Languageandculture language culture

Language and culture

The connection between culture and language has been noted asfar back as the classical period and probably long before. Theancient Greeks, for example, distinguished between civilizedpeoples and bárbaros "those whobabble", i.e. those who speak unintelligiblelanguages.^[84]The fact that different groups speak different, unintelligiblelanguages is often considered more tangible evidence for culturaldifferences than other less obvious cultural traits.

The German romanticists of the 19th century such as JohannGottfried Herder and Wilhelm vonHumboldt, often saw language not just as one cultural traitamong many but rather as the direct expression of a people'snational character,^[85]and as such as culture in a kind of condensed form. Herder forexample suggests, "Denn jedes Volk ist Volk; es hat seineNational Bildung wie seine Sprache" (Since every people is aPeople, it has its own national culture expressed through its ownlanguage).^[86]

Franz Boas, founder of American anthropology, like his Germanforerunners, maintained that the shared language of a community isthe most essential carrier of their common culture. Boas was thefirst anthropologist who considered it unimaginable to study theculture of a foreign people without also becoming acquainted withtheir language. For Boas, the fact that the intellectual culture ofa people was largely constructed, shared and maintained through theuse of language, meant that understanding the language of acultural group was the key to understanding its culture. At thesame time, though, Boas and his students were aware that cultureand language are not directly dependent on one another. That is,groups with widely different cultures may share a common language,and speakers of completely unrelated languages may share the samefundamental cultural traits.^[87][88]Numerous other scholars have suggested that the form of languagedetermines specific cultural traits.^[89]This is similar to the notion of Linguisticdeterminism, which states that the form of language determinesindividual thought. While Boas himself rejected a causal linkbetween language and culture, some of his intellectual heirsentertained the idea that habitual patterns of speaking andthinking in a particular language may influence the culture of thelinguistic group.^[90]Such belief is related to the theory of Linguisticrelativity. Boas, like most modern anthropologists, however,was more inclined to relate the interconnectedness between languageand culture to the fact that, as B.L. Whorf put it,"they have grown up together".^[91][92]

Indeed, the origin oflanguage, understood as the human capacity of complex symboliccommunication, and the origin of complex culture is often thoughtto stem from the same evolutionary process in early man.Evolutionary anthropologist Robin I. Dunbar has proposed that language evolved as earlyhumans began to live in large communities which required the use ofcomplex communication to maintain social coherence. Language andculture then both emerged as a means of using symbols to constructsocial identity and maintain coherence within a social group toolarge to rely exclusively on pre-human ways of building communitysuch as for example grooming. Sincelanguage and culture are both in essence symbolic systems,twentieth century cultural theorists have applied the methods ofanalyzing language developed in the science of linguistics to alsoanalyze culture. Particularly the structural theoryof Ferdinand deSaussure which describes symbolic systems as consisting ofsigns (a pairing of a particular form with a particular meaning)has come to be applied widely in the study of culture. But alsopost-structuralist theories that nonetheless still rely on theparallel between language and culture as systems of symboliccommunication, have been applied in the field of semiotics. Theparallel between language and culture can then be understood asanalog to the parallel between a linguistic sign, consisting forexample of the sound [kau] and the meaning "cow", and a culturalsign, consisting for example of the cultural form of "wearing acrown" and the cultural meaning of "being king". In this way it canbe argued that culture is itself a kind of language. Anotherparallel between cultural and linguistic systems is that they areboth systems of practice that is they are a set of special ways ofdoing things that is constructed and perpetuated through socialinteractions.^[93]Children, for example, acquire language in the same way as theyacquire the basic cultural norms of the society they grow up in –through interaction with older members of their cultural group.

However, languages, now understood as the particular set ofspeech norms of a particular community, are also a part of thelarger culture of the community that speak them. Humans uselanguage as a way of signalling identity with one cultural groupand difference from others. Even among speakers of one languageseveral different ways of using the language exist, and each isused to signal affiliation with particular subgroups within alarger culture. In linguistics such different ways of using thesame language are called "varieties".For example, the English language is spoken differently in the USA,the UK and Australia, and even within English-speaking countriesthere are hundreds of dialects of English thateach signals a belonging to a particular region and/or subculture.For example, in the UK the cockney dialect signalsits speakers' belonging to the group of lower class workers of eastLondon. Differences between varieties of the same language oftenconsist in different pronunciations and vocabulary, but alsosometimes of different grammatical systems and very often in usingdifferent styles(e.g. cockney Rhyming slang orLawyers'jargon). Linguists and anthropologists, particularly sociolinguists,ethnolinguistsand linguisticanthropologists have specialized in studying how ways ofspeaking vary between speech communities.

A community's ways of speaking or signing are a part of thecommunity's culture, just as other shared practices are. Languageuse is a way of establishing and displaying group identity. Ways ofspeaking function not only to facilitate communication, but also toidentify the social position of the speaker. Linguists calldifferent ways of speaking language varieties,a term that encompasses geographically or socioculturally defineddialects as well as thejargonsor styles ofsubcultures.Linguistic anthropologists and sociologists of language definecommunicative style as the ways that language is used andunderstood within a particular culture.^[94]

The difference between languages does not consist only indifferences in pronunciation, vocabulary or grammar, but also indifferent "cultures of speaking". Some cultures for example haveelaborate systems of "social deixis", systems of signalling socialdistance through linguistic means.^[95]In English, social deixis is shown mostly though distinguishingbetween addressing some people by first name and others by surname,but also in titles such as "Mrs.", "boy", "Doctor" or "Your Honor",but in other languages such systems may be highly complex andcodified in the entire grammar and vocabulary of the language. Inseveral languages of east Asia, for example Thai, Burmese andJavanese, differentwords are used according to whether a speaker is addressing someoneof higher or lower rank than oneself in a ranking system withanimals and children ranking the lowest and gods and members ofroyalty as the highest.^[95]Other languages may use different forms of address when speaking tospeakers of the opposite gender or in-law relatives and manylanguages have special ways of speaking toinfants and children. Among other groups, the culture ofspeaking may entail not speaking to particular people, forexample many indigenous cultures of Australia have a taboo againsttalking to one's in-law relatives, and in some cultures speech isnot addressed directly to children. Some languages also requiredifferent ways of speaking for different social classes ofspeakers, and often such a system is based on gender differences,as in Japanese and Koasati.^[96]

Cultural differences and English writing

I Introduction

What do we mean by culture?

According to wiki, culture is aset ofpatterns of human activity within a society or social groupand the symbolic structures that give such activity significance.Customs, laws, dress, architectural style, social standards,religious beliefs, and traditions are all examples of culturalelements.

According to ConciseEncyclopedia: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultureIntegratedpattern of human knowledge, belief, and behaviour that is both aresult of and integral to the human capacity for learning andtransmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. Culture thusconsists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes,institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies,and symbols. It has played a crucial role in humanevolution, allowing human beings to adapt the environment totheir own purposes rather than depend solely on naturalselection to achieve adaptive success. Every human society hasits own particular culture, or sociocultural system. Variationamong cultures is attributable to such factors as differingphysical habitats and resources; the range of p ossibilitiesinherent in areas such as language, ritual, and socialorganization; and historical phenomena such as the development oflinks with other cultures. An individual's attitudes, values,ideals, and beliefs are greatly influenced by the culture (orcultures) in which he or she lives. Culture change takes place as aresult of ecological, socioeconomic, political, religious, or otherfundamental factors affecting a society. See also culturecontact; socioculturalevolution.

According to the difinitions of socialogists andanthropologists, our term culture refers to thetotal pattern of beliefs customs institutions objects andtechniques that characterise the life of humancommunity.

"Culture consists of all the shared products of humaansociety" (Robertson, 1981). Culture means not only material thingssuch as cities, organizations, and school, but also suchnon-material things as ideas, customs, famiy patterns, languages.Putting it simply, culture refers to the entire way of life of asociety, the ways of a people.

Language is only a part of culture and plays a veryimportant part in culture. Some social scientists consider languageas the keystone of culture. They maintain that without languageculture would not be possible. However, language is influenced andshaped by culture; it reflects culture. In the broadest sense,language is the symbolic representation of a people, and itcomprises their historical andculturalbackgrounds as well as their approach to life and their ways ofliving and thinking.

People from every culture have their own customs andhabits. Such habits form their unique culture.What is said fromother cultures in their own language should be interpretedaccording to their own culture.

II The relationship between Cultural differences andEnglish writing

Misunderstandings may arise because of culturaldifferences, though the language used in communication may befaultless grammatically. The same words or expressions not meandifferent things to different peoples. Because of culturaldifferences, a serious question may cause amusement or laughter; aharmless statement may cause displeasure or anger.Because ofcultural differences, jokes by a foreign speaker may received withblank faces and stony silence. However, the same stories in thespeaker's own country would leave listeners holding their sideswith laughter.

We must stress that language and culture interact to eachother. To understand language requires to understand culture andvice verse.

We are told by social scientists that cultures differ fromone another, and that each culture is uniqure. As cultures arediverse, so languages are diverse. Therefore, it is only naturalthen that with differences in cultures and differences inlanguages, difficulties often arise in communicating betweencultures and across cultures. Mutural understanding is not alwaysso easy.

A The influence of cultural differences on Englishwriting

B Cultivating awareness of Cultural differences in Englishwriting

We should cultivate awareness of cultural differences inour English writing, because learning a foreign language well meansmore than only mastering the pronunciation, grammar, words andidioms. we should also learn to see the world as native speakers ofthat language see it, learning the ways in which their languagereflects the ideas,customs, and behavior of their society, learningto understand their language of the mind. learning a language, infact, is inseparable from learning its culture.

III Factors of Cultural differences affectingwriting

A Mode of thinking

Chinese Englishor Chinglish as a variantof the Englishisa new formof English by aprofound impact on Chinese thinking under theinfluence of the traditionalChinese culture. Chinglishexpressions are universal in all English learners inChina, in the majorityof English learners inChina generally, andhas become one of the biggestdrawbacks of languagelearners. As the sayinggoes: Knowing thyself, andknowing your counterparts make you win a hundred battles with nodanger of defeat. Ifwe wantto correct the drawbacks, weshould first find out the reasonsfor the problems behind.ThedifferencesbetweenChinese and Western modes ofthinking is the leadingspecific causes of the Chinglishexpressions. We shouldexplore the relationshipbetween Chinese Englishand Chinesethinking, with a view toproviding a reference for Englishlearners.

B Aesthetic perception

C Religious belief

Focusing on two types of words,kinship address as well as individualism and comrade, exploredtheir different cultural content. Through exploring the origin ofreligion and belief, the formation of their thoughts step by step,this paper explains the great religious culture behind words. Theconnection between words and religion and belief brings out aquestion that is the lackness of religious culture and belief inour foreign language education. This paper reminds of the importantsignificance of teaching religious culture and belief in foreignlanguage education.

IV Effects of cultural differences on writing

Improving writing skills in English is achallengefor English learners. This articletrying to both languages words, sentences, text layout andstylistic differences manifested by, inter alia, to prove theinfluence of cultural differences on English writing in order tomake students aware of the differences between the two languages,helping students to overcome negative impact of mother tongue,written in line with English habits of expression of pureEnglish.

A Words

Can we rely on our dictionaries togive us theproper English for a Chinese term, or the proper Chinese for anEnglish word? Do words or terms in one language have the samemeaning when translated into another language? The answers to thesequestions are not always yes. The meanings of equivalent words arenot exactly the same in both languages.

The semantic differences betweenselectedEnglish and Chineseareas follows:

A) A term in one language that does not have a counterpart inanother language.

We Chinese have a saying, 夏练三伏，冬练三九， urging people to exerciseand keep fit in spite of extreme weather. But thereissuch expressions as三伏 and 三九existing in English. Similarly, there is no Chinese equivalent forcowboy or hippie, which are twowell-knownproducts of American society.

B) Words or terms in both languages that appear to refer to thesame object or concept on the surface, but which refer to quitedifferent things.

highschoolnot equivalentto 高校

servicestationnot equivalentto 服务站

restroomnotequivalent to 休息室

C) Things or concepts that are represented by one or perhaps twoterms in one language, but by many more terms in the otherlanguage; that is to say, finer distinctions exist in the otherlanguage.

骆驼 can be denoting camel， or dromedary Bactrial camel

Uncle can be denoting 伯父, 叔父, 姑父, 舅父, or 姨夫.

D) Terms that have more or less the same primary meaning, butwhich have secondary or additional meanings that may differconsiderably from each other.

农民 is different from peasant. Because in English when usingpeasant, they usually mean a person who is ill-bred.

Idealist, materialist and 唯心主义者，唯物主义者 are meaning differentthings except in a strictly philosophical piece of writing.

B Sentence Pattern

There are five basic English sentences patterns, all of whichmust have a subject and a predicate. Without asubjector a predicate, the sentence itself willbe incomplete. However, in Chinese we can have a 无主句，like 下雨啦，which is a sentence without a subject.And鲁迅，周树人。A sentence is without a predicate.

C Rhetoric

thinking differences

The Chinese spiral thinking and the Western linearthinking constitute a major difference between the Chinese thinkingpattern and Western thinking pattern. This difference, as far aslanguage is concerned, shows itself in the following: between themodifier and the central word, within a sentence, and in thestructure of a text. Therefore, it is necessary for a teacher toexplain this difference to his students so that they should writeauthentic English essays.
Chinese people have a comprehensive way of thinking. They focus onwhole harmonious and often use the sentencestucture of crosswise dilation and lay advance as the rhetoricmethods but the western people focus on pithiness in theiraesthetic spices. That is so-called "Brevity is the soul ofwit".

"Brevity is the soul ofwit".The sentence structure focuses on primaryand secondary features and well arranged. It can not beirrespectivewiththeirwaysof thinking, which is paying attention to logic analysis. We cansee the differences ofaesthetic spices formed bydifferent ways of thinking will lead to rhetoric differencesbetween Chinese and English languages.

four-word structure

四字格

repetition structure

排比句

parallelism

rhetoric andall rhetorical devices could express different culture intension.Under different cultural circumstances and with varied rhetoric, different writing ...

V ways of cultivating Cultural awareness

In the 1920s, Malinoski argues that the study of anylanguage, spoken by a people who live under conditions from our ownand possess a different culture, must be carried out in connectionwith the study of their culture and of their environment. Since the1980s the reseach between culture and language has gained more andmore attention. Hu Wenzhong's book Culture and communication givesus a systematical introduction of new outcome about culture andlanguage.

For a long term,teachers accept the teachingapproach which is based on the concept of structural theory.Sincerecent decade,one of the most important discussions in ForeignLanguage Teaching Research is communicative teachingresearch.Foreign language is a useful tool for us to learninternational scientific knowledge,to obtain internationalinformation and to communicate with international countries.Thetarget of learning a foreign language is to communicate with otherpeople.So cultivating communicative capacity is to use proper wordsto communicate with others according to the topic,context andculture background.If we communicate with native speakers and knownothing about their culture,maybe we will make pragmaticmistakes.We should cultivate an understanding on the generalcultural differences between the west and China and we should knowthat the success of cross-cultural communication depends on thecompetence of cross-cultural communication.Meanwhile,it provides asurvey about vocational school students' cross-culturalcommunicative awareness and gives some suggestions concerning theways of cultivating the students ' cross-cultural awareness inEnglish teaching of vocational school.

Ways to Help Students Overcome CulturalBarriers

It is well-known that cultural differences have a great effecton EFL reading comprehension. In order to improve Chinese students’reading comprehension, teachers should bring cultural awarenessinto consideration. There are several ways to help studentsovercome cultural barriers in EFL reading comprehension, such as,enriching students’ cultural background knowledge. Comprehending atext is an interactive process between the reader’s backgroundknowledge and the text. If the students do not have enough relevantknowledge and comprehensible culture-based input to the text, theywill fail to read and understand even the simplified text of amajor field. To enrich students’ cultural background information,teachers can select appropriate materials for students to read inorder to help them minimize misunderstanding and interference andmaximize comprehension of reading materials. And the studentsthemselves should read extensively which means students should readvarious kinds of books about western culture. To do this, teacherscan encourage and lead students to read more about history,geography, customs, habits, and behavior patterns of nativespeakers and reading literature in English is also importantbecause it is a means of broadening their cultural knowledge andliterature reflects the life and culture of a people.

VI Conclusion

From the above analysis, we may draw the conclusion thatcultural background knowledge plays a significant roleinwriting because it can help us betterunderstand the different cultural connotation and extension ofvocabulary and pave the way for understanding the contents oftexts. So it is hoped that with the help of the teachers, studentswould try their best contact the social and cultural aspects ofEnglish countries and learn the cultural background knowledge ofliterature, history, geography, local condition and customs inorder to understand the differences between eastern and westernculture and overcome comprehension barriers.

reference:

Connor, U. (1996)Contrastive rhetoric: Cross-culturalaspects of second- language writing[M] Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress2001:5-39

Kaplan R B. Cultural Thought Patterns in InterculturalEducation［J］. Language Learning, 1996

kaplan R B.The Anatomy ofRhetoric：Prolegmena to Functional Theory of Rhetoric[M]Philadelphia： Conter for Curriculum Development，1972

Davis Linell, Doing Culture-Cross-Cultural Communicationsin Action[M], Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and ResearchPress, 1999.

Matelene， C Contrastive Rhetoric： An American Writing Teacher inChina[D] College English

Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter and Lisa A. Stefani,Communication Between Cultures[M], Beijing: Foreign languageTeaching and Research Press, 2000.

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