Part of the Anthropology Curriculum Project, the document introduces social studies classroom teachers and junior high school students to the study of language and emphasizes the importance of language as a part of culture. The document contains a teacher background component and a student text. The teacher background material is presented in five chapters. Chapter I introduces the concept of communication, reviews the communicational relationship between sender and receiver, and defines communication terms. Chapters II and III discuss linguistics and grammar, focusing on the sounds and meanings of speech and meanings of linguistic vocabulary. Chapter IV explains how the study of the history of language helps anthropologists understand culture. The final chapter explores the relationship between culture and communication. The student text focuses on five topics, each of which is represented by a chapter--"All Men Have Language,""How Language Affects Our Lives,""The Nature of Language,""How Scientists Study Language," and "Languages are Always Changing." For each topic, information is presented on activities, vocabulary definitions, discussion of key concepts, tabular representation of concepts, and background information. Activities involve students in role playing, class discussion, defining terms, interpreting sounds, making tape recordings, library research, and deciphering simple linguistic codes. (DB)