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Received February 2015
Received in revised form May 2015
Accepted May 2015 Book Review
Available online May 2015
Language, Culture, and Society - An Introduction to
Linguistic Anthropology
Zdenek Salzmann, James Stanlaw, & Nobuko Adachi (2015),
Westview Press, ISBN 978-0-8133-4955-8
1a
Mehryar Nooriafshar
researchers in more recent years. These studies
1. Introduction have, eventually, led to the emergence of
he origin of the Homo Sapiens (wise linguistic anthropology. It should be noted that
man in Latin) to which the modern anthropology or the science of humanity gained
human beings belong, goes back to
T a self-conscious status towards the latter part of
120,000 or even 400,000 years ago. The th
field that is concerned with studying biology the 19 century. Franz Boas is amongst the
and evolutionary history of Homo Sapiens and main pioneers responsible in establishing this
aims to distinguish human beings from other field as an academic discipline. He authored,
animal spices is referred to as anthropology. co-authored and edited more than seven
The field has several branches. Cultural hundred publications (see Boas, 1938). His
anthropology and linguistic anthropology are ideas and teachings have inspired scholars such
some of the examples. Cultural anthropology is as Edward Sapir who is largely credited as the
referred to as ethnology. founder of ethnolinguistics which studies the
linkage between culture and language (For
The connection between culture and language further information, see Sapir, 1949).
has been an area of research for scholars and
1
Associate Professor, Email: mehryar@usq.edu.au
Tel: +61746351613
a University of Southern Queensland, Australia
126 Book Review: Language, Culture, and Society
This book (published by Westview Press, articulation of speech sounds are amongst the
Colorado, 2015) investigates several aspects of topics discussed.
language, culture, and their relationships within
the society. The frequent references to the Chapter 4 is related to the same topic and
pioneers mentioned above and other scholars continues with discussions on “nuts and bolts”
like Chomsky (1986), are prominent throughout of linguistic anthropology. The chapter then
the book. moves on to introducing grammatical
A reasonable coverage of the key aspects of relationships and makes references to the
language, culture, and their connection is transformational generative grammar.
provided in the book. The book has been A main message of these chapters is to explain
written in a style that is suitable for both that, linguistic anthropologists study the
academics and practitioners. The content is universal phenomenon of human language. The
organized in fifteen chapters which follows a field of linguistic anthropology is therefore
similar structure. For instance, in each chapter, defined as the study of language in its
introductory sections pave the way for further biological and sociocultural contexts. The
explanation and discussions. Each chapter clarification that linguistics is the scientific
concludes with consolidation in the form of a study of language, paves the way for
summary. There are also various projects and understanding that the field does not refer to the
active learning exercises at the end of each study of a particular language. It is explained
chapter. These elements assist immensely in that the purpose of linguistics is not to learn to
reinforcing the learning process. speak a language; rather, it refers to the
2. Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4: Linguistics and analytical study of language. The contrast
Linguistic Anthropology between a linguist and a polyglot is also clearly
spelled out. Hence, the reader would not
These chapters which lay the foundations and perceive a linguist as an individual who can
describe the ideas, make it clear what is exactly speak several languages fluently.
meant by anthropology as an academic field. 3. Chapter 5: Communicating Nonverbally
Chapter 1 provides a description of linguistics Chapter 5 is rather interesting as it covers
in general and attempts to answer questions nonverbal communication. It is suggested that,
such as why one should study language and although spoken language is by far the most
language in daily life. It then provides a brief common and important means by which
history of anthropology, linguistics, and humans communicate with each other, it is not
linguistic anthropology. The content clearly the only one. It continues discussions by
explains that an anthropologist is not someone suggesting that the various writing systems
who digs the ancient sites and burial grounds used throughout the world are of tremendous
for artefacts or tries to decipher symbolic importance for communication. It is suggested
writings of the ancient civilizations. that the term nonverbal communication, taken
Chapter 2 delves into contrasting linguistics literally, refers to the transmission of signals
with linguistic anthropology. The message accomplished by means other than spoken
regarding the difference between a linguist and words. It is fascinating to read that even bodily
a linguistic anthropologist is conveyed well. It gestures, facial expressions, and smoke signals
is suggested that a linguist, compared with a have formed some of the nonverbal
linguistic anthropologist, is primarily interested communication types throughout the history.
in the language structure rather than the The discussions then lead to the introduction of
language changes over time. formal sign languages. It is suggested that,
signing as a means of communication is,
without any doubts, at least as old as speech.
Chapter 3 introduces the “nuts and bolts” of For example, the writings of ancient Greeks and
linguistic anthropology. The discussions make Romans indicate that the deaf people utilized
it clear that language is really all about sound. signs to communicate.
The anatomy and physiology of speech and
M. Nooriafshar / International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 3(2), 2015 ISSN 2329-2210 127
4. Chapter 6: The Development and beginner learner, grammar should be limited to
Evolution of Language understanding what is meant by verbs, nouns
and adjectives.
Chapter 6 provides backgrounds to development 6. Chapters 8 and 9: How Languages are
of language. It includes topics on language,
language birth, and language death. The Classified
process is very similar to the classic life cycle
situation which the majority of natural and These two chapters are really tied to each other.
human made entities follow. The importance of In chapter 8, one can read about classification
communication in nonhuman species is of languages and how and why sound changes
considered to be quite vital to their survival. A occur. It is established that the sound changes
reference to the classic communication's model are gradual. It is argued that sound changes
is also provided. The model includes the sender, affect only the more frequently used words
the receiver, and the message. A very initially and only later, they can have an impact
interesting analogy on transmitting commands on other words. As mentioned in chapter 9, the
(in the form of gentle kicks) by the horse rider speech pattern of one individual is somewhat
to the horse is given in this section of the different from the speech pattern of the next
chapter. An indication of the features of the even for the same language. A fascinating
early languages is given in this chapter. discussion takes place in chapter 9 which
According to these arguments, most probably, suggests that people who live in the same
the early languages combined visual and facial geographic area, probably, have similar
signals with auditory signals. occupations, same education or economic
status. Hence, they would share similar
5. Chapter 7: Acquiring Language(s) characteristics in comparison with people
outside their region and over time they would
The discussions in Chapter 7 of the book develop their own dialect. According to Gordon
revolve around methods of learning languages. (2006), there are probably more than 6900
The message that there is a distinction between languages worldwide. This figure, however,
learning the first language (the mother tongue) cannot be confirmed.
and a second language is very clear. As
suggested in the chapter, most people know too 7. Chapters 10, 11, and 12: Ethnology
well, learning to speak a foreign language is a and Culture
demanding task. It involves coping with
unfamiliar sounds and sound combinations and These chapters deal with the scientific
learning, grammatical rules different from description of the customs and cultures of
those of one's native language. The discussions different people. For instance, in chapter 10,
then lead into exploring the way children learn ethnology of communication, speech community,
their first language. This learning process is and units of speech behavior are amongst the
totally different from learning a second main topics. Chapter 11 goes on to discuss
language. Children are not really taught to culture as cognition, and culture as categorization.
speak the native language. They learn it by In Chapter 11, it is argued that, words are basic
being exposed to others who talk to them. They to all communication as children first learn
do not learn grammatical rules separately but in words when acquiring their language. It is also
context. They do not need to go to language interesting to read that knowledge of a very
laboratories or drill grammatical rules either. small number of words can sometimes get one
a long way even if the command of other
As observed by the author, the reliance on the aspects of the language are limited.
biologically innate language faculty or
“Universal Grammar” has found a place in 8. Chapters 13 and 14: Language,
modern language learning. Some modern and Identity, and Ideology
innovative language teachers such as Thomas
(2000) have suggested that grammar should be These two chapters address aspects related to:
learnt in an approach very similar to how a child language, identity, and ideology.
learns the grammatical principles. Thomas
(2000) has suggested that, initially for a
128 Book Review: Language, Culture, and Society
Chapter 13 includes information on language 9. Chapter 15: Linguistic Anthropology
and gender. Very interesting discussions relate in a Globalized World
to the distinction between grammatical gender
and sex. Lexical elements such as pronouns This chapter covers issues on topics related to
‘she’ and ‘hers’ vs ‘he’ and ‘his’ and nouns like linguistic anthropology in a globalized world.
‘Latina’ and ‘Latino’ in Spanish, or French
‘chat’ and ‘chatte’ for male and female cats are
Chapter 15, under “Always on: New Literacies
some examples of biological genders.
and Language in an Online Global World”
Grammatical genders, however, do not have discusses the impact of the emerging
much to do with the actual sex of the object. For technologies on our language and the way it
instance, in German, ‘knife’ is ‘das Messer’ results in a change on how we think and relate
(with a neutral definite article) and ‘spoon’ is to others (For details see Baron, 2008).
‘der Loeffel’ (with a masculine definite article).
Similarly, Romance languages have different The section addresses the question of what our
genders for different words. For instance, in linguistic life is like now that we are “always
French, ‘La table’ is the ‘table’ (with feminine on”. As a result of the modern technologies,
definite article) and ‘le bus’ is the ‘bus’ (with sociolinguistic, formal syntactical, and
masculine definite article). The chapter also grammatical changes have taken place. For
makes a reference to an observation that in instance, the manner in which people can
languages with prominent gender distinctions, express their feelings and opinions in the world
physiological gender equalities in the society of digital communication is very different from
are also more evident. the actual face to face one. Communication, in
the form of conversation, is being, in many
In the content, there are interesting discussions instances, replaced by fast finger gestures on
on how men and women differ in the use of the screen of smart phones. The role of
language. Inclusion of further specific examples technology in shaping both language and
for a few languages would certainly make it culture is significant. Technology and
more interesting for the reader. To complement computing power is advancing at an
the discussion, the author provides some exponential rate. As a result, new and totally
examples of the certain words and expressions, different means of communication and
which are reserved for men and women in information sharing methods are becoming
Japanese. The expression signifying ‘you see’ available.
(hey, you know) is ‘ano ne’ in Japanese; and it
is often used by women. Similarly, to say ‘I’, The author believes that, the future editions of
women tend to use ‘atashi’ and men ‘boku’. the book should allocate additional sections to
address the impact of technology on both
Chapter 14 addresses how and why people language and culture. At the time of writing this
speak differently even if they speak the same review, Apple’s latest and very innovative
native language. At this stage, one can make a product, Apple Watch has just been released.
comparison with similar types of discussions This wearable device will certainly add a totally
presented in Chapter 9. The differences in different dimension to the styles of
speaking (dialects) which were mentioned in communication in general. Just imagine the
Chapter 9 are, however, mainly due to ability to communicate without words and
differences in geographical areas. It is argued instead, with gentle taps on wrists and images
that, perhaps, social class is a main contributory representing the exact feelings (e.g., heartbeat).
factor towards differences in the style of
speaking in a community. This attribute should, 10. Additional Considerations
however, be phrased as differences in Incorporating a brief discussion based on the
economics, education, familial prestige, or following, would help the novice reader:
some other ways people might rank themselves
in society. The chapter also covers how race It should be noted that linguistics is,
and ethnicity affect the way people speak. traditionally, concerned with semantics, syntax,
and phonology. The linguistic theory was
originally studied by the Greek philosophers in
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