Critical Thinking of Anthropology Question (Essay Sample)

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Critical Thinking of Anthropology Question
Human language is unique because it is a symbolic communication process that is learned instead of biologically inherited. The study of language is an important concept that should be addressed with a lot of concern since language is one of the main tools considered in the interaction and expression of opinions, memories, emotions, and values depending on the preferred culture as Haviland et al. (2010: 27) observed. Language is also considered as the main vehicle for cultural expression necessary for humanity and collective identity, and therefore the subject of language and communication has proved to be of an important subject. However, this paper presents a wider concept of language and its meaning and noting how a fieldworker analyzes and describes a language. The notion of how language is linked to gender is also comprehensively discussed.
Language is considered as one of the major elements of culture that underlie cultural variations. It is also a significant element of cultural capital. The most important variations or rather differences in the study of languages consider the level of lexicon, phonology and grammar which encompasses syntax and morphology. In addition as noted by Lewis (2010: 65) these variations may not just be qualitative, considering the sense that dialect A applies one feature and dialect B another, on the other hand, the variations may be quantitative in the sense that dialect A applies one feature more than dialect B does (Cablitz, 2006: 49). This particularly confirms the correctness of true phonological and grammatical features which ensure social and stylistic significance in the study in the study of languages. Quite a good number of members of a society share a common language, which basically facilitates day-to-day exchanges with others. For instance, according to Cablitz (2006: 53), when you ask a hardware client for a flashlight, you don’t necessarily need to draw a picture of the instrument, but you share the same cultural term for a small, portable, battery operated instrument. However, if you were in a country like England and required this instrument you would have requested for an electric torch. Of course, even within the same humanity, a term can have a number of various meanings with regard to the preferred language. In the same sense as noted by Lewis (2010: 67); in the United States, a pot may signify a container that is used for cooking and an intoxicating drug. The cultural aspect of language includes both written and spoken word and nonverbal communication. Language is termed as the foundation of every culture and an abstract system of word definitions and symbols for all aspect of culture. Language includes speech, nonverbal gestures and expressions, and written characters (Haviland et al., 2010: 23). Language does quite a number of things than simply describe authenticity; language serves to shape the reality of culture. For instance, several people in the United States may not be in a position to easily make verbal distinctions regarding snow and ice that are quite considerable in the Sami culture. Therefore, they are less likely to notice such differences.
For a fieldworker to effectively analyze and describe a language, it is in order to observe and describe language facts regardless of whether or not they encompass someone’s formal tenet. Paying attention may not necessarily mean that the fieldworker has an obligation of whether to try or pay attention to several morpho-syntactic features of language at the same time. According to Cablitz (2006: 58), language may not be theoretical or desirable to one, and as a result, each fieldwork information gathering endeavor considers some theoretical under-pinning. Moreover, it is in order for a fieldworker to consider a theory driven research in the analysis of language since this can be useful in determining what data to consider for collection, particularly with regard to more nuanced grammatical points. For comprehensive analysis and description of language, there is need for a fieldworker to first begin by examining and analyzing smaller morphosyntactic components and then go ahead to examine and analyze larger morphosyntactic components; however, this may not mean that there is directionality in the fieldwork (Haviland et al., 2010: 29). It is ideally in order for the fieldworker to adopt this technique, as long as one comprehends that the resulting documentation and description will rely on a simultaneous fieldwork of all phases of the phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language. A fieldworker should also consider elicitation as a technique in the process of data collection to realize accurate results in the analysis of language. According to Cablitz (2006: 64), elicitation involves the application of questionnaires and questioning without context, which basically excludes data from the texts. In addition, elicitation may encompass data gathering without linguistic analysis. On the other hand, as noted by Lewis (2010: 43), there is no such a thing like data gathering separable from language analysis. Quite a number of language analyses in the field are unavoidable. A scheduled controlled elicitation technique may also help the fieldworker realize accurate result in language analysis since it focuses on specific language families or language sections which are usually more applicable than those encompassing the entire language of the world.
The study on how language is linked to gender has mushroomed over the past three decades, and it would be ideally an uphill task to summarize the main approaches to this discipline or the most significant findings. According to Cablitz (2006: 77) in regard to this perspective, "gender" is commonly referred to "sex" since it enhances the sociocultural notion rather than biological differences between men and women. Women tent to apply non-standard or vernacular languages less often than men. For example, women in Nor...