Introduction to

Language, Culture and

Society
 Gov. Alfonso D. Tan College
Maloro, Tangub City
School Year- 2020-2021

Course code : ELS 109

Course Title : Introduction to Language, Culture and Society
Credit Units : 3 Units
Course Pre-requisite: None

Course Description:
This course examines language in its social context, that is, the ways which groups of people use
language.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this course, successful students will be able to:

1. Discuss how language, whose primary function is to serve as an instrument

ofcommunication, serves secondarily to help establish aspects of the social identity of its
speakers
2. Explain the status of geographical variations in a language—dialects, as well asthe social
equivalent of such variation.
3. State what the characteristic structural differences between written language and spoken
language are.
4. Examine evidence of language change by comparing samples of languages at
differentstages in their histories.
5. Articulate why and how some varieties of language are more highly valued than others.
6. Begin to notice how language is used and how it varies across the array of contexts in
which we engage daily.
7. Understand different perspectives on context, including identities, social institutions,
cultural values and their relationships with language.
Course Topics:
I. Introduction Language learning
The statuses of the H and L varieties
Knowledge of Language Extended diglossia and language
Competence and performance maintenance
Variation Questioning diglossia
Speakers and Their Groups - Multilingual Discourse
Language and Culture Metaphorical and situational code-
Directions of influence switching
The Whorfian hypothesis Accommodation and audience design
Correlations The Markedness Model
The Boundaries of Multilingual identities
Sociolinguistics V. Contact Languages: Structural
II. Languages and Communities Consequences of Social Factors
- Lingua Francas
Languages, Dialects, and Varieties - Pidgin and Creole Languages:
- Language or Dialect? Definitions
Mutual intelligibility Connections between P/C languages
The role of social identity and second language acquisition
- Standardization - Pidgin and Creole Formation
The standard as an abstraction Theories of creole genesis
The standardization process - Geographical Distribution
The standard and language change - Linguistic Characteristics of P/C
Standard English? Languages
The standard–dialect hierarchy Phonology
- Regional Dialects Morphosyntax
Dialect continua Vocabulary
Dialect geography - From Pidgin to Creole and
Everyone has an accent Beyond
- Social Dialects Creole continuum?
Kiezdeutsch ‘neighborhood German’ Other Contact Varieties: Mixed
Ethnic dialects Languages
African American Vernacular English VI. Language and Culture
Features of AAVE - The ethnography of
Development of AAVE communication
Latino Englishes Colour terms
- Styles, Registers, and Genres Kinship terms
Style Counting systems
Register VII. Language and Ideology:
Genre Variations in Class, Gender,
III. Defining Groups
Ethnicity, and Nationality
- Speech Communities
Linguistic boundaries
Shared norms
Types of speech communities
- Communities of Practice
- Social Networks
- Social Identities
- Beliefs about Language and
Social Groups
Ideologies
Perceptual dialectology
IV. Languages in Contact:
Multilingual Societies and  
Multilingual Discourse
- Multilingualism as a Societal
Phenomenon
Competencies and convergence in
multilingual societies
Language ideologies surrounding
multilingualism
Linguistic landscapes
Language attitudes in multilingual
settings
- Diglossia
Domains
Language attitudes and ideologies
 UNIT 1: Introduction to Language, Culture and Society

Unit Outcomes:
1. Define linguistic anthropology
2. Know the importance of studying language
3. Discuss the different myths concerning languages

Introduction

Why should we study language? Is hardly a rhetorical question? Most people never
formally study language and they seem to get along fine. But do they? David Crystal (1971:15)
points out that communication between patients and physician can be extremely difficult given
the differences in training and perspective. Language is involved in a wide variety of human
situations, perhaps every situation. The scientific study of language is one of the keys to
understanding much of human behavior.
Linguistic anthropology is a branch of anthropology that studies the role of language in
the social lives of individuals and communities. Linguistic anthropology explores how language
shapes communication. Language plays a huge role in social identity, group membership, and
establishing cultural beliefs and ideologies. So, unlike linguists, linguistic anthropologists do not
look at language alone, language is viewed as interdependent with culture and social structures.

This section will be done through reading the book indicated below and by watching different PowerPoint
presentations and videos. Read the chapters indicated, take down notes and do the task as instructed below. That
task will be graded in the evaluation part of this unit.
EXTRACTING INFORMATION
Topics Reference used Page Links
Introduction to linguistic Pages 1-15 Language, Culture, and
anthropology (PDF) Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to
Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology
Linguistic Anthropology
By ZDENEK SALZMANN,
JAMES M. STANLAW,
NOBUKO ADACHI (2012)

Myths concerning languages
(PDF) Language, Culture, and Pages 1-15 Language, Culture, and
Society: An Introduction to Society: An Introduction to
Linguistic Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology
By ZDENEK SALZMANN,
JAMES M. STANLAW,
NOBUKO ADACHI (2012)

Activity 1: Getting Immersed

Directions: Write your own thoughts about “why should we study language?”

Basis for Scoring:

Content:10
Clarity of Idea: 10
Comprehensiveness: 10
Total: 30pts.

ACTIVITY 2: Crossing Difficulties

Directions: Discuss the differences between myths and primitive languages mean.
Basis for Scoring:
Content:10
Clarity of Idea: 10
Comprehensiveness: 10
Total: 30pts.

UNIT 2: Languages and Communities

Unit Outcomes:
UNIT 3: Defining Groups
 UNIT 4: Languages in Contact: Multilingual Societies and  
Multilingual Discourse

Unit Outcomes:
1. Give specific examples of how large portion of the world’s population live and
function with more than one Language in their everyday lives
2. List the societal issues that arise when more than one Language is widely spoken
in a country.

Introduction

The study of language contact addresses the dynamics and outcomes of multilingual
interaction. Accordingly, it intersects with many branches of linguistics, including
sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, and psycholinguistics. It also engages with the full range of
areas of linguistic investigation, from discourse to lexicon to grammar, and spanning phonetics,
phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics/pragmatics. Despite its wide relevance and a
relatively long pedigree, language contact as a field of study in its own right is relatively young,
having come into its own only in the latter half of the 20th century. This bibliography focuses on
language contact from the perspective of its effects on the languages involved; in other words, the
approach taken here is grounded primarily in the study of language variation and change,
although it necessarily keeps social and psycholinguistic considerations in view. Language
contact often occurs along borders or as a result of migration. The transfer of words of phrases
can be one-way or two-way. Chinese has influenced Japanese, for instance, though the reverse
has not largely been true. Two-way influence is less common and is typically restricted to
specific languages Pidgins are often developed for trade purposes. These are a few hundred words
that can be spoken between people of different languages.

Activity 1: Getting Immersed!

Directions: Write an essay about the function/s of Language Contact in our daily lives and what are its
effects towards communication.

Clarity 20
Cohesion 20
Grammar 20
Total: 60 points

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-language-contact-404671 Sarah Thomason, “Contact

Explanations in Linguistics.” “The Handbook of Language Contact,” ed. By Raymond Hickey. Wiley-
Blackwell, 2013

EXTRACTING INFORMATION
Topics
Languages in Contact:
Multilingual Societies and   (PDF) Language, Culture, and
Multilingual Discourse
Reference used
Society: An Introduction to
Linguistic Anthropology
By ZDENEK SALZMANN,
JAMES M. STANLAW,
NOBUKO ADACHI (2012)
Page Links
Language, Culture, and Society:
An Introduction to Linguistic
Anthropology
https://www.thoughtco.com/what
-is-language-contact-4046714
https://www.linguisticsociety.org/
resource/languages-contact
https://www.uni-
 due.de/SHE/HE_ContactAndCha
nge.htm
https://www.slideshare.net/mobil
e/oscar12261/language-contact
https://www.sil.org/language-
assessment/language-contact

Activity 2: Crossing Difficulties

Write an Editorial article about “The Societal issues that arise when more than one Language is widely
spoken in a country”. Prove facts and make your point/s clear.

Scoring
Cohesion 20
Organization of ideas. 20
Building the argument. 20
Total. 60 points
UNIT 5: Contact Languages: Structural Consequences of Social Factors
1. Define and give specific examples of standard languages, pidgins and creoles.
2. Describe how creole develops from a pidgin and list specific criteria needed for a
language variety to be considered standard.
3. Give specific examples of borrowed words that has been used in the country.

Introduction

Among the many languages of the world are a few that have been assigned a some-what
marginal position in the study of linguistics: the various lingua francas, pidgins, creoles, and so-
called mixed languages. Such languages have apparently existed since time immemorial, but we
know much less about them than we know about languages that have a long history as standard
languages spoken by a dominant group. The history of serious study of such languages goes back
only a few decades. Until recently, pidgins and creoles have generally been viewed as
uninteresting linguistic phenomena, being notable mainly for linguistic features they have been
said to lack (e.g., articles, the copula, and grammatical inflections) rather than those they possess,
and those who speak them have often been treated with disdain, even contempt.
A major issue in contact linguistics today is the status of such languages, an issue which
we will return to below in our discussion of creole languages. At the Center of this controversy is
the issue of how different contact languages really are from other languages. For example,
English (which is a Germanic language) is notorious for having loanwords from Romance
languages which were borrowed during different periods of its development; it clearly changed
considerably through language contact. Many, if not most, languages have been influenced at
some point in their history by contact with other languages. Although we have certain categories
of types of contact languages, as we will discuss in this chapter, it is important to remember than
most languages have developed in contexts of language contact. The goal of this chapter is to
survey what we find in the literature on language contact, providing an overview of the
development of the approach to language contact in sociolinguistics. In the following sections, we
will first discuss lingua francas, then turn to a discussion of pidgin and creole languages, and end
this chapter with a brief discussion of so-called mixed languages.

Activity 1: Giving it a try!

Directions: On a bond paper create a comic strip about the formation of Pidgin and Creole. Be creative in
making it. Let your imagination guide you.

Basis for Scoring:

Artistry 20
Organization of thought 20
Colorfulness 10
Neatness 10
Total 60 points
Activity 2: Getting Immersed

Directions: In a one whole sheet of paper reflect on the global spread of Lingua Franca, and how it
evolved around the world. Minimum of 350 words.

Basis for Scoring:

Grammar 20
Content 20
Organization 20
Total 60 points
 UNIT 6: Language and Culture

Unit Outcomes:
1.Define and explain Ethnography of Communication, of how significant it is in language studies.
2.Define features of non-verbal behaviour and comprehend its role in understanding
Ethnography of Communication.
3.Define and discuss how meaning emerges through the interactions of culture, cognition, and
categorization.

Introduction
This unit mainly deals with discussions towards better understanding of the
relationship between language and culture. To better demonstrate knowledge between
language and culture, we need to know some important elements which are involved in
relationship.
Sociolinguistics can be given a broader remit and consider questions of language
and culture and/or ethnicity rather than just of language and society. This broader approach is
labelled anthropological linguistics. Anthropology is a holistic science which encompasses every
aspect of human society and culture at present. It can also trace human evolution and
development stretching back into prehistory. There are two main branches of anthropology: 1)
Cultural or Social anthropology which studies living human societies and their cultural systems;
2) Physical or biological anthropology which is primarily concerned with human evolution at a
much greater time depth. Typical issues in anthropological linguistics are linguistic relativity,
kinship terms, colour terms, systems of address, honorifics, politeness or different modes of
communication across cultures.

Ethnography of Communication

The ethnography of communication is concerned with cultural differences in acts of

communication, in particular what additional features accompany speech. The cultural
assumptions which we have internalised in our childhood as part of the process of socialisation
guide our social and linguistic behaviour for the rest of our lives. However, these assumptions
must be relativised, indeed questioned, when we come into contact with other cultures. The
following are some features of non-verbal behaviour which differ across cultures:
· Colour Terms
· Kinship Terms
· Counting Systems

Activity 1: Hyping up!

Start the lesson with a spiced up quiz! Identify and give the following terms descriptions in your
word words. Now remember, be brief and concise when making your answers.
1. Ethnography of Communication
2. Colour terms
3. Kinship terms
4. Counting systems
Also, explain below the three features of non-verbal behavior’s significance to the study of the
ethnography of communication.

Note: Plagiarism is a devious crime. Please, be mindful of your ethical codes and refrain from
committing such a disdainful act

Topics Reference used Page Links

The ethnography of (PDF) Language and Pages 31 - 36 PDF Link:
communication Society – Raymond Hickey https://bit.ly/310j9I6
- Colour Terms
- Kinship Terms
- Counting Systems

Ethnography of (PDF) Language, Culture, Pages 185 – Language, Culture, and

Communication and Society: An 204 Society: An Introduction to
Introduction to Linguistic Linguistic Anthropology
Anthropology
By ZDENEK SALZMANN,
JAMES M. STANLAW,
NOBUKO ADACHI (2012)
Culture as Cognition and (PDF) Language, Culture, Pages 205 – Language, Culture, and
Culture as Categorization and Society: An 224 Society: An Introduction to
Introduction to Linguistic Linguistic Anthropology
Anthropology
By ZDENEK SALZMANN,
JAMES M. STANLAW,
NOBUKO ADACHI (2012)
This section will be done through reading the book indicated below and by watching different PowerPoint
presentations and videos. Read the chapters indicated, take down notes and do the task as instructed below. That
task will be graded in the evaluation part of this unit.
 Activity 2: Wrapping it up!

Answer the following questions briefly:

1. If referents or symbols are things that are representations of concepts in the real world,
then how about abstract nouns that are intangible to the eye?
2. “No two objects in the real world are exactly alike”, that was what categorization implied.
Why is there a need for categorization? Is it important?
3. What is essential in cognition? What does it allow us to do?
4. Food, language, beliefs, religion, and literature to name a few, are fundamental parts of
culture. How do these factors affect our cognition or perception on things?

Basis for Scoring:

Content:10
Clarity of Idea: 10
Comprehensiveness: 10
Total: 30pts.
UNIT 7: Language and Ideology: Variations in Class, Gender, Ethnicity, and
Nationality
The world is not yet ending,
Your journey doesn’t end here.
Cheer up! You can do it!