Junaidi Umara

2018083006

The Summary of an Introduction to

Sociolinguistics by Ronald Wardhaugh
Words and culture
(Whorf – Kinship – Taxonomies – color – Prototypes – Taboo and Euphemism)

The Whorfian Hypothesis

Since language and culture are debatable in the way one influence another, consequently

linguistic scientists stood for investigating a different argument about this. Some believed that

the structure of language determines the way the speakers think, act or behave in daily living,

while some refused that argument. They figured out that culture definitely influence the language

varieties. And the rest of them prefer to point out that language and culture stand independently

without any relationship each other. These hypothesis concerning those two terms (language and

culture) broaden its study till today.

Whorf, the student of Edward Sapir, found out the objective that is famously known as

"The Whorfian Hypothesis". He mentioned that ideas are not independently formulated but the

background of grammatical system generally modifies it. That is why different people view the

world differently as they differentiate language structurally.

Whorf found his hypothesis through his two experiences, either as a fire prevention

engineer for The Hartford Fire Insurance Company or Linguistic work on American Indian

Language where he was a student of Sapir. He observed the specific vocabularies used by fire

workers that were understandable among them. It is the same as the chemicals or physicians who
easily talk about medical matters while we do not. It means the linguistic behaviors even purely

behaviors itself are much determined by the linguistic formulas in which the situation is spoken.

Whorf's experience as the linguistic observer led him to the investigation through the structure of

Hopi language of New Mexico which is in contrast with European language; such as English,

German, French, etc. in European language, the time order is presented in different structure

while Hopi provided a process orientation toward the world. These distinctions formally

influence the speakers in the way they form their world-view.

Kinship System

The study about kinship seems interesting since it is complicatedly various. Almost every

language differ in renaming and redefining the label of family members, for instance; The

Njamal (a tribe of Australian Aborigines) calls his or her father's brother's daughter as 'Turda'

whereas 'cousin' in English. He used the word 'maraga' to mention any daughters who are

younger than he is. Again, the world of language develops dynamically, the result is the kinship

system also may more vary and vary depends on an appropriate situation that occur.

In such an approach, the various kinship terms in use in a particular society and then

attempt to determine the basic components of each term. Hudson (1996, pp. 85-6) points out, in

various societies, including the Seminole Indians of Florida and Oklahoma and the Trobriand

Islanders of the pacific, a single term may refer to a very different type of relationship, e.g.,

father (Fa), father’s brother (FaBr), and so on. Hudson points out that the key to understanding

such a system is to assume that there is some typical concept as ‘father’ and that there are certain

‘equivalence rules’ such that (a) a man’s sister is equivalent to his mother; (b) siblings of the

same sex are equivalent to each other; and (c) half-siblings are equivalent to full siblings.
 Table 9.1 Relationships and equivalences in kinship system
Relationship Equivalences Equivalences
father’s father’s sister’s son’s son
↓ (a) sister = mother
father’s father’s mother’s son’s son
↓ (c) mother’s son = brother
father’s father’s brother’s son
↓ (b) father’s brother = father
father’s father’s son
↓ (c) father’s son = brother
father’s brother
↓ (b) father’s brother = father
father
Source: based on Hudson (1996, p.86)

In this system the same term is used for all the relationship shown in the table. We might

feel it strange that one should refer to so many different kinds of relationship with a single term,

but this is because we live in very different circumstances, in which not knowing who your

father’s father’s sister’s son’s son is may be more usual than knowing this information.

Taxonomies

Since people differ in the way they occupy themselves, as the result, there will be a great

number of different classification and categorization of any aspects of the world. Scientists take a

place on their appropriate scientific matter, while librarians and story-teller, for example, do too.

They unconsciously manipulate language into various forms depend on its own place.

Then, linguists offer the discipline called 'Folk Taxonomies' which refers to the way of

classifying a certain part of reality in order to make some easiness in the world of

communication.

Folk Taxonomies may also means specifying such word choices in such matters. Frake

(1961) once held a studies concerning this term on The Subanun of Mindanano in The Southern
Philippines. They used particular term to describe disease. The study about Folk Taxonomies

effectively helps us to investigate how people organize the world around them.

Analyses into taxonomies and components are useful in that they help us to organize data

in ways that appear to indicate how speakers use their languages to organize the world around

them. The analyses show how systematic much of that behaviour is and do so in a rather

surprising way.

Color Terminology

Language and culture exploration, then, come to the study of color terminology. This is

basically simple; however, it is able to colorize the area of language varieties, because a

particular language has a particular word to express color. Each language generally has the basic

color terms, for instance English has only a single word to mention basic color; blue, yellow, red,

and so on. However, the need of people to express more than only basic color, consequently led

them to create a certain word such as 'the light blue, pale yellow, grayish brown, etc.

Prototype Theory

This theory refers to the way people codify such things and situation around them. People

prefer to classify a particular thing arbitrarily. For example; apple, orange are included to kind of

fruit while tomato is not. Hudson (1980) pointed out that Prototype Theory is an easy way for

people to express language verbally from such things and situation that are occurred. This theory

is not only helps us to form an ideas but also to draw social competence in the use of language.

Taboo and Euphemism

Taboo stands for a certain expression which is considerably avoided because, usually,

norm wants it to be avoided for some particular reasons. Society defines taboo particularly as
kind of behaviors that are harmful to its members. Taboo has wide areas, such as sex, death,

excretion, bodily function, religious matter, etc. Language taboo in particular community may be

not meant so in another community. That is why people should be careful in giving judgment on

certain language varieties. It means a language used by particular society may be not the superior

one among others. In other hand, Euphemistic expression, people are allowed to express certain

tabooed, of course, in particular ways. However, taboo and euphemism arbitrarily based on a

society’s agreement. All those things refer to language varieties.