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Languages from an Anthropology Perspective

  • Writer: Aanya Baid
    Aanya Baid
  • Oct 3, 2024
  • 2 min read

Language plays a crucial role in people’s lives, affecting both individuals and communities. We, as humans, have the ability to learn languages from the start, usually those we are exposed to as we grow up. Languages are biocultural phenomena; biologically, they involve the mouth, throat, and human brain. However, no language is restricted to just its biological aspects; it incorporates cultural influences and evolves with them. Languages are constantly growing and adapting, demonstrating great flexibility and creativity. According to modern anthropology studies of linguistics, these traits of languages do not restrict thinking but help expand it.

Culture and language are interconnected. For instance, stories passed down from generation to generation use language to preserve culture. Descriptive linguistics explains that languages have similar structures, which facilitates learning other languages. Additionally, languages help classify our surroundings, and these classifications or mental categories are heavily influenced by cultural factors. Another link between language and culture is through focal vocabulary, where specific words in a language describe unique cultural traits.

A unique perspective from anthropology is the study of dialects. Typically, dialects are considered branches of languages, often less used and more regional. They usually feature slight changes in vocabulary but retain much of the original language's structure. For anthropological linguists, the distinction is subtle because the primary purpose of dialects, like languages, is communication.

Prestige languages are those associated with wealth, success, education, and power—essentially, languages that have "established" themselves. The histories and backgrounds of languages reflect these hierarchies. The top ten most prominent languages are spoken by more than 50% of the global population, highlighting the impact of prestige languages on our lives.

Anthropological linguist Charles Hockett identified sixteen elements of human language, of which six are fundamental: openness, displacement, arbitrariness, duality of patterning, semanticity, and prevarication. Openness refers to the ability of language to communicate something in multiple ways while remaining comprehensible. Displacement is the capacity to discuss all tenses—past, present, and future. Arbitrariness denotes that there are no inherent links between linguistic sounds and their meanings. Duality of patterning involves the levels of patterning in a language, such as syntax and semantics. Semanticity relates to how language uses social, cultural, and physical contexts to aid understanding. Lastly, prevarication is the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences that are devoid of meaning or to lie.

Understanding languages from an anthropological perspective offers a unique insight into the roles and traits of language evident in daily life and conversation.

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