Language Experiment

Part 1

     This experiment wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I did pretty well using facial expressions alone. My conversation partners were able to tell when I was happy, displeased, angry and unsure. I did throw in a few loud grunts when my dog started to bark at the door. Funny thing was he even knew what I was saying to him without using the word “No”. The conversation had to be very generic. We talked about my husband and me looking at apartments. I was unable to go into detail about price and location but they were able to tell how I felt about it. What I liked and didn’t like. It didn’t take long before they realized they could only ask certain questions and not others. Questions that only required a yes or no answer. If I was a different culture than them I think they would have the advantage in communicating complex ideas. I could only grunt Use body language and hand gestures. My culture wouldn’t even be able to ask them where the bathroom was.  I think the speaking culture. After time, would get frustrated with my culture. Talk to me like I was a child because that’s the only way I could communicate. They wouldn’t be able to ask me where I’m from or what my name is. There would always be a disconnection between us. There are many examples of this issue today. The deaf society has always struggled to communicate with others. They would only be able to agree or disagree, yes or no. People treat them like they are children and some even try to speak louder and slower like that would help.  Another example, in a way, is immigrants. They have their own language but if it’s not the same as the other culture you would see the same issues. Questions would have to be simplified and there would always be a disconnection between the two cultures. I believe for the most part, Prejudice is just people reactions to not understanding.

Part 2

     Personally this was the hardest experiment out of the two. People have told me my whole life that I’m an open book with my expressions. I use facial expressions even when I don’t realize it. So we spent a lot of time on this conversation but, after starting and stopping repeatedly, I was unable to go 15 minutes without moving my eyebrows. My conversation partners knew I would have difficulty with this one. So at first they asked questions that they knew would get a reaction out of me. But when I was able to keep a straight face and arms down to my sides, they were a little freaked out because it violated a norm. Even the word creepy was thrown around a few times.

     I think that if you were able to speak, kinesics isn’t that important in a conversation if you really think about it. But, now it’s such a norm in our society that it seems unnatural when we don’t use it. True, I wouldn’t be able to point and tell you it’s over there. But, I would be able to describe the location of it.

Part 3

     If both cultures shared the same written language than, yes, it would have made the first conversation easier. I could have just written down any answer that required details. They would have been able to read how much the rents were and what the addresses were. They would have had to simplify their questions. Written language is so important to the cultures that use it. Not only is it a way of communicating when you are not around. It’s a way of recording your culture and documenting things past and present. When no one is left from that time period, we would be able to read and be able to look back on past events.   It helps the families of those who have passed to be able to deal with one’s estate and belongings. It lets doctors go back and know your past medical history and procedures to better treat you. The internet allows us to read about and understand other cultures all around the world. If it wasn’t for the written word and the internet’s ability to reach all over the word. I wouldn’t be able to write my Ethnography project. I would have had to travel to South Africa to study and spend months to years understanding a particular culture. But now I’m able to read up on and understand better through another’s research.

Zulu & the Andean Indians

Zulu

The Zulu population mostly resides in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa. Temperatures here are on the warm side with plenty of humidity with brief intense rain showers.  Temperatures can range from 97 in the summer months to 73 in the winter months. Even the ocean waters only reach about a low of 62 in the mid-winter. To help maintain homeostasis with such warm weather and little rainfall, the Zulu are slender and have very dark skin. Due to the intensity of the sun, having the darker skin melanin helps protect them from harmful ultraviolet radiation that the sun produces. This is why lighter skinned people are 10 xs more likely to get skin cancer. 

                                                      Zulu Men

Zulu farming

I would pick the African race when describing the Zulus because they are from Africa. Also even though there are white africans, when one thinks of an african, they think of some one who has a darker skin color.

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http://izmo.tripod.com/project/zulu.htm

http://www.bigmyth.com/download/zulu_culture.pdf

http://www.southafrica.com/kwazulu-natal/climate/

http://www.southafrica.info/travel/advice/climate.htm

http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_4.htm

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Andean Indians

The Andes Mountains is the longest mountain range in the world. Located in South America, the Andes Mountains run along the continents western coast, north to South.  With peaks as high as 22,834 feet.

Andes Mountains

Because the Andes Mounts run for 4,500 miles, it’s no surprise that the region holds so many different climates. The closer you are to sea level, the warmer the weather is. The higher up the mountains you go, the cooler it gets till you reach snow covered peaks. Due to the higher elevation, hypoxia affects many tourists. The lower air pressure makes it harder for one to take in the oxygen needed. Hikers that climb higher elevations use oxygen tanks to breath. The Andes people have lived in these higher elevations for thousands of years. Their lungs have a larger capacity to allow them to take in more oxygen and stronger hearts to withstand the pressure.

When in higher altitudes and not being able to take in the proper amount of oxygen, fatigue sets in pretty quickly. You get winded for doing little amount of physical work. The Andes all carry around small pouches of dried coca leaves. The alkaloid in the leaves aide with any pain or fatigue.

A mother giving her child coca leaves



If I were to choose a race when describing the Andean Indians I would pick American Indian. Just on physical appearances with the dark black hair, the dark eyes and a darker complexion.

American Indian girl

Andean Indian girl

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http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_climate.htm

http://www.andeanawakening.com/andean-culture.html

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The way a culture adapts to their surrounds is much more important to an Anthropologist than categorizing them into a race based on physical appearance. Appearances don’t explain why people do what they do. The color of one’s skin or the bone structure in their face doesn’t explain how they survive in the harsh environmental conditions or how they interact with one another.

Cultural Descriptions Part A

    Part A

    In Miners discussion he talks about a North American group called the Nacirema. He describes this group as being Self-Centered. Engrossed with ones appearance not for spiritual reason but for health and  that "The human body is ugly" Spending most of their day focusing on preventing and/or slowing down the natural affects of ageing while trying to add on some extra years. They would do these almost obsessive activities alone, not with ones family. For something that takes up such a great part of ones day, it is only discussed with the kin when they reach a certain age.
    The Nacirema are in a way materialistic and show conspicuous consumption with the idea that the more shrines you have set up in a home shows the wealthier they are. Miner talks about having an abundance of shrines means an abundance of power in that society.
    They keep all of their most treasured possessions in chests hidden in the walls. Expensive elixirs of sorts and charms that the Nacirema can't live without. They are a hypochondriacal society that provide substantial gifts to acquire these things. These boxes overflow with these elaborate potions from medicine men and herbalists. The Nacirema are so concerned with health and appearance that they obtain to many charms and elixirs to even keep track of.
    Nacirema are obsessed with the upkeep of their mouth and teeth. Fearing that if one were to neglect their mouth, they would be shunned by their peers and lovers. Miner describes the fear they have of gums bleeding, loosing teeth, and even their jaws shrinking if one does not visit the "holy-mouth-men" along with their daily ritual to maintain their mouth. These are medicine men who specialize in helping with the up keep of ones mouth. These "holy-mouth-men" preform unthinkable, painful, and even mangle ones teeth to arrange them so that society will except them.
    Miner talks about the Nacirema as being superstitious. They believe the when a person is raised, their mother invokes a demon inside their head. cursing them and troubling them into their adult years. They go to these "witch doctors" or "listeners" to just simply tell them their life story. The listeners can give the Nacirema an almost outer body experience and take them back to their childhood and even as far back as their birth. Allowing the individual to remember and see what may have contributed to these curses so they can be corrected.
 

Part B

    I was so shocked when I found out that Miner is describing Americans. Looking back I cant believe I couldn't see the similarities. I feel that I was harsh for choosing the words that I used. Hypochondriacs, Self-Centered, and Obsessed are not words that describe positive things. I only felt this way after I was informed that I was describing my own Culture, Not when I thought it was another. That's not something i am proud to admit. The descriptive words that I used, very much, exhibited ethnocentrism on my part. It was hypocritical for me to pass judgement. I brush my teeth everyday twice! Not only do I brush, but I floss and use mouthwash. It comes so natural that I don't even realize that it takes up a total of 20 min of my day. Its something I was taught as a child and know that not engaging in such ritual is nasty and lazy. But when I was unaware of it being as simple as brushing teeth, it sounded obsessive and horrible. A painful experience and almost self mutilating. Looking back I feel so judgemental just because I didn't know what they were doing, I assumed that it was pointless and barbaric.
   Instead of using Hypochondriacs as a negative word for the amount of medicine they had, I should use Health conscious. Instead of obsessed when it came to the rituals of the mouth, I should have used routinely.  Also instead of Self-centered I think self conscious would be a more appropriate word. These words mean the same thing but are less bias and more understanding.
    It is very important to try and avoid ethnocentric judgements because sometimes the cultures are not that much different from one another. We just go about looking at it and doing it in a different way. It doesn't make one culture better than another. Being ignorant, closed- minded and judgemental are not good qualities to posses. I don't think its completely possible to avoid altogether cultural bias. But one can sure try and it will make a huge difference on how you see thing and help understand others and avoid such negative assumptions.