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Theories in Language & Culture

The document discusses several theories related to language and culture: 1) The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis suggests that the structure of one's native language affects how they think. 2) Ethnopoetics studies verbal arts across cultures, focusing on speaking, chanting and singing and how they enhance performances. 3) The Oral-Gesture Theory proposes that language originated from physical gestures that evolved into oral gestures made by moving the mouth.

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Mendiola, Meriam
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1K views

Theories in Language & Culture

The document discusses several theories related to language and culture: 1) The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis suggests that the structure of one's native language affects how they think. 2) Ethnopoetics studies verbal arts across cultures, focusing on speaking, chanting and singing and how they enhance performances. 3) The Oral-Gesture Theory proposes that language originated from physical gestures that evolved into oral gestures made by moving the mouth.

Uploaded by

Mendiola, Meriam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Theories in

Language
and Culture
1. Sapir-Whorf
Hypothesis
States that there are certain thoughts of an
individual in one language that cannot be
understood by those who live in another
language.
States that the way people think is strongly
affected by their native languages.
Linguistic Relativity
Cultural differences in thinking are accompanied by
linguistic differences between cultures.

People who speak different languages perceive and


think about the world quite differently from one
another.

Language influences the perceptions and thoughts of


people, thus affecting their behavior.
The story is about Lia Lee, the
second-youngest daughter
who is diagnosed with severe
epilepsy. Within the Hmong
Culture, epilepsy is not
described in the same way
Western Medical Doctors
describe it;
Epilepsy is described as "quag
dab peg" meaning the spirit
catches you and you fall
down"
Example:
The story is about Lia Lee, the second-youngest
daughter who is diagnosed with severe epilepsy.
Within the Hmong Culture, epilepsy is not
described in the same way Western Medical Doctors
describe it;
Epilepsy is described as "quag dab peg" meaning the
spirit catches you and you fall down"
Example:
Linguistic Determinism
The structure of a language can strongly influence or determine
someone's World View - A World View describes a (hopefully)
consistent and integral sense of existence and provides a
theoretical framework for generating, sustaining, and applying
knowledge.

The languages we use to some extent determine the way in which


we view and think about the world around us.

Idea that language and its structures limit and determine human
knowledge or thought, as well as thought processes such as
categorization, memory, and perception.
Example:
2. Ethnopoetics
Study of verbal arts in a worldwide range of languages and
cultures.
Primary attention is given to vocal auditory channels of
communication in which speaking, chanting, and singing
voices give shapes to proverbs, riddles, curses, laments,
praises, prayers, prophecies, public announcements, and
narratives.
Show how the techniques of unique oral performers
enhance the aesthetic value of their performances within
their specific cultural context.
Philosophy
No two languages are the same, the worlds in which
different societies live are distinct worlds, and the
analysis of certain literary texts from a certain
culture will highlight their distinctiveness.
Methodology
Texts that were taken down in the era of
handwritten dictation and published as prose are
reformatted and retranslated in order to reveal their
poetic features as defined by such formal devices as
syntactic structures and parallelism.

Transcripts and translations swerve not only as


listening guides but as scores for new performances
for sound recording.
3. Oral-Gesture Theory
Reveals the origins of language as it suggests that the evolution
of sounds involves a connection between physical gestures and
orally produced sounds.

A set of physical gestures was developed as a means of


communication, then a set of oral gestures, specifically moving
mouth, developed in which the movement of the tongue, lips,
and so on were recognized according to patterns of movements
similar to physical gestures.
Example:
Criticism
The theory of an oral-gesture source may be
reasonable to some extent but it does not expose
the origins of language completely.

"My car is broken so I took my wife's car to get


to work".
Thank You for
Listening

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