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© Eva M. Snyder page created 12/07/03 last updated 12/07/03

Emic and Etic

Etic: The researchers point of view
Emic: The subjects point of view
(including those distinction the subject makes without being aware of them)

Phonetic: Distinctions Linguists make.
Phonemic: Distinctions native speakers respond to as significant.

Both can be either Objective or Subjective. The point is that while the researcher should observe that the subjects make particular Emic distinctions the researcher is not bound by those distinctions when presenting her research.

Also the researcher can observe that the subjects make distinctions that the subjects are not aware of. Or that the subjects do not recognize distinctions the researcher considers significant.

"Language in relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behavior" by Kenneth Pike
"Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture" by Marvin Harris
"New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought" by Wouter J. Hanegraaff

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