There is some awful pseudo-science about linguistics going around the internet right now. So let's have a little linguistic anthropology 101 thread. I'll start us off but I hope #anthropology twitter will add to this. I'd love to see a good discussion about linguistic anthro! 1. Language actively DOES things in the world. A swing of the bat is either a strike or a ball based not upon what happens (as any fan can tell you) but how the ump calls it. A spoken agreement binds people into sets of obligations. Saying "I love you" changes relationships.