The Importance of Language

Language Experiment

Part 1

     The first part of the experiment was to participate in a "conversation" with someone else. However, for this part, we were not allowed to talk, write, or use any form of official sign language (i.e ASL). In order to conduct the first part of the experiment, my partner and I had to choose a subject we would discuss about. Due to how busy my day had been, I was going to try to explain in detail what I did throughout that day. Normally, this conversation is bound to come up on a daily basis of ones life. One always tells a person how their day went and what they did. However, I never imagined how hard it could possibly be if we couldn't talk or write. At first, I spent a few minutes contemplating how to express what I wanted to say. Eventually, we started used a "charades"-type technique to talk to each other. Then, I would also try drawing what I did if it was too hard to express via hand movements and gestures. After I got the hang of it after the first 5-8 minutes and the conversation seemed to flow a little better. However, I highly doubt I would be able to do this on a daily basis. The first 10 minutes of this part of the experiment were pretty frustrating for my partner. He found a hard time trying to understand what exactly I was trying to say. Instead of comprehending what I want to say, sometimes he would just laugh at how ridiculous I must have looked. However, once I began drawing some things I wanted to say, it became a little easier. 
          From an outside perspective, it is easy to say that the culture that uses symbolic language would have an advantage in communicating ideas. However, that might be a little ethnocentric from a anthropologists perspective. Although that other culture may not have the common symbolic language, they might have developed another type of culture which could be just as efficient, or maybe even more. Nevertheless, this experiment can be quite hard for those of us that have never attempted anything like this. In our culture, there still are people that might have to live their lives with different ways of communicating. For instance, people with disabilities, such as a hearing impairment or being mute, might have to communicate another way, the most common would be sign language.

Part 2

       This part of the experiment allowed us to use only spoken language. When first reading the description of this part of this experiment, one immediately thinks that it would be simple. However, being limited to only spoken language, it also becomes a little hard to express ourselves in a more detailed manner. Although this part wasn't as hard for me as the first part was, I struggled to express myself like I normally do. Most of us don't notice how much we move or how our facial expressions change as we talk. I believe that these movements or facial expressions help us add more detail and emotion to what we are trying to communicate. When I did this part of the experiment, I felt that I might have been a bit monotone and humorless. Without all of these movements and expressions, I feel like our conversations would be a bit bland and flavorless. Nevertheless, I was still able to conduct this part of the experiment for the full 15 minutes. With some of the things I said, my partner wasn't sure if I was being completely serious or sarcastic. I feel that all of those extra movements add an extra spice to the spoken language. In real life, there are people who have to communicate without "non-speech language techniques". The majority of these people, in my opinion, are those who are blind.

Part 3

       I believe that written language is just as important as spoken language. If we had been able to write in part one of this experiment, I think it would have been just as easy. The scenario of part one would have been the same as passing notes in a high school classroom, easily communicated. Although we would not be able to add the extra detail spoken language provides, we would have been able to communicate just as easy. I feel that the written language is very important because it can be a way to reach many people around the world. For example, books, by writing one copy, everyone around the world can read the same. In my opinion, the written language has taken a big part in "globalization." For instance, written language can be used to record what was said in spoken language, and therefore ideas can spread fast. All in all, all components of language (spoken, written, visual, etc) play an important role in today's society. It can provide barriers amongst people as well as tear them down.
   

Human Culture vs The Environment

For this assignment, our task was to study and compare two separate cultures with regards to how their environment has shaped their development. The two cultures that were studied for this assignment were the Zulu of South Africa and the Andean Indians of South America.

Population A: the Zulu of South Africa
          1.The Zulu people live in the country of South Africa, at the southern tip of the African continent. The latest census count shows that there is around 11 million Zulu people in South Africa. Due to the geographical location of South Africa, the weather tends to be somewhat bipolar year round. In this part of the world, the seasonal changes are very obvious. The summers in South Africa tend to be hot and wet while the winters are cold and dry. Such conditions have probably led the Zulu people to adapt to the constant change in temperatures. The homeland of the Zulu, called the KwaZulu-Natal is a region with very little vegetation (covered with small bushes and grasslands). This subtropical region receives a lot of sunlight year round and the UV rays also add on stress on the Zulu people.

          2. The high amount of UV rays and lack of shade, due to low vegetation, have made the Zulu people adapt via dark pigmentation. The dark pigmentation is created by having higher amounts of melanin, which helps protect the human body from UV rays and prevents radiation damage. Also, most of the Zulu people tend to be tall and slim. This physical characteristic helps their bodies keep cooler temperatures and protect them from the hot temperatures of the African continent. Like the majority of people of African descent, the Zulu people have hair which allows them to keep cooler body temperatures.

         3. As seen through many pictures, it is evident that the Zulu people wear the most minimal amount of clothing possible. Some women in the Zulu culture don't conceal their breasts. All this is probably due to the high heat in the region. Therefore, as a culture, they have adapted to allow more nudity in order to adapt to the high temperatures of their homeland.

           4. To society in general, the Zulu people would be considered an Sub-Saharan African race. One usually determines someone's race solely based on their physical appearance. However, we must take into consideration cultural aspects as well. In this case, the Zulu people have many characteristics, both physically and culturally, that most people would consider African.

Population B: The Andean Indians
         1. The Andean Indians live in the Andean region of the South American continent. The Andes are a "mountainous chain" that ranges from Colombia to the Southern tip of Argentina. Due to the extensive range of land this region covers, the weather changes with respect to the geographical location. The majority of the Andean Indians tend to live in the higher altitudes of the Andes.

       2. Due to the high altitude of their homeland, the Andean indians have built the lung capacity to survive in such altitudes, up to 9,000 feet above sea level. Most people would not be able to live in such high altitudes. Also, the Andean people have had to adapt to the extremely cold temperatures in the Andes during the winter season.

       3. In order to keep warm, the Andean clothing tends to be made of wool and other thick/warm substances.Because of this, people in the Andean region breed llamas and other animals that can provide warm clothing. As mentioned before, the Andean Indians live on the Andes Mountain Range, which reaches high altitudes. In order to harvest food, the Andean people have had to learn to farm on mountains and tight spaces.

       4. Personally I would consider the Andean Indians as an indigenous, or Native American, of Latin America. The Andean Indian people have customs similar to those that were observed in ancient "Latin-American" civilizations, such as the Aztecs, Mayans, Wayuu, and more closely to the Incas of Peru.

Summary:
         As an anthropologist, I think it is important to study both physical and cultural aspects of people. In order to understand a culture more, we should study all aspects of it and what contributed to its development. In my opinion, the environment plays a big role in how a peoples' culture develops. Therefore, I think environment provides an explanation as to why people in the same region have similar customs and physical appearances. However, one should not assume that because two different people look like each other are also exactly the same culturally.

Sources:
http://www.southafrica.info/travel/advice/climate.htm
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Zulu.html
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/aflang/zulu/culture.html
http://www.zulu-culture-history.com/
http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0028672.html
http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Andean+Indian
http://www.native-languages.org/andean-culture.htm


 

The Nacerima Tribe, Part A-B

Cultural Description, Part A:

1.Spiritual/Mystical   
             When reading about the Nacerima tribe, it is almost impossible to realize that these people are very spiritual. According to Miner, the structure of the Nacerima tribe is based on the belief that, "the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of ritual and ceremony." Because of this belief, the Nacerima people undergo many rituals to cleanse their bodies. The Nacerima people are under the impression that the human body needs constant cleansing in order to be able to survive.  To perform these cleansing rituals, the Nacerima people go to temples, called latipso, and at other sacred dwellings within their homes. These characteristics are very similar to those of ancient civilizations such as the mayans and the aztecs, who were also very spiritual.

2.Reliant:
            Going back to the spirituality of the Nacerima tribe, the people of this tribe seem to be very dependent of the men in power. In this society, the "medicine men", "holy-mouth men", the "listeners", and other "magical practitioners"(as described by Miner) are held on a pedestal due to their mystical powers. These practitioners cure the people of the diseases or illnesses which the Nacerima people believe every body contains. Throughout the article, it is evident that the Nacerima people are very reliant on the help of these practitioners.

3.Hierarchical:
            As already mentioned, the people of the Nacerima tribe are very reliant on the men who can cure their illnesses and diseases. The Nacerima society is structured in a hierarchical manner where these people are placed in high positions. For example, the "holy-mouth men" can conduct whatever ritual they deem necessary to cleanse a persons mouth/morals. The people of this society do whatever these practitioners say in order to cleanse their bodies. Essentially, the Nacerima people let the medicine men, holy-mouth men, and etcetera take over their bodies when performing these rituals.

4.Capitalist:
           To a certain extent, the Nacerima people also seem to have "capitalistic" characteristics in the way that society is run. In order to receive special treatment from the medicine men and other practitioners, the people must give them plenty gifts. No matter what the situation may be, the practitioners must receive gifts in order to conduct any services. For that matter, not everyone in this society can receive such treatments. In order to be cleansed, these people must be able to afford the services provided by the practitioners. For instance, Miner says "No matter how ill the supplicant or how grave the emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he cannot give a rich gift to the custodian. Even after one has gained and survived the ceremonies, the guardians will not permit the neophyte to leave until he makes still another gift." Similar to the healthcare system in the United States, if you cannot afford it, you wont receive any treatment whatsoever.

5.Sadistic:
          From an outside perspective, anyone could easily claim that the people of this society seem to be sadistic. To many of us, their lifestyle may seem completely atrocious. However, we must understand that the people of that society seem to accept and enjoy their lifestyles, as understood by Miner's article. Furthermore, I believe that the people of this society enjoy going through these unusual and brutal rituals. To them, it is a way to live a healthy life. According to Miner, "sick adults are not only willing but eager to undergo the protracted ritual purification, if they can afford to do so," the Nacerima people voluntarily subject themselves into these treatments. The people of the Nacerima tribe are not forced into undergoing these rituals, but voluntarily and eagerly participate.

Ethnocentrism, Part B:

   1.Although I am shocked to find out that Miner was actually talking about the American culture, I would still use the same words to describe our culture. For the most part, I do feel that each of the 5 words I chose apply to our culture, some more than others. Many people know that America is considered to be one of the most religious nations in the world. Religion plays a big role in the way that our society is structured and how our government works. For instance, a presidential candidate who is not Christian or not religious would have a hard time winning the election. Although there is supposed to be a separation between church and state in the U.S, I believe the church is still very much involved in government. For example, the phrase "in God we trust" on our currency and when taking oath in court, one must swear by the bible. With regards to reliant, many Americans feel dependent on the government for financial support, due to high unemployment. In the US, there is also a type of hierarchy where the "elite", a small percent of the population, hold most of the country's wealth. In my opinion, the United States is a very capitalistic country. Everything in the United States revolves around money, and without it, it is nearly impossible to survive. Lastly, I would also consider Americans to be somewhat sadistic. Though we are considered the top nation of the world, we have many issues such as unemployment, lack of proper healthcare system, and a poorly funded education system. If we consider ourselves the top nation of the world, we shouldn't allow to have such flaws in our country.

    2.Out of the words I chose, I think that sadistic is the most biased. However, I still feel that this word can apply to the American culture. Now that I know what the article is really about, I realize that the word sadistic is judgmental. 

   3.If I had to choose, I think the most biased out of the words I chose would probably be sadistic. I think the word I would choose to replace "sadistic" would be committed. I would say committed because these people were committed to their lifestyle and their culture. I feel that the word sadistic might make it sound like their lifestyle is somewhat barbaric or inhumane. By changing it to "committed," I feel that it shows that I am not judging the Nacerima people, but trying to show how involved they are in their culture.

   4.I think that it is important to keep all biases away when describing another culture. First of all, we must not assume that our culture and lifestyle are the only acceptable ones. I think that we must understand how big the world is and how many people are outside of our own country. With so many people around the world, we are bound to come across many lifestyles that differ from our own. However, instead of judging them, we must be more tolerant and accept each other with or without differences. Also, if trying to study another culture as an anthropologist, I think you must have an open mind. Although it would be nice to be completely unbiased, I think that it can be impossible to a certain extent. I believe that ethnocentrism is part of human nature, however, we can still be tolerant and accepting.