la5qq

7/28/2019 la5qq

1/5

HomeBiological EvolutionCultural EvolutionLanguagesPhilosophyHistory of EvolutionInteractivitiesEvolution FAQ'sMiscellaneousReplicators ForumGuestbookIntroduction to GeneticsNatural SelectionOther Types of SelectionThe Origin of LifeGenes as ReplicatorsReplicators in EvolutionThe Immune SystemImmunity and Arms RacesGenetic Engineering MethodsGenetic Engineering DebatesInteresting IdeasBiological Evolution QuizMemes as Replicators

Memes and GenesHow and Why Memes SpreadMemetics and SocietyMemes in HistoryMemes in Popular CultureMemes on the InternetCultural Evolution QuizThe Evolution of LanguageThe Grammar ModuleLanguage AcquisitionLanguage and the BrainLanguage and CultureThe Development of Writing

Words and LanguagesLanguages and MemesLanguages QuizEvolution and PhilosophyEvolution and EthicsEvolution and Human NatureReligion and EvolutionEvolution vs. CreationBiological DeterminismPhilosophy QuizPre-Darwinian TheoriesReactions to DarwinismThe Modern Synthesis

Social DarwinismEarly Theorist BiographiesModern Theorist BiographiesHistory of Evolution QuizBreed Your Own TextTake Charge of EvolutionOvercome InfectionLanguage ChallengeGuess That WordGenetic Engineering Poll

7/28/2019 la5qq

2/5

Evolution / Religion PollWhat is a Replicator?Evolutionary TheoryReligion and CreationismAbout UsReplicators Newsflash!Site NewsSite AwardsFeatured LinksPosting PolicyCitations and ReferencesAdvanced SearchSite Index

"index.html" style="background-color:transparent">Logo >

Language and CultureHome Biological Evolution Cultural Evolution Languages Philosophy History of Evolution Interactivities

Evolution FAQ's Replicators Forum Guestbook About Us

10px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">*Replicators List (disabled by ThinkQuest)*

subscribeunsubscribe

*Sample article*

Language and Culture

There are many ways in which the phenomena of language and culture areintimately related. Both phenomena are unique to humans and havetherefore been the subject of a great deal of anthropological,sociological, and even memetic study. Language, of course, is determinedby culture, though the extent to which this is true is now under debate.The converse is also true to some degree: culture is determined bylanguage - or rather, by the replicators that created both, memes.

Language as Determined by Culture

Early anthropologists, following the theory that words determinethought, believed that language and its structure were entirelydependent on the cultural context in which they existed. This was alogical extension of what is termed the *Standard Social Science Model*,which views the human mind as an indefinitely malleable structurecapable of absorbing any sort of culture without constraints from

7/28/2019 la5qq

3/5

genetic or neurological factors.

In this vein, anthropologist Verne Ray conducted a study in the 1950's,giving color samples to different American Indian tribes and asking themto give the names of the colors. He concluded that the spectrum we seeas "green", "yellow", etc. was an entirely arbitrary division, and eachculture divided the spectrum separately. According to this hypothesis,the divisions seen between colors are a consequence of the language welearn, and do not correspond to divisions in the natural world. Asimilar hypothesis is upheld in the extremely popular meme of Eskimowords for snow - common stories vary from fifty to upwards of two hundred.

Extreme cultural relativism of this type has now been clearly refuted.Eskimos use at most twelve different words for snow, which is not manymore than English speakers and should be expected since they exist in acold climate. The color-relativity hypothesis has now been completelydebunked by more careful, thorough, and systematic studies which show aremarkable similarity between the ways in which different culturesdivide the spectrum.

Of course, there are ways in which culture really does determinelanguage, or at least certain facets thereof. Obviously, the ancientRomans did not have words for radios, televisions, or computers becausethese items were simply not part of their cultural context. In the same

vein, uncivilized tribes living in Europe in the time of the Romans didnot have words for tribunes, praetors, or any other trapping of Romangovernment because Roman law was not part of their culture.

Our culture does, sometimes, restrict what we can think aboutefficiently in our own language. For example, some languages have onlythree color terms equivalent to black, white, and red; a native speakerof this language would have a difficult time expressing the concept of"purple" efficiently. Some languages are also more expressive aboutcertain topics. For example, it is commonly acknowledged that Yiddish isa linguistic champion, with an amazing number of words referring to thesimpleminded. (The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker,

p.260.)

Culture and Language - United by Memes

According to the memetic theorist Susan Blackmore, language developed asa result of memetic evolution and is an example of memes providing aselection pressure on genes themselves. (For more on Blackmore's theoryvisit The Evolution of Language .) The definition of aculture in memetic theory is an aggregate of many different meme sets ormemeplexes shared by the majority of a population. Using memeticreasoning, it can be seen that language - itself created by memes andfor memes - is the principal medium used for spreading memes from one

person to another.

As Blackmore states in The Meme Machine, memes were bornwhen humans began to imitate each other. According to her theory, thisevent preceded - indeed, had to precede - the development of language.When imitation became widespread, producing selection pressure on genesfor successful imitation, memes began to exploit verbalizations forbetter and more frequent transmission. The end result of this complexprocess was language, and the anatomical alterations needed for its

7/28/2019 la5qq

4/5

successful use.

Language, created by memes as a mechanism for ensuring better memeticpropagation, has certainly been a success. Today, the vast majority ofmemes are transmitted via language, through direct speech, writtencommunication, radio or television, and the internet. Relatively fewmemes are transmitted in a non-linguistic way, and those that are havevery specific, localized purposes, such as artwork and photography. Eventhese media, though nonlinguistic in themselves, assume language andvery rarely appear without some sort of linguistic commentary. Thismight take the form of a critical analysis of an artwork, a caption fora photograph, a voice-over for a video, etc.

Language as Part of Culture

For many people, language is not just the medium of culture but also isa part of culture. It is quite common for immigrants to a new country toretain their old customs and to speak their first language amid fellowimmigrants, even if all present are comfortable in their new language.This occurs because the immigrants are eager to preserve their ownheritage, which includes not only customs and traditions but alsolanguage. This is also seen in many Jewish communities, especially inolder members: Yiddish is commonly spoken because it is seen as a part

of Jewish culture.

Linguistic differences are also often seen as the mark of anotherculture, and they very commonly create divisiveness among neighboringpeoples or even among different groups of the same nation. A goodexample of this is in Canada, where French-speaking natives of Quebecclash with the English-speaking majority. This sort of conflict is alsocommon in areas with a great deal of tribal warfare. It is even becomingan issue in America as speakers of standard American English - mainlywhites and educated minorities - observe the growing number of speakersof black English vernacular. Debates are common over whether it isproper to use "Ebonics" in schools, while its speakers continue toassert that the dialect is a fundamental part of the "black culture".

Looking Further: Links and References

The following links and references are useful in the study of therelationship between language and culture.

* *Books*o The Language Instinct

by StevenPinker

o How the Mind Works by Steven

Pinkero Words and Rules

by StevenPinker

o The Meme Machine by SusanBlackmore

* *Websites*o Chapters 3 and 8 of /The Language Instinct/

la5qq

Documents