LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

ACCOUNTS ON THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE

Acquisition

What was the first language? How did language begin – where and when? These are
repeated questions asked by scholars. Bernard Campbell states flatly in “Humankind
Emergin” (Allyn & Bacon, 2005), “We simply do not know, and never will, how or when
language began.”

The following slides are some of the theories and hypotheses about the origin of language;

1. FROM BOW-WOW TO LA-LA

 THE BOW-WOW THEORY – This is based on the ideas that humans imitate the sounds
of the animals call.
 THE POOH-POOH THEORY- This arose with the idea that people make instinctive
sounds.
 THE DING-DONG THEORY- This is based on the notion that people react to the world
and make sound symbolism
 THE YO-HE-HO THEORY – This is based on the proof that humans create rhythmical
grunts which later developed into chants to address physical environmental needs.
 THE LA-LA THEORY- The romantic side of human life is the sole factor that is
responsible for the creation of language.

2. GENETIC MUTATION OF CHOMSKY

 Noam Chomsky postulates in his theory that language was created from a genetic
mutation from one of our human ancestors. This human ancestor developed the ability to
speak and understand language and he passed this on to his offspring.

3. VOCAL GROOMING OF DUNBAR
 Robin Dunbar’s theory is based on the notion that people needed to find a more efficient
form of grooming as communities began to groom larger. Wanting to keep their peers
with them, humans groom themselves and so did the vocals develop. Humans need to
be together with other humans so they needed to use sounds like early conversations
similar to gossip in our modern times.

4. “PUTTING THE BABY DOWN” HYPOTHESIS

 Dean Falk an anthropologist suggests that language developed from early humans-the
mothers in particular. As humans evolved and lost their fur, the mothers who used to
carry their babies on their backs needed to leave them on the ground as they gather food
and foraging. To make sure that the babies are ensured that they are not abandoned,
the mother would call him/her and uses facial expressions. Aside from this, body
language and tactile communication are also used like tickling.

5. Whitney’s Origin of Language

  Whitney’s theory on the source of human speech anchored on the natural sound of
human cries. As humans express their feelings and are being understood by others the
use of language began. Next, according to Whitney, human beings come to use imitative
or onomatopoetic utterances as the reproduction of the sound of crying.

Language, Culture, and society

Theories in Language and Culture

Acquisition

The interconnectedness between Culture and Language

We can view that interrelatedness between culture and language in these three opposing
aspects:

1. Language and culture are inseparable since language is closely related to culture

2. Language and culture are independent because speech is a means of exchanging

information which can be used in aspects that are not connected to culture

3. Culture and language are partly interconnected.

Kramsch (1998) pointed three ways by which language and culture are related

1. Ways of doing things and perceptions can be manifested through the use and
arrangement of words. Considering this, people in society convey culture.

2. People postulate meaning in their daily activities and experiences through language, and
thus, language personifies cultural reality.

3. They context of communication where language is used embodies cultural reality and
speakers distinguish themselves using their language as their identity.

Therefore, language is a tool for people to express themselves and put

significance in their social and cultural experiences and reality with others.

Culture as Part of Language

 “Language is purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas,

emotions and desire by means of voluntarily produced symbols” (Sapir, 1921).
 Risgar (2006) claims that language is a part of culture and a part of epidermal behavior.
It is predominantly held that the task of language is to put thoughts into words, to
communicate pieces of information and to express feelings. Language fulfills many other
functions as maintaining a friendly societal relationship between people such as greeting
people, expressing needs, etc.
 Kramsch (1962) phrased the main functions of language in three aspects:
 Language is the primary vehicle of communication
  Language reflects both the personality of the individual and the culture of history. In turn,
it helps in shaping both personality and culture.
 Language makes possible the growth and transmission of culture, the continuity of
societies and the effective functioning and control of social group.
 If we endeavor to learn foreign language, we need to be acquainted with the cultural
realities embedded in this foreign language. There must be a distinct way of requesting
or expressing gratitude and other appropriate ways of transacting.

Language, Thought and Culture

 Benjamin Lee Whorf shared his theory on the significance of language in organizing our
thoughts. He espoused that our ways of looking at the world depend on the type of
language that we use. His example is on the word “snow”. The word may mean
differently to and English person and an Eskimo person who may have 50 ways to
describe the snow.

 The same holds truth for Sinugbuanong Binisaya or the Cebuano language, there are
more than one word to mean “eat”. There is “habhab”, “kaon”, “sima”, “timo”, etc.
Language therefore is very cultural. The Cebuano words for eat basically tells that
culturally, Cebuanos have different ways and practices for eating as presented by the
hue of meaning of words.

Culture and its Elements

 It is undeniable that we learn culture through interaction with people. Culture is not
inborn but rather learned as it is a social product. Words are the best tools of cultural
symbols, such as epics, myths, and stories. This helps connect people. Aside from
words or language, rituals, beliefs and values are essential in the formation of culture.
Generally, the elements of culture include the overall patterns of behavior, literature and
language, arts, prototypes and other products of human work and thoughts.

Vygotsky’s theory

 Lev Vygotsky, a psychologist, believed that social interactions between and among
people are a key element in acquiring knowledge, just like how a child watches and
learns from adults. The more experiences a child has to imitate the greater his
intellectual skills and language development compared to those with less experience and
exposure. He believed that every culture has specific dynamics for social transactions.

Piaget’s Theory

 Jean Piaget contends that when children are born they have an embedded basic
structure for cognition as well as for language. As they mature, their built-in structure
also adjusts to let them learn more about complex language and other higher-order
concepts. In this theory, Piaget stressed that children create meaning from the verbal
and nonverbal cues received from their environment and these meanings change as
children learn more because of maturity. Piaget did not adhere to Vgotsky’s idea od
emphasizing culture and learning.
Chomsky’s Theory

 Noam Chomsky is known for his Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which is a built-in
box in the brain responsible for creating and learning the language. For him, practice is
not important as children never acquire language through it. Furthermore, language
structure can change, develop and evolve given cultural interactions.

Language and History

The history of language relied so much on the hands of the great linguists from the time it
started up to the 20th century. Language literally and constantly evolves with time and its
development follows a timeline. In each stage that language passes through are footprints of
accomplishments of the great contributors from ancient philosophers to modern linguists. From
the time language was first studied and structured, the transformation of language artifacts just
kept coming. The changes applied to language miraculously suit to the generation of its users.
With the numerous language experts the world has, there are just a few noteworthy linguists
whose contributions are widely adopted and scrutinized by modern linguists.

Historical Timeline of Noteworthy Linguists

 Linguists started to make a mark after Panini composed his Sanskrit grammar in India in
400 B.C. followed by the remarkable linguists that history records are all noteworthy.
However, in the field of language and history, the following linguists below are well
remembered.

1. Aristotle

 In 384 B.C.E Aristotle was born in Macedonia particularly in Stagira. His father served
as the physician of the Macedonian King, Amyntas. At 17, Aristotle entered the academy
which Plato established in Athens and stayed there until Plato’s death. As the successor of
Plato, he departed Athens and lived in Asia Minor and the resided in Lesbos. Later between
343 B.C. – 342 B.C. , he was invited by Amynta’s son, Philip II of Macedonia, to teach his 14
year old son, Alexander. In 336 B.C., Alexander took over the throne and conquered the
entire of Greece. So Aristotle, left and established his school of philosophy.

Aristotle’s Contribution to Linguistics

 Aristotle’s huge contribution to the development of language started when he

demythologized language. He looked at it as an object of rational inquiry, a medium of
communicating and expressing thoughts about anything under the sun. In Ogden and
Richards (1923:11), he explained that the “semiotic triangle” refers to (a) language is
human’s means of expression of, (b) thoughts that are purposefully connected to (c)
elements present in this world. In other words, he was establishing the relation between
language expressions including written words with the mental meaning produced b these
words. In this theory of truth, he provided that the properties of either thoughts and sentences
are truth and falsity. He identified the primary parts of a sentence – the noun and verb, which
functioned as subject and verb in the sentence.
2. Robert Lowth (1710-1787)

 He was born in Winchester on November 27, 1710 and was educated at Winchester
School and New College Oxford. In his lifetime, he worked as a Professor of Poetry at the
University of Oxford. Lowth was a clergyman after he served as archdeacon of Winchester,
rector of East Woodhay, prebend of Durham, Bishop of Saint David’s, bishop of London,
dean of the Chapel Royal and privy councilor. His noble acts ended after he died on
November 3, 1787.

Lowth’s Contribution to Linguistics

 In 1762, he published his book titled, “Short Introduction to English Grammar” which
became a standard textbook. The “Short Introduction to English Grammar” instantly gained
fame over other grammar books that it was reissued approximately 45 times from 1762-1800.
Lowth then earned a reputation as a prescriptivist and that period gave rise to prescriptivism.
The term prescriptivism refers to beliefs and practices where one’s language is thought and
superior and correct and should be promoted. The explicit rules are laid down as the basis of
the imposition on the language users. He was one of the few grammarians to publish writing
about what is right and wrong in English grammar where he used footnotes that contain
essential information that explain why a particular grammatical structure was right or wrong.

3. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)

 In 1857, Ferdinand de Saussure was born in Geneva, Switzerland. He was interested in

languages even at his very early age. At 15, he learned French, Greek, English, and Latin
and he also wrote essays on language at that age. Having been influenced by a family of
scientists, he entered the University of Geneva and studied natural sciences. He stayed at
the university, but he had convinced his parents to permit him to study linguistics in Leipzig in
1876 and luckily received his doctorate.

Ferdinand de Saussure’s contribution to Linguistics

 As a linguist, he was among the pillars of linguistics in the 20th Century and known as a
co-founder of semiotics and structuralism theorizes that things could not be understood
without analyzing the context where they appear. Things might look self-evident at first
glance, but structuralism goes beyond what one sees and insists that context contributes to
the meaning-making process.

In summary, structuralism advocated three similar concepts:

1. Saussure maintained the difference between langue (a set of conventions and

rules) and parole (language as used in daily life).

2. There was no intrinsic and particular reason why sign was utilized to express a
signifier.

3. The meaning of signs can be based on their relationships and differences from
other signs
 EXAMPLE

4. Noam Chomsky

 His name, when written in full is, Avram Noam Chomsky. He was born in Pennsylvania in
1923. He pursued his interest in linguistic under Zellig Harris, the profession who helped him
earn his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time, he was also regarded
as the Father of Modern Linguistics, a philosopher, a social critic, a cognitive scientist, and a
political activist.

Chomsky’s Contribution to Linguistic

1. As one of the linguistic intellectuals, he introduced the concept of universal grammar and
suggested that human has an ability to learn grammar because the brain has a Language
Acquisition Device (LAD) that automatically works in language acquisition. Chomsky, who
often focused on the language learning of children, popularized this theory since the 1980s.

2. He was not convinced that exposure to language alone can fully develop the child’s faculty
to acquire a language. Instead, he believed that basic language structures are already wired
into the human brain at birth. Besides, the human language has verbs and nouns, and so do
other languages even if the terms being used vary due to language differences.