link, stop @ 0:40 seconds (very short) 35 Linguistic Determinism + Relativity Linguistic determinism: If you do not have a word to name something, it may change the way you interpret a person, thing, or event Linguistic relativity: Culture affects the way we perceive the world, because culture affects our language, and different cultures may have names for some things but not others Language shapes reality Culture affects the way we see the world, make choices, and interact with others Homosexuality used to be referred to as “the love that dare not speak its name” That’s not to say that everyone had the same sexual orientation—of course they didn’t But in English, we literally didn’t have a name for homosexual (coined in the 1860s) or heterosexual (coined in the 1890s) We didn’t have a way to articulate various sexualities If we don’t have an easy way to talk