 Language is constructed and intentional

Language is rule governed

Language is creative and open ended

Language is social

Language does something.

Vagueness
“Pile” Paradox
Ambiguity
Flying planes can be dangerous.
I dislike visiting relatives.
Cleaning fluids can be dangerous.
Connotations
“Negro”
Curse words

S’Blood!
By the Rood!
Fie!

What makes something a curse word?
When does it stop being a curse word?
What does a curse words do ?

According to National Bureau of Economic Research…
Identical Resumes with “White” names (Greg, Emily, Anne) received 50% more callbacks than resumes with African-American sounding names like Jamal, Tyrone,
Tamika, and Rasheed.
More education and skills did not make a difference in responses
According to Journal of Applied Psychology…
Calls about apartment vacancies in LA elicited 89% positive responses for whites,
66% positive responses for foreign sounded names, and 56% positive responses for
African-American sounding names
According to University of Florida Study…
Girls with more “Feminine” were less likely to study math and science
1,000 pairs of twins names Isabelle and Alex were studied. Study found Alex twice as likely to study math or science at a higher level than her twin Isabelle.

How is language acquired? Nature or
Nurture?
How does language affect thinking?
Do animals use language?
Can everyone learn language?
How do culture and gender influence language usage?

Nature:
Traditionally language was seen as an innate human ability. A child who was not taught to speak as an infant would eventually develop language or be able to “catch-up” once taught.
Nurture:
Language is a product of upbringing and environment
Language is a product of parental upbringing

Noam Chomsky / Steven Pinker
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Noam Chomsky / Steven Pinker
Language as innate instinct
“Universal Grammar”
“Critical Period” hypothesis (Lenneberg)

All humans are born with a limited set of rules for organizing language, but use it or lose it.
Learning one language aids one in learning other languages since all languages in some way follow
Universal Grammar
Children instinctively know what is important in language without necessary parental aid
Ex: Child says, “want coat” or “my cookie” instead of other missing words such as “I want my coat” or “That is my cookie”

Period in child development (3-11 years) when if given the correct stimulus a child can develop a first language.
If language is introduced after this critical period, child may never develop mastery over any language.
Feral Children can not develop abstract word usage

Genie(California), feral child rescued at 13, was able to develop some language skills after the critical period, but limited mastery and can not think abstractly.
Oksana, feral child rescued at 14, raised by dogs. She was able to learn language but limited usage and vocabulary.

"I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse"
Charles V

Gabri’s Destraction
Language determines our experience of reality.
Culture is embedded in language.
No two languages are exactly alike.
Therefore people who speak different languages see the world differently.

The “real world” is to a large extent unconsciously built upon the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached…We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation.

Bilingual Japanese women were asked:
Real friends should…
Help each other (Japanese)
Be very honest (English)
When my wishes conflict with my family…
It is a sad time (Japanese)
I do what I want (English)

Fidelity
Straight forward word for word translation
Assumes languages correspond to each other word for word
Ignores idioms
Transparency
Emphasis on message, main idea, or emotion of translated passage
Depends on translator’s understanding of original message
Idioms and cultural subtexts might be difficult to translate

“Dejar la Iglesia en las manos del lutero.”
“Putting the Church in the hands of the Lutheran.”
“Como Dios manda.”
“How God demands.”
“Arroz con moros”
“Estas Como Miercoles”
“You’re being like Wednesday.”
“Para de Friel Huevos”
“Stop frying eggs.”

Gender Barrier:
You Just Don’t Understand, Deborah Tannen
Women speak for
Support, Intimacy, and Understanding
Men speak for
Status, Information, Problem-solving

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Wittgenstein describes the task of the philosopher:
“ Language sets everyone the same traps; it is an immense network of easily accessible wrong turnings.
And so we watch one man after another walking down the same paths and we know in advance where he will branch off, where he will walk straight on without noticing the side turning, etc. etc. What I have to do then is erect signposts at all the junctions where there are wrong turn so as to help people past the danger points.
”

What is language?
Critical Period
“Universal Grammar”
Sapir-Whorf
Hypothesis
Words as Cultural
Prototypes

Aristotle, Rhetoric
Fann, William Edwin. “Fundamental– The Language Instinct of Steven
Pinker”. The American Journal of Psychology. Vol. 152
Hadley, Gregory. “Lexis and Culture: Bound and Determined?”, Journal of
Psycholinguistic Research. Vol. 26. No. 4, 1997.
Pines, Maya. “The Civilizing of Genie”. Teaching Through the Disciplines.
Tannen, Deborah, You Just Don’t Understand. Ballantine Books, New York.
1991.

Hungarian Phrasebook
Feral children