Ethnolinguistics

Ethnolinguistics

Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics[1]) is a field of linguistics which studies the relationship between language and culture, and the way different ethnic groups perceive the world. It is the combination between ethnology and linguistics. The former refers to the way of life of an entire community i.e. all the characteristics which distinguish one community from the other. Those characteristics make the cultural aspects of a community or a society.

Ethnolinguists study the way perception and conceptualization influences language, and show how this is linked to different cultures and societies. An example is the way spatial orientation is expressed in various cultures.[2][3] In many societies, words for the cardinal directions East and West are derived from terms for sunrise/sunset. The nomenclature for cardinal directions of Eskimo speakers of Greenland, however, is based on geographical landmarks such as the river system and one's position on the coast. Similarly, the Yurok lack the idea of cardinal directions; they orient themselves with respect to their principal geographic feature, the Klamath River.

Cultural Linguistics refers to a related branch of linguistics that explores the relationship between language, culture, and conceptualisation.[4] Cultural Linguistics draws on, but is not limited to, the theoretical notions and analytical tools of cognitive linguistics and cognitive anthropology. Central to the approach of cultural linguistics are notions of 'cultural schema' and 'cultural model'. It examines how various features of language encode cultural schemas and cultural models.[5] In Cultural Linguistics, language is viewed as deeply entrenched in the group-level, cultural cognition of communities of speakers. Thus far, the approach of Cultural Linguistics has been adopted in several areas of applied linguistic research, including intercultural communication, second language learning, and World Englishes.[6]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ Ferraro, Gary (2006). Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective. Cengage Learning. ISBN 0495100080. 
  2. ^ Heine, Bernd (1997) Cognitive Foundations of Grammar. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ Tuan, Yi-Fu (1974) Topophilia: A study of environmental perception, attitudes, and values. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
  4. ^ Palmer, Gary B. (1996). Toward a Theory of Cultural Linguistics. Texas: Texas University Press.
  5. ^ Sharifian, Farzad (2011). Cultural Conceptualisations and Language: Theoretical Framework and Applications. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
  6. ^ Sharifian, Farzad & Palmer, Gary B. (eds.) (2007) Applied cultural linguistics: Implications for second language learning and intercultural communication. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Additional reading

  • Wierzbicka, Anna (1992) Semantics, Culture, and Cognition: Universal human concepts in culture-specific configuration. New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • ethnolinguistics — ethnolinguist, n. ethnolinguistic, adj. /eth noh ling gwis tiks/, n. (used with a sing. v.) the study of language as an aspect or part of culture, esp. the study of the influence of language on culture and of culture on language. [1945 50; ETHNO… …   Universalium

  • ethnolinguistics — noun The field of linguistic anthropology which studies the language of a specific ethnic group. See Also: ethnolinguist, ethnolinguistic …   Wiktionary

  • ethnolinguistics — n. (Anthropology) study of language as part of culture, field that studies the language of a particular ethnic group …   English contemporary dictionary

  • ethnolinguistics — eth·no·linguistics …   English syllables

  • ethnolinguistics — “+ noun plural but singular in construction Etymology: ethno + linguistics : a study of the relations between linguistic and nonlinguistic cultural behavior …   Useful english dictionary

  • Этнолингвистика — (ethnolinguistics), направление в языкознании, изучающее язык в его отношении к культуре, взаимодействие языковых, этнокультурных и этнопсихолог, факторов в функционировании и эволюции языка. В более широком понимании Э. рассматривается как… …   Народы и культуры

  • ЭТНОЛИНГВИСТИКА —         (антрополог, лингвистика, лингвистич. антропология и др.)         по наиболее распространенному определению наука, занимающаяся исследованием связей между языковыми и культурными явлениями. За этим общим определением стоят достаточно… …   Энциклопедия культурологии

  • Sapir, Edward — born Jan. 26, 1884, Lauenburg, Pomerania, Ger. died Feb. 4, 1939, New Haven, Conn., U.S. Polish born U.S. linguist and anthropologist. He was a founder of ethnolinguistics, which considers the relationship of culture to language, and a principal… …   Universalium

  • Ethnoscience — has been defined as an attempt to reconstitute what serves as science for others, their practices of looking after themselves and their bodies, their botanical knowledge, but also their forms of classification, of making connections, etc. (Augé,… …   Wikipedia

  • Linguistic relativity — Anthropology Fields Archaeology Biological anthropology Cultural anthropology Linguistic anthropology Social anthropology …   Wikipedia

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