Linguistic Anthropology

Home > Anthropology > Applied Anthropology > Linguistic Anthropology

Scientific study of language and its relation to culture.

Language and Culture: The relationship between language and culture is central to linguistic anthropology. Language is considered an important medium through which cultural practices and beliefs are transmitted across generations.
Language Acquisition: This refers to how individuals acquire and learn languages, including the biological, psychological, and social processes involved in language development.
Language Diversity: This refers to the numerous languages spoken by people around the world and how they vary in terms of structure, vocabulary, and sound.
Language Change: This refers to how languages evolve over time and how new words and expressions enter into a language.
Sociolinguistics: This is the study of the relationship between language and society. This includes examining how language is used differently based on social factors like gender, class, and ethnicity.
Ethnolinguistics: This refers to the study of how people perceive and use language in the context of their cultural beliefs and practices. This includes examining the roles of language in identity formation and social interaction.
Discourse Analysis: This refers to the study of language in use, including spoken and written language, and how it is structured and interpreted by listeners or readers.
Linguistic Anthropology and Globalization: This involves examining the impact of globalization on language and culture, including issues like language loss and the spread of English as a global lingua franca.
Language Policy and Planning: This refers to the development of policies and plans related to language use in education, politics, and the media.
Anthropological Linguistics: This refers to the study of language as a cultural and social phenomenon, and how it relates to other aspects of human behavior and society.
Language and Identity: How language can influence one's sense of self, belonging and acceptance within particular environments – cultural, social, and political.
Linguistic Relativity Theory: Also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, this is the idea that language shapes perception and cognition. This is often a contentious debate in linguistic anthropology.
Language and Power: How language can be used to create, maintain, and challenge power relationships within society, including issues of access and privilege.
Language Contact and Creolization: How languages interact with each other and new languages emerge via processes like creolization and pidginization.
Cognitive Linguistics: This is the area of linguistic anthropology which examines the interplay between language, mind, and brain.
Bilingualism and Multilingualism: The research involved in bilingualism and multilingualism include sociolinguistic analysis, linguistic analyses and cognitive psychology research.
Language Revitalization: Concerned with the protection and revitalization of endangered or marginalised languages.
Sign Language Studies: As a large proportion of the population globally is Deaf, understanding the nature of sign language, and the central nature of it to Deaf culture is important to linguistics anthropologists.
Language and Emotion: How language reflects the internal states of a person, and how individuals use language to communicate their emotions.
Anthropological Approaches to Code-Mixing and Code-Switching: The study of multilingual communication and how individuals switch between languages depending on the context.
Sociolinguistics: Studies the relationship between language and social factors such as ethnicity, gender, and class.
Ethnography of Communication: Examines how communication operates within a particular cultural context, including the use of language and nonverbal communication.
Language Ideology: Explores cultural beliefs and attitudes about language and language use.
Discourse Analysis: Analyzes how language is used in everyday communication, including oral and written modes.
Linguistic Relativity: Investigates how language shapes the way we think and perceive the world around us.
Language Acquisition: Concerns the process of learning and acquiring language, particularly within a cultural context.
Historical Linguistics: Studies the evolution of languages over time and the connection between languages.
Applied Linguistics: Applies linguistic knowledge to practical settings, such as language teaching and language policy.
Conversation Analysis: Examines how interactions take place in real-time, particularly in face-to-face communication.
Forensic Linguistics: Applies linguistic knowledge to legal contexts, such as analyzing language use in criminal investigations.
Medical Anthropology: Studies the intersection of language and health, including communication between doctors and patients from different cultural backgrounds.
Psycholinguistics: Investigates how language is processed and produced in the brain, including aspects such as syntax and morphology.
Neurolinguistics: Explores the neural basis of language and language processing in the brain.
Computational Linguistics: Develops computer programs to process and analyze language data.
Anthropological Linguistics: Examines language in its anthropological context, studying the relationship between language, culture, and society.
"Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life."
"It originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages."
"It has grown over the past century to encompass most aspects of language structure and use."
"Linguistic anthropology explores how language shapes communication, forms social identity and group membership."
"It organizes large-scale cultural beliefs and ideologies."
"It develops a common cultural representation of natural and social worlds."
"It is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life."
"It originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages."
"It has grown over the past century to encompass most aspects of language structure and use."
"Linguistic anthropology explores how language shapes communication."
"It forms social identity and group membership."
"It organizes large-scale cultural beliefs and ideologies."
"It develops a common cultural representation of natural and social worlds."
"It is a branch of anthropology."
"The interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life."
"It originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages."
"It has grown over the past century to encompass most aspects of language structure and use."
"Linguistic anthropology explores how language shapes communication."
"It forms social identity and group membership."
"It develops a common cultural representation of natural and social worlds."