Linguistic anthropology is another major subdiscipline of anthropology. Linguistic anthropology is the study of how language influences social life. Linguistic anthropologists may investigate why some words change their meaning frequently, while others have a clear, defined meaning. This chart outlines the words that have varied the least over time.
Other Pages That Use This Item
anthropology Encyclopedic Entry
Best For
6-12+
Subjects
Geography, Social Studies, Science
Appropriate For
- Educators
- Students
Anthropology is the study of the origin and development of human societies and cultures.
Media Credits
The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.
Graphic by Oliver Uberti, National Geographic
For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact natgeocreative@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please visit our FAQ page.
Media
Some media assets (videos, photos, audio recordings and PDFs) can be downloaded and used outside the National Geographic website according to the Terms of Service. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the lower right hand corner (
) of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.
Text
Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.
Interactives
Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.