Emic and
etic are terms used by anthropologists, and by others in the
socialThe social sciences are the fields of scientific knowledge and academic scholarship that study social groups and, more generally, human society. The social sciences initially were constituted of five fields: Jurisprudence and Amendment of the Law; Education; Health; Economy and Trade; Art...
and behavioral sciences to refer to two different kinds of
dataThe term data means groups of information that represent the qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables...
concerning human
behaviorBehavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
. In particular, they are used in cultural anthropology, to refer to kinds of fieldwork done and viewpoints obtained.
- An "emic" account is a description of behavior or a belief in terms meaningful (consciously or unconsciously) to the actor; that is, an emic account comes from within the culture.
Emic and
etic are terms used by anthropologists, and by others in the
socialThe social sciences are the fields of scientific knowledge and academic scholarship that study social groups and, more generally, human society. The social sciences initially were constituted of five fields: Jurisprudence and Amendment of the Law; Education; Health; Economy and Trade; Art...
and behavioral sciences to refer to two different kinds of
dataThe term data means groups of information that represent the qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables...
concerning human
behaviorBehavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
. In particular, they are used in cultural anthropology, to refer to kinds of fieldwork done and viewpoints obtained.
- An "emic" account is a description of behavior or a belief in terms meaningful (consciously or unconsciously) to the actor; that is, an emic account comes from within the culture. Almost anything from within a culture can provide an emic account.
- An "etic" account is a description of a behavior or belief by an observer, in terms that can be applied to other cultures; that is, an etic account is '"culturally neutral".
The terms were first introduced by linguist Kenneth Pike, who argued that the tools developed for describing
linguisticLinguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning...
behaviors could be adapted to the description of any human social behavior. Emic and etic are derived from the
linguisticLinguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning...
terms
phonemicIn a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
and phonetic respectively, which are in turn derived from Greek roots. The possibility of a truly objective etic perspective is debated, and was discounted by Pike himself in his original work, and in this way, the emic/etic dichotomy in anthropology leads into philosophic issues about the very nature of objectivity. Some controversy has existed over whether Pike properly took the terms from linguistics and applied them to anything similar in anthropology, but the terms stuck as ways of referring to insider/outsider dialogues.
The terms were also championed by
anthropologistsAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
Ward GoodenoughWard H. Goodenough is a U.S. Anthropologist, who has made contributions to kinship studies, linguistic anthropology, cross-cultural studies, and cognitive anthropology. Born May 30, 1919, in Cambridge Massachusetts, he attended Groton School in Groton Massachusetts. He then earned a B.A. in 1940...
and
Marvin HarrisMarvin Harris was an American anthropologist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. A prolific writer, he was highly influential in the development of cultural materialism. In his work he combined Karl Marx's emphasis on the forces of production with Malthus's insights on the impact of demographic...
with slightly different connotations than those used by Pike. Goodenough was primarily interested in understanding the culturally specific meaning of emic beliefs and practices; Harris was primarily interested in explaining human behavior, or providing an etic account. In political theory an act viewed etically has been called an "operation," but when viewed emically, it has been called a "practice." There are a host of these kinds of technical distinctions arising out of the emic/etic distinction.
An example: Etic and emic approaches to consumer behavior
Emic approach refers to being culturally relevant and specific with the product advertising. This is a difficult task because generally products cross continents because there is demand based on their current positioning. Changing the product positioning when advertising internationally might make the product lose the reason it gained demand in the foreign market in the first place. Balance between the historical image of the product and its new market is vital. McDonald’s is a great example of emic product positioning. McDonald's Corporation has introduced market-specific products internationally, like serving lamb BigMac in India, beer in Germany, avocado sauce in Chile, etc. The advertising implemented continues to use Ronald McDonald, only he now enjoys different foods and plays different sports (curling, cricket, soccer).
Etic approach refers to keeping the advertising culturally neutral in all parts of the world. This is again a very daunting task. The etic approach requires that the marketing strategy be so basic that it does not matter in which part of the world it is implemented. Keeping a marketing strategy basic but still appealing is difficult, but when it is done well it can save the company millions in costs, giving it a competitive edge and, of course, larger profits. Success has come to coffee giant Starbuck's, which has successfully implemented the same store structure of comfortable couches, soft lighting, and strong coffee in various parts of the world. They continue to advertise globally based on their coffee expertise and atmosphere.
Further reading
Emics and Etics: The Insider/Outsider Debate, edited by Thomas Headland, Kenneth Pike, and Marvin Harris (published in 1990 by Sage Publications).
- Cresswell, J. W. (1998) Qualitative Enquiry and Research Design: Choosing among five traditions. London. Sage
- Goodenough, Ward (1970) “Describing a Culture” in Description and Comparison in Cultural Anthropology Cambridge: Cambridge University Press pp 104-119. ISBN 978-0-202-30861-6
- Harris, Marvin (1980) “Chapter Two: The Epistemology of Cultural Materialism,” in Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture. New York: Random House. pp. 29-45 ISBN 978-0-7591-0134-0
- Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1987). Music and Discourse: Toward a Semiology of Music (Musicologie générale et sémiologue, 1987). Translated by Carolyn Abbate (1990). ISBN 978-0-691-02714-2.
- Pike, Kenneth Lee (1967). Language in relation to a unified theory of structure of human behavior 2nd ed. The Hague: Mouton
- Shinobu Kitayama, Dov Cohen(2007). Handbook of cultural psychology. New York: The Guilford Press.
- Solomon, Consumer Behavior (Buying, having, and being) 7th edition. ISBN 0-13-218694-2
External links
Emics and Etics: The Insider/Outsider Debate, edited by Thomas Headland, Kenneth Pike, and Marvin Harris (published in 1990 by Sage Publications)