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Lecture Notes
Chapter 7: The Verbal Code
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain the relationship between language and culture
2. Explain what makes the structure of the human language so unique
3. Compare and contrast elaborated and restricted codes
4. Compare and contrast direct versus indirect styles, affective versus instrumental styles, personal
versus contextual styles, and elaborate, exacting, and succinct styles of language use across cultures
5. Cogently discuss and compare sex differences in verbal language in Japan, China, and India
6. Compare and contrast U.S. dialects
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
The capacity of the human brain to acquire language may be the distinguishing feature that separates
humans from the rest of the living beings on the planet. Our ability to put thoughts into a code in order
to communicate with someone else empowers us beyond imagination. Other living beings are larger,
stronger, faster, and smaller but no other living being has the capacity for language. Language has put
humans on top of the evolutionary ladder. Because of their capacity for language humans have become
the most powerful living beings on earth. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the idea of language
and how it varies across cultures. This chapter will outline the relationship between language and
culture by first exploring the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The second part of this chapter will outline the
fundamental structure of language, including a discussion of the concept of a universal grammar that
applies to all languages. The third part of this chapter will look at universals of language that are shared
across cultures. The fourth part of the chapter focuses on how the use of language differs across
cultures, including a look at elaborate and restricted codes and cross-cultural comparisons of language
style.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. The Relationship between Language and Culture
1. Historically, anthropologists and linguists often grouped language, culture, and race together as
though any one of them automatically implied the other two. Contemporary linguistic
anthropologists generally agree, however, that culture, race, and language are historically
distinct. In other words, a person’s race does not determine what language he/she will speak.
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2. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis delineates two principles. One is the principle of linguistic
determinism, which says that the way one thinks is determined by the language one speaks.
The second is the principle of linguistic relativity, which says that the differences among
languages must therefore be reflected in the differences in the worldviews of their speakers.
Contemporary linguists believe Sapir-Whorf is overstated.
II. The Structure of Human Language
1. All languages are a systematic set of sounds, combined with a set of rules, for the sole purpose
of creating meaning and communicating. Any human language is made up of a set of sounds.
These sounds are represented symbolically in the language’s alphabet.
a. The letters of a language’s alphabet are symbols representing sounds. These small
units of sound are called phonemes. In combination, phonemes become words; that is,
morphemes, the smallest meaning unit of sound.
b. Symbols are arbitrarily selected and learned. There is no natural or inherent
relationship between the sounds and their accompanying alphabet. That is, there is no
intrinsic or immanent relationship between the symbol “c” and the “see” sound, the “a”
and the “ah” sound or the letter “t and the “tee” sound. That “c” represents the “see”
sound is completely random and arbitrary. Likewise, there is also no natural
relationship between any word and its referent.
III. Syntax and Universal Grammar
1. All languages have a set of rules for combining the sounds to create meaning. The set of rules, or
grammar, is called syntax. Through syntax, sentences are generated. Through syntax, sound and
meaning are connected.
2. Chomsky argues that all human languages share a universal grammar that is innate in the
human species and culturally invariant. Chomsky and other linguists claim that every normal
child is genetically programmed for human language. Just as humans are programmed to walk
upright, so are humans programmed with universal grammar. Chomsky says that language is as
much a part of the human brain as the thumb is a part of the human hand.
3. The commonalities between the different languages are so striking that Chomsky and other
linguists are convinced that the fundamental syntax for all languages is universal and that the
particular languages of a particular cultures are simply dialects of the universal grammar.
IV. Universals of Language
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1. Another reason why so many linguists believe that all languages evolved from a universal
grammar is because of their numerous commonalities. All languages have some way of naming
objects, places, or things. All languages have a way of naming action. All human languages have
some way of stating the negative, a way to construct interrogatives, and a way of differentiating
between singular and plural.
a. All human speech is transmitted via a vocal-auditory channel.
b. Sounds are emitted from their source of origin in all directions making it possible to
determine the location of the source.
c. Speech sounds are heard within a very limited range and only during production.
d. Speech is also interchangeable. We are capable of repeating what others say.
e. Human speakers are equipped with complete intrapersonal feedback.
f. Speech is specialized. Human speech has only a single function; that is, to
communicate.
g. Speech can be displaced from time and space. We can talk about something that
happened 1000 years ago, or project what we think will happen 1000 years from now.
h. What a person may say can be completely false.
i. Speech is reflexive. We use language to talk about language.
j. The speakers of any language can learn a second language or even several languages in
addition to their native tongue.
V. Generative Grammar
1. One of the most remarkable features of any language’s rule structure is that it allows the
speakers to generate sentences that have never before been spoken. Chomsky refers to this
aspect of language as its generative grammar. From a finite set of sounds and a finite set of
rules, speakers of any language can create an infinite number of sentences, many of which have
never before been uttered yet are easily comprehended by other speakers of the same
language.
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2. In addition to creating new sentences, people routinely create new words to refer to people,
places, and events in their world. The academic journal American Speech, which is published
quarterly, devotes to each issue a section titled “Among the New Words,” where the journal’s
editors highlight new words in the American English lexicon.
3. Most linguists (i.e., those who study language) agree that the Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis is
probably overstated, especially the principle of linguistic determinism. But most linguists also
agree that the language one speaks does affect, to some degree, how one thinks. For example,
there is some evidence that many languages reflect and generate sexist attitudes of the
speakers of those languages. There are no languages that do not distinguish between gender at
all. But the degree to which they do varies. For example, many languages assign a gender (i.e.,
masculine or feminine) to all nouns. These are called grammatical gender languages gender
promote sexist attitudes and have particular impact on females.
VI. Elaborated and Restricted Codes
1. Bernstein identifies two types of linguistic/speech codes, including elaborated and restricted
codes. A restricted code is one wherein the options (not necessarily the vocabulary) are limited
as to what the speakers can say or do verbally. A restricted code is considered a status-oriented
speech system. The code reinforces the social system by restricting or limiting its speakers to a
limited number of linguistic options during communication. Restricted codes are most often
seen in high context cultures wherein the status of the interactants dictates who says what to
whom and how it is said.
2. With an elaborated code, speakers can choose from among a variety of linguistic options to
communicate. Bernstein argues that speakers using an elaborated code are able, via the social
system, to put their thoughts, intents, and goals into an explicit verbal message. Berstein argues
that elaborated codes develop in circumstances where the speakers’ intents are unknown or
vary widely, as in individualistic cultures
VII. Cross-Cultural Communication Styles
1. Although the capacity for language is universal, the language of a particular culture must be
learned by its members. Moreover, cultures seem to have a predominant manner, fashion, or
style in which they use their language.
2. Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey describe four verbal communication styles that have been
identified by intercultural theorists. These four include direct-indirect, elaborate-succinct,
personal-contextual, and instrumental-affective. Variations of these styles may exist in any
culture, but typically one style dominates within a culture.
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VIII. Gendered Language Style Across Cultures
1. The function of human language goes beyond communicating useful information. As discussed
earlier, the style of one’s language communicates a variety of information about the
interactants, including their social status and the context in which they are communicating (e.g.,
formal–informal). The members of any speech community conform to the prescribed rules of
their specific language or dialect to establish their social identity. In addition, the language used
by men and women differs considerably across most, if not all, cultures. And through language,
one’s sex and gender are communicated.
2. In his classic research, Gerry Philipsen studied male communication styles in Teamsterville, a
White, blue-collar, low-income neighborhood in the Near South Side of Chicago. Based on his
observations, Philipsen found that presenting oneself as a man in Teamsterville requires an
implicit understanding of the communication rules of the particular speech community of real
men. Real men in Teamsterville engage in a variety of communicative strategies that signal their
membership in the group. Specifically, they do not rely on speech as their primary mode of self–
expression. Speaking is only allowed in situations with equal interactants (e.g., two men). In
these situations, speaking serves as a means for expressing solidarity.
3. Sex roles in Japan are clearly defined and are reflected in the communication of Japanese men
and women. Japanese language (spoken by 130 million people) employs an extensive system of
politeness, or what are called honorifics. Moreover, how Japanese is used in daily interaction
differs considerably between men and women. The Japanese speaker must be mindful of his or
her place in the Japanese social hierarchy, as well as that of the person with whom he or she is
interacting. The specific verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and nouns one uses reflect the status of
both the source and the receiver of the message. And all these vary considerably according to
the sex of the source and receiver.
4. There are nearly 1 billion native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, more than for any other
language on the planet. As for any other language, numerous linguistic differences exist
between men and women. Chinese men and women differ in their pronunciation of standard
Mandarin Chinese. Women are more sensitive than men to proper pronunciation because it
may elevate their perceived status in the social hierarchy. Chinese women deliberately act like
spoiled children to gain affection. Here, the speaker prolongs the pronunciation of vowels and
softens the pronunciation of consonants.
5. Although estimates vary, about 600 million people speak Hindi as either a first or second
language. Hindi is among the five most widely spoken languages in the world and is one of the
official languages of India. Unlike many languages that classify words into three categories—
masculine, feminine, and neuter—Hindi classifies words as either masculine or feminine. The
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Hindi speaker has to identify his or her gender via specific suffixes and verbal auxiliaries. Hindi
speakers constantly communicate their gender identity.
VIII. Language and Ethnic Identity
1. A fundamental way groups distinguish themselves from other groups, and thereby maintain
their group identity, is through the language they speak. Within groups, status and hierarchy
are recognized primarily through the use of language.
2. Often times immigrant groups maintain their cultural heritages and identities by using their
native languages in their host cultures and by teaching them to their children. Other immigrant
groups may discourage the use of their native tongues so as to establish themselves as
legitimate members of their new culture.
IX. Do You Speak American?
1. In 2004, Robert MacNeil traveled across the United States exploring how the English language is
used throughout the various regions of the country. MacNeil discovered the English used in the
United States differs considerably from region to region, among ethnic and social groups, and by
age and gender. This chapter profiles Appalachian English (AE), Cajun English, R-less or R-
dropping dialects, California English, Texas, and the Midwest accent.