decision

(Deep South Journey, December 1, 1959, 129)

“Hell, I’ll buy all your turkeys…just to help you out. I’ll show you fellows that not all white men are bastards.” These are the words of a well-intentioned white man whom Griffin meets in Tuskegee, Alabama. The man attempts to show he’s not racist by offering to buy a load of turkeys from a black turkey vendor. However, as he doesn’t really want or need the turkeys, his gesture seems patronizing. Griffin notes that in being paternalistic toward black people, whites only reveal their prejudice and downgrade black people’s dignity. Black people want and need their lawful rights, not pity or handouts.

I chose this quote because it shows how not everyone is the same. It proves that stereotypes are in fact not true. In this book, the biggest stereotype is that every white man is racist. That none of them truly care for a civil agreement between blacks and whites. Or so it seems. I chose this quote because I believe that everyone can change who they are if they realize the world around them. Whites always thought blacks were unsuperior until they found out that they are exactly the same on the inside. In today’s society, everybody is equal. No nationality or race is deemed unuperior. 1. What is “language?” How does it differ from other forms of animal communication? What areas of language are anthropologists interested in and why?

1. We use language to express inner thoughts and emotions, make sense of complex and abstract thought, to learn to communicate with others, to fulfill our wants and needs, as well as to establish rules and maintain our culture.
Animals communicate differently. Some animals like dog, dolphins, and birds have developed their own system of communication. But their communication system differs from human communication. Animal communication lacks flexibility and creativity. Their communication tradition is acquired genetically and not through learning .Human language has got certain charachteristics which makes it unique and different from animal communication system. These charachteristics are duality, creativity, and distinctiveness. Human beings can talk of real or imaginary situations, places and objects far removed from their present surroundings and time. Human language is context free whereas animal communication mostly context bound. Animal communication is a response to stimulus in the immediate environment like the presence of food or danger.Language is part of what makes us human. Linguistic anthropologists study language, and how language is used in order to understand culture. Linguistic anthropologists are interested in how many languages there are, how those languages are distributed across the world, and their contemporary and historical relationships. We are also interested in language variation, why variations exist, how the variations are used and what they mean when they are used in various