Language, Culture and Society

Language Culture and Society
Define these terms:

1. Language – Language is an instrument used by humans to express their needs and
deepest longings. Language serves as a bridge of communication, May it be spoken, non-
verbal, or in a written way of communication.
2. Culture- portrays general customs and beliefs of a particular race or tribe. It purposefully
highlights people's values about their unique traditions, especially in their language,
cuisine, social habits, and music.
3. Society- A society is a group of people who harmoniously

live together, sharing the same interest and passion to fulfill their common good.
4. Monolingual- is a person who speaks only one language.

5. Monodialectical- pertains to the usage of a single dialect.
6. Phonetic- is the study of speech sounds.
7. Primitive- Primitive- refers to how people lived their lives in the earliest time of
development before technology has far begun or can also be associated with the words
‘strange’ or “unusual.”
8. Dialect- a type of language that is spoken by a particular region or group of people.
9. Fluent- refers to the ability to express oneself articulately in spoken or written.
Answer these questions:

1. What are considered as “primitive languages”? Why are they thought to be primitive?
Based on the reading material, unwritten language is what other people perceived as
primitive. The reason behind this myth is that people approach it from an ethnocentric
perspective, addressing another language as ugly if it produces an indifferent sound or when
pronounced strange from how other people speak it.
2. What is grammar?
Grammar is a system of rules governing the conventional arrangement and
relationship of words in a sentence, it is the way words are put together to make correct
sentences.
3. If a language has complex grammatical system, then it is classified as “civilized”

language. On the other hand, languages that have little grammar are considered
ineffective.
There is no truth in this statement, according to what I have read the degree of
grammar complexity is not a measure of how effective a particular language is. Dell
Hymes, a linguistic anthropologist, said that these languages which appear to be civilized
and more successful than others are effective not because they are structurally more
advanced but because they happen to be associated with societies in which language is
the basis of literature, education, and commerce. He also said that no known language are
primitive and all have achieve the middle status.
4. What is vocabulary?
is more than a list of words we must memorize but understand in order for us to
communicate effectively, it has a great impact and the main factor to improve the
person’s ability, to listen, speak, read and write.
5. If Language A has 250 verbs and Language B has only 50 verbs, then Language B is a
primitive language
Language plays a role in the identity of a culture. Language has been a part of
human living, a means of communication. It has evolved through time and is continuing
to change in the present. No one can scientifically convey how language had started but
only can assume its existence. Language presents itself to us in simple ways yet still
mysterious on the human mind, like a baby who naturally adapts and speaks the words
that he hears in his environment.
Our different backgrounds or culture can be the underlying reason why a
particular language functions differently from another. These are some facts that could
lead us to what Dell Hymes had concluded in his linguistic findings, "Language are not
functionally equivalent, because the role of the speech varies from one society." Simple
human language with limited vocabulary and grammar do not exist, for all language are
equally equipped to serve the society who speak it.
6. What is a dialect?
It is a type of language that is spoken by a particular region or group of people.
7. What is an accent?
The way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words.
8. What is linguistic prejudice?
it pertains to either discrimination and judgment of a person’s worth based on the

use of language and characteristics of speech, including first language, accent, size of
vocabulary (whether the speaker uses complex and varied words), modality, and syntax.
9. What is anthropology?
The systematic study of humanity, with the goal of understanding our
evolutionary origins, our distinctiveness as a species, and the great diversity in our forms
of social existence across the world and through time
10. What is linguistic anthropology?

A branch of anthropology that studies the role of language in the social lives of
individuals and communities.

Language, Culture and Society

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Language Culture and Society

Define these terms:

3. Society- A society is a group of people who harmoniously

4. Monolingual- is a person who speaks only one language.

Answer these questions:

3. If a language has complex grammatical system, then it is classified as “civilized”

8. What is linguistic prejudice?

it pertains to either discrimination and judgment of a person’s worth based on the

10. What is linguistic anthropology?

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