No one in other majors will be more sensitive than us about the relationship between language and culture since we are English majors. The exact nature of the relationship between language and culture has fascinated, and continues to fascinate, people from a wide variety of backgrounds. That there should be some kind of relationship between the sounds, words, any syntax of a language and the ways in which speakers of that language experience the world and behave in it seems so obvious as to be a truism. It would appear that the only problems deciding the nature of the relationship and finding suitable ways to demonstrate it. But, as we will see, what is "obvious" need not necessary be "true": the sun does not rotate around the earth, nor is the earth at the center of the universe! When we do try to specify any such relationship, we run into problems that are no less formidable than those just mentioned: we may be misled by the "obvious".
Any discussion of the relationship between language and culture, or of the various functions of the language in the culture, should begin with some attempt to define each of these terms.
Our Knowledge of Language .
We may attempt a comprehensive definition of language: a language is what the members of a particular society speak. However, as we shall see, speech in almost any society can take many very different forms, and just what forms we should choose to discuss when we attempt to describe the language of a society may prove to be a contentious matter. Sometimes a society may be complex; that is, many speakers may use more than one language, however we define language. We should also note that our definitions of language and culture are not independent: the definition of language includes in it a reference to culture. .
When two or more people communicate with each other in speech, we can call the system of communication that they employ a code. In most cases that code will be something we may want to call a language.
Speaking about language and culture, one can say that through language people verbalize culture. ... English and Japanese are two languages which demonstrate that language and culture are closely related. ... Japanese language is a vivid example of how language and culture are interrelated. ... This is how culture affects language. Summing up, it is worth saying that culture depends on language, and vise-versa. ...
Culture and language rely a lot on each other. ... Societies may include a number of cultures and languages. ... My Grandparents are both from Spain, but my parents are both from Chicago, IL; my brothers and I were born and raised in Farmington, NM so growing up into our culture we always had my grandparents and parents teach us the language of our culture. ... " The growth of multiculturalism, for good or bad, takes the view that American speak many languages and have many different cultures. ... Every language, English, Spanish, French, Greece, has a different type of culture in which ...
Abstract As long as languages appear, there have also been cultures. ... Key words: Language, Culture, English Language Teaching (ELT) Culture and English Language Teaching Introduction It is an undeniable fact that to understand a language completely, it is essential to master not only the language knowledge including grammar, lexis and phonology but also certain features of culture. ... Stern (1999) expressed the relationships between culture and ELT as follows: Language is a part of culture, and must be approached with the same attitudes that govern our approach to culture as a whole; Lang...
What if we could all speak the same language? ... If there was one language between all cultures the world of literature would open up allowing more opportunities available to all people, especially those people who live in small third world countries that speak a language that only they know. ... There are many great aspects in every culture and some not so great. ... One of the main differences in society between every culture is the language they speak and the way they communicate. ... The fear of travel would be decreased therefore people would be better educated and have a better understa...
Language Definition: "a system of conventional spoken or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, communicate."" Characteristics of language Definitions of language Many definitions of language have been proposed. ... Normally, people acquire a single language initially "their first language, or mother tongue, the language spoken by their parents or by those with whom they are brought up from infancy. ... The science of language is known as linguistics. ... In many cultures men have seen in the ability to n...
Another reason why children should learn a foreign language is that language often offers new ideas and cultural insights. A bilingual education can be fun for children and also stimulate interest about other cultures. ... In an article the "Culture in Second Language Teaching" the authors said "Some teachers and researchers have found it effective to present students with objects or ideas that are specific to the culture of study but are unfamiliar to the students. ... Children learning a second language have the opportunity to connect with another culture through games, books,...
The way a language is perceived could cause the language to become alanguage of intimacy.?... on how an accent or dialects affect a culture is a point author Amy Tan brought out in her essay. It was Tan's belief that the development of cultures over time is largely due to accent and dialect, which refers to how she felt about her mother's tongue and how it affected her. ... (Tan 79) In the belief of what Tan is trying to say is that the evaluation of an accent or dialect can and will contribute to the culture and how people speak and write. ... language. ...
That is why the meaning of symbols varies from culture to culture. ... The language we speak is learned within our culture and also reflects it. Over time the changes in the language spoken by a group of people signify as well the changes in the culture. ... (Williams 1981) The differences in language and in verbal communication style within cultures influence the way that people from different cultures communicate. ... All these data give us information about India's culture based on the form of language they used. ...
Also, there are many other advantages to learning a language, such as having an upper-hand on understanding another culture. ... If more people knew the language, it would help us to understand a country's culture and improve relations. ... Many scholars also declare that one cannot truly appreciate and understand another country's culture without knowing the country's language. Many students who study abroad learn that knowing the native language is key to appreciating and understanding the culture. Understanding another country's culture is essential to foreign relations ...