One aspect of culture holds a special fascination for most anthropologists:
language--hallmark of the human species. The organization of systems of sound into
language has enabled Homo sapiens to transcend the limits of individual memory. Speech is
the most efficient medium of communication since DNA for transmitting information across
generations. It is upon language that culture itself depends--and within language that
humanity's knowledge resides.
Linguistic anthropologists, representing one of the discipline's traditional branches, look at the history, evolution, and internal
structure of human languages.
They study prehistoric links between different societies, and explores the use and meaning of verbal concepts with which humans
communicate and reason. Linguistic anthropologists seek to explain the very nature of
language itself, including hidden connections among language, brain, and behavior.
Language is the hallmark of our species. It
is upon language that human culture itself depends.
Linguistic anthropologists, of course, are not the only ones who study historical dimensions of culture. Anthropologists recognize
that, in seeking to understand today's society, they should not confine attention only to
present-day groups. They also need information about what came before. But how can they
trace the long-ago prehistory, reaching far back into the millennia, of societies that
left no written record?
Reference:
American Anthropological Association
Go to Linguistic Anthropology Section
