JANUARY 17, 2014 â WHAT IS LANGUAGE? -What is Language ...
JANUARY 17, 2014 – WHAT IS LANGUAGE? -What is Language? • Many different viewpoints and emphasis, each indicative of historical, theoretical and cultural positioning • Necessary to delineate subject and boundaries of study and subsequent methodology • Necessary to identify what is NOT language • Subject to changes • Subject to debate • As part of a system if signs, semiology (semiotics) -De Saussure’s linguistic sign • Sign: signifier/signified, relationship between is arbitrary, certain sounds don’t have to produce connection to certain object • Orality important • Two Primordial Characteristics: 1. Arbitrary Nature: what allows us to develop it creatively and expand forever, different languages perceive Onomatopoeia’s differently, “liquid” sounds many languages use these similar sounds, sound symbolic how mouth is shaped in sounds that you use (e = small), some particular correlations but hardly basis for all language 2. Linear Nature: physical restrictions (oral/signed), have to go in order one after the other, sounds follow each other • Languages around the world only 10% studied, information often hard to acquire • 6000-7000 different languages (only 400 in database), many disappearing without being recorded • He is considered father of linguistics as a science • Language is cultural product that can be explained scientifically • Fights idea that language naturally evolved • Says language needs to be part of larger society, semiotics, science of signs, signs are basic in human interaction with the world -Charles Hockett • Language part of communication systems, says written word is unnecessary, oral needs to be able to express through language, many of the worlds language don’t have writing, Western world has given writing a certain status that only has meaning in the Western world, writing as cultural tool, Incas and Aztecs didn’t have writing, thinking in words and letters consequence of my culture not necessary • 13 Design Features: humans alone can do all 13, animals can do some though • “Traditional Transmission”: done by age 6, styles and vocabulary continue to develop, acquisition of linguistic system complete by 6, by age 1 can exclusively hear sounds from native language, difficult to retrain vocal apparatus to create new sounds of a different language • After about 6 years old, VERY difficult to acquire language • No single organ developed to produce language, accident to allow us to speak
• Language gave humans ability to survive • Languages can have 12-60 sounds -What else does language involve? • Things are named language when linguists wouldn’t consider them • Body language cultural constructions • Many linguistic anthropologists saying that gestures are actually essential for context (interested in meaning compared to linguists), gesture hard to study • Sign language not a language of itself, way a language can be expressed -Signing and he Origins of Language • New evidence for possibility oral language in Neanderthals -Stokoe, 1991 • Neanderthals may have had a sign language, why is this important?: more human than we actually thought, interbreeding between Neanderthals and hominins, makes us reexamine evolutionary lines, sociality with close proximity communicating through signs • Evolution in sign language and changes based on home use • Article says that they had at least the capabilities to produce a system of language, but still question whether they had language or not • Primary and alternate sign languages • Examples: Plains Indians sign language or hand talk, Martha’s vineyard -Film: Speaking in Tongues: Let there be words, the origins of Language. 2007. Director: Christine Browne. Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences. Week 2 •
Skeptical that world would be harmonious with singular language
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Language is a biological tool, all-purpose tool
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Very difficult for primates to learn human speech sounds (can use keyboards and sign language though)
•
Dark bark diffuse meaning
•
Speech has unusual characteristics, 10x faster communication than anything else
Early Evolution of Language •
5-6 mil years ago diverged into human types
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More open grassland, bi-pedal, 1.8 body form begins to look human, 1.7 reduction in arm length but small brains, 600 000 years rapid increase in brain size (450 cm2 > 600 cm2)
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Migration, increase populations, expansion outside Africa (Egypt) 1.6 mil, 600 000 year hand axes appear in Europe, 50 000 modern humans in Europe,
•
Exterior appearance due to adapting to climate
•
Language helps hunter gathering, exclusion of resources by *higher leveled people
•
Voice box location changed, like how it drops in a newborn baby
•
Little is known about vocal apparatus evolution
•
Evidence that languages develop spontaneously
•
Origin of beginning of spoken language OR origin of today’s languages
•
50 000 years extent of todays languages, others lost languages with no trace
•
Thinks speech is 1 mil into Homo Erectus = slow, messy, low number of sounds (thought to begin with walking?)
•
Walking was learned, freed hands
•
Naïve theories: where individual words come from, natural grunts, drawing from naturally occurring sounds
•
Chimps vocalize involuntary
•
50 000 - 60 000: symbolic art, recording natural phenomena, cultural tendencies appear
•
One small population 2000-3000? Leading to all modern humans, group had single language, some believe all languages stem from this but not true
•
Proto-Sapiens (Proto-World), few who believe, original human language
•
Common words in different language families proves they were related at some point (pal = two, found all over)
•
Beyond 6000-7000 difficult to trace languages’ ancestors
•
Nostratic: Pederson 1903, hypothetical proto-language ancestor of Eurasian languages, Pre-Neolithic world would have lived, no agriculture yet
•
Bekos: Greek historian Herodotus, hypotheses leaving children in tent alone, first word spoken was Bekos ancient Egyptian languages’ word for bread
•
First languages thought to be Hebrew or Sanskrit but no
•
Click languages probably oldest, humans arose in Africa, likely speech arose in Africa too, Khoisan people first people (lacks evidence just another theory)
• Language gave humans ability to survive • Languages can have 12-60 sounds -What else does language involve? • Things are named language when linguists wouldn’t consider them • Body language cultural constructions • Many linguistic anthropologists saying that gestures are actually essential for context (interested in meaning compared to linguists), gesture hard to study • Sign language not a language of itself, way a language can be expressed -Signing and he Origins of Language • New evidence for possibility oral language in Neanderthals -Stokoe, 1991 • Neanderthals may have had a sign language, why is this important?: more human than we actually thought, interbreeding between Neanderthals and hominins, makes us reexamine evolutionary lines, sociality with close proximity communicating through signs • Evolution in sign language and changes based on home use • Article says that they had at least the capabilities to produce a system of language, but still question whether they had language or not • Primary and alternate sign languages • Examples: Plains Indians sign language or hand talk, Martha’s vineyard -Film: Speaking in Tongues: Let there be words, the origins of Language. 2007. Director: Christine Browne. Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences. Week 2 •
Skeptical that world would be harmonious with singular language
•
Language is a biological tool, all-purpose tool
•
Very difficult for primates to learn human speech sounds (can use keyboards and sign language though)
•
Dark bark diffuse meaning
•
Speech has unusual characteristics, 10x faster communication than anything else
Early Evolution of Language •
5-6 mil years ago diverged into human types
•
More open grassland, bi-pedal, 1.8 body form begins to look human, 1.7 reduction in arm length but small brains, 600 000 years rapid increase in brain size (450 cm2 > 600 cm2)
•
Migration, increase populations, expansion outside Africa (Egypt) 1.6 mil, 600 000 year hand axes appear in Europe, 50 000 modern humans in Europe,
•
Exterior appearance due to adapting to climate
•
Language helps hunter gathering, exclusion of resources by *higher leveled people
•
Voice box location changed, like how it drops in a newborn baby
•
Little is known about vocal apparatus evolution
•
Evidence that languages develop spontaneously
•
Origin of beginning of spoken language OR origin of today’s languages
•
50 000 years extent of todays languages, others lost languages with no trace
•
Thinks speech is 1 mil into Homo Erectus = slow, messy, low number of sounds (thought to begin with walking?)
•
Walking was learned, freed hands
•
Naïve theories: where individual words come from, natural grunts, drawing from naturally occurring sounds
•
Chimps vocalize involuntary
•
50 000 - 60 000: symbolic art, recording natural phenomena, cultural tendencies appear
•
One small population 2000-3000? Leading to all modern humans, group had single language, some believe all languages stem from this but not true
•
Proto-Sapiens (Proto-World), few who believe, original human language
•
Common words in different language families proves they were related at some point (pal = two, found all over)
•
Beyond 6000-7000 difficult to trace languages’ ancestors
•
Nostratic: Pederson 1903, hypothetical proto-language ancestor of Eurasian languages, Pre-Neolithic world would have lived, no agriculture yet
•
Bekos: Greek historian Herodotus, hypotheses leaving children in tent alone, first word spoken was Bekos ancient Egyptian languages’ word for bread
•
First languages thought to be Hebrew or Sanskrit but no
•
Click languages probably oldest, humans arose in Africa, likely speech arose in Africa too, Khoisan people first people (lacks evidence just another theory)
