Before enrolling in Anthropology 104, my only understanding of the language was that English is a necessity in my life to be successful and Hausa is a necessary to be able to communicate with individuals of my ethnic group. There has not been a single moment in my life when I thought further about language and the driving factors behind language. I entered the conference on the first day with a neutral opinion and can now proudly say that the knowledge I gained from this course will be used and expanded upon throughout my life. Linguistic anthropology enlightened me that language travels beyond structure, grammar, syntax, phonology and morphology. Linguistic anthropology has helped me with the analysis of language as it is practiced in different social and cultural contexts and how meanings are generated in different social contexts and with the descriptive use of language. Of all the topics discussed in class, the three that have had a significant influence on my understanding of linguistic anthropology are: Child Language Acquisition: Critical Language Hypothesis, Language and Gender, and Attitudes Toward Language: Standard English. “There are none so depraved and stupid, without even excluding the idiot, that they cannot put different words together, forming a statement with which they express their thoughts” (Descartes). Well, if this is the case, then what about children who have not been exposed to language at all? For three whole centuries, no one wanted to challenge Descartes' vague observation of language and assumption of language acquisition as a biological trait. It was quite obvious that Descartes observed humans with the same socialization. This is the time when we wonder what about those who have not been subjected to any kind of...... middle of paper...... all accents while maintaining Standard English as a universal means of communication among numerous nations. No accent or dialect is superior to the other. Each accent and dialect effectively does the job of communicating between its users. Works Cited Descartes, René. 1976. “Animals are machines.” In T. Regan and P. Singer (eds.). Animal rights and human obligations. Englewood Cliffs: NJ: Prentice Hall, 60–66. Fromkin, Victoria. “Language Development in Genie: A Case of Language Acquisition Beyond the “Critical Period.” Learn.illinois.edu. Np, September 5, 2013. Web.Lenneberg, E.H. 1967. Biological Foundations of Language. New York: Wiley. Rajpoot, Tarun. “Call Centers in Delhi (Australian BPOs).” YouTube, December 23, 2012. Web. December 14, 2013. “Urban Dictionary, December 15: Dadmire.” December 15th. 2013.