emic and etic
The terms emic and etic are used in many social sciences to describe alternative approaches as well as different types of data .
General
Emic means “with the eyes of an insider” of a culture or a system and denotes a description that is primarily meaningful from the perspective of a participant in the examined culture. Accordingly, it cannot and should not be neutral. An etic description, on the other hand, is that of an "outside observer". An etic description refers to a reference model and vocabulary that was developed by the observer with the aim of being universally applicable and neutral.
Whether one takes an emic or an etic perspective on cultural analysis depends on preliminary theoretical decisions. Both approaches provide important insights into the respective cultural system.
Concept history
|
Phoneme , phoneme (at) ik
( Phonology ) |
Phon , phonetics |
| Graphem , graphem (at) ik | Graph , graphetics |
|
Morpheme , morpheme (at) ik
( Morphology ) |
Morph |
The terms were introduced by the American linguist Kenneth Pike , who, according to his own statements, derived them from the pair of terms phonetics and phonemics , since the underlying approach can be transferred from linguistics to social sciences in general. In linguistics, the distinction concerns on the one hand the material properties (etic) of linguistic units, and on the other hand the properties that are decisive in the language system (= langue ) for the functioning of communication.
literature
- David Crystal: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language . 2nd Edition. Zweiausendeins, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-86150-705-6 , p. 408 .
- Gerhard Kubik : Emics and Etics Re-Examined, Part 1: Emics and Etics: Theoretical Considerations. In: African Music, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1996, pp. 3-10
- Theodor Lewandowski: Linguistic Dictionary . 4th, revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1985, ISBN 3-494-02050-7 , keyword: emic analysis.
- Kenneth Lee Pike : Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of Structure of Human Behavior (= Janua Linguarum, Series Maior . Volume 24 ). 2nd Edition. Mouton, The Hague 1967.
