Final answer:
Linguistic anthropology is the study of how language is intertwined with human culture and society, examining language origins, its influence on thought, and its role in forming communities and expressing power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Linguistic anthropology does indeed seek to make sense of language by exploring its role in human cultural life. This discipline considers language as a primary means through which humans create their diverse cultures. Language incorporates both biological and social aspects, providing a powerful tool for communication, social organization, and the expression of identity and power.
Linguistic anthropologists delve into the origins of language, considering how it evolved biologically and socio-culturally, influencing early human evolution. They study language's impact on thought processing, the construction of worldviews, and the ways in which it enables communities to form, assert power, and resist authority. The study of language variations across cultures—a concept known as linguistic relativity—is also an integral part of their work, reflecting different environmental, historical, and sociocultural conditions.
Through various methodologies, including immersive long-term research, linguistic anthropologists may observe formal and informal speech patterns, ceremonial uses of language, and the language of political or social movements. They often align their work closely with cultural anthropologists, as language is seen as one element among many in the sociocultural life of a people, imbued with power to shape thought and society.