Linguistic anthropologists investigate the relationship between communication and culture.
Linguistic anthropologists begin their work by using tools originally developed by descriptive linguists to describe various parts of language and the range of sounds people use when they speak. This missing puff is significant and therefore heard in Mandarin while it is insignificant and therefore unheard in English. Tools like these allow linguistic anthropologists to identify specific speech patterns of people from different social groups. Today a linguistic anthropologist meeting Eliza would probably not want to change her speech. Finally, he might encourage Eliza and other flower sellers to take pride in their distinctive speech patterns and to work to eliminate prejudice against people like them.