Social Sciences in China

 

Vol. 38, No. 1, 2017

 

SPECIAL ISSUE: LANGUAGE STUDIES AND METHODS FROM THE CROSS-DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE

 

“Emic, Etic” and Interdisciplinary Approaches

(Abstract)

 

Huang Xing

 

Linguistics and anthropology have much in common in terms of research category and methodology. Whereas the “emic/etic” approach in linguistics distinguishes between the social/psychological qualities of the sound system of a specific language and the physical/ physiological qualities of supra-language sounds, the “emic/etic” approach in anthropology attempts to make a distinction between the “inside” view and the “outside” view of culture. Both approaches involve a set of dualistic relationships between linguistic and cultural relativity and linguistic and cultural universality, as well as between linguistic/ cultural diversity and genetic diversity. Due to validation difficulties, “linguistic relativity” has received a cold welcome in the field of linguistics. However, “cultural relativity” now constitutes the core of modern anthropology. The inherent links and near identity of functions between linguistic/cultural diversity and biological diversity render possible methodological exchanges across the disciplines.

 

Keywords: phoneme, linguistic relativity, linguistic diversity