Linguistic anthropology is an important part of linguistic studies. If you are minoring in linguistics, you will find this material in the Topics in Linguistics Studies. Why is it important to learn about this subject? It is because linguistic anthropology looks at how people use languages in their daily lives and how the language shows the values, ideas, and way of life of a community. It shows that language also shapes how people think, communicate, and understand their world. 

    Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, two scholars who specialized in linguistic anthropology, suggested that the language people speak shapes their thoughts and experiences of the world. This idea is known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. In real life, this shows in how different languages name things differently. In English, we have the words ‘hang’ and ‘arm,’ but Russian speakers call it ‘ruka’ for both. It shows how culture affects what parts of the body are more important to notice or name. 

    Linguistic anthropology studies various features of languages, such as sound variations, tone, grammar details, politeness styles, and conversational patterns. These language features could help in identifying who belongs to a group, express respect, or show status. Ethnosemantics, a special area in linguistic anthropology, focuses on how language organizes particular sets of words related to cultural topics. For example, some cultures have many words for different types of rice because their main meal contains rice, while English just uses one word. These patterns tell us what is important in each culture and how people mentally organize their world. 

 

    Language also carries important social meanings as linguistic anthropology looks at dialects and language styles within communities to understand identity and social divisions, studying how language can unite people and also create boundaries between social groups. For example, in the United States, people use “I” and “we” freely. But in Japan, how you refer to yourself and others depends on the social status and the relationship between speakers.

     

    Therefore, studying linguistic anthropology is very important. It helps us to appreciate the variety of human cultures and ways of thinking. It teaches us that no language perfectly matches another, that each language offers a unique view of the world. This encourages us to respect diversity and helps avoid misunderstandings between cultures. It helps us when we are learning new languages by understanding the cultural meaning behind words and expressions. Linguistic anthropology provides valuable insights into human communication, culture, and social life, showing that language is truly at the heart of what it means to be human.

References: 

Ahearn, LM. 2012. Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell 

Content Writer: Paulina Angelica Putri 

Editor: Arinda Risma Wardani