the relationship between language and culture

Interrelationship between culture and language

Each culture has its own peculiarities and throws special influence on the language system. For example, referring to the same common domestic animal, English chooses the word “dog”, while Chinese has its own character“狗”; Chinese has the phrase“走狗”while English has the expression “running dog”, but the meanings attributed to the two expressions are completely different according to Chinese culture and Western culture respectively. To Westerners, “running dog” has a positive meaning since the word

“dog”, in most cases, is associated with an image of an animal pet－the favorite friend, thus they have the phrases “lucky dog”（幸运儿）, “top dog”（胜利者）, “old dog”（老手）, “gay dog”（快乐的人）, and it is usually used to describe everyday life and behavior, as in “Love me, love my dog”（爱屋及乌），“Every dog has its day”（凡人皆有得意日）. But in Chinese“走狗”refers to a lackey, an obsequious person. Since Chinese associates

derogatory meaning to the character“狗” depending on the cultural difference, Chinese has such expressions as “狗东西”，“狗腿子”，“狗仗人势”，“狗胆包天”，“狗嘴里吐不出象牙”，“狼心狗肺”，“痛打落水狗”，“狗急跳墙”.

We can obviously see that the meaning attributed to language is cultural-specific. A great deal of cross-cultural misunderstanding occurs when the “meanings” of words in two

languages are assumed to be the same, but actually reflect different cultural patterns. Some are humorous as when a Turkish visitor to the U.S. refused to eat a hot dog because it was

against his beliefs to eat dog meat. Some are much more serious as when a French couple on a trip to China took their pet poodle into a restaurant and requested some dog food. The dog was cooked and returned to their table on a platter!

We can summarize the relationship between culture and language as the following:

language is a key component of culture. It is the primary medium for transmitting much of culture. Without language, culture would not be possible. Children learning their native language are learning their own culture; learning a second language also involves learning a second culture to varying degrees. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture. It reflects culture. Cultural differences are the most serious areas causing

misunderstanding, unpleasantness and even conflict in cross-cultural communication. Conclusion

Language is a major component and supporter of culture as well as a primary tool for

transferring message, which is inextricably bound with culture. Learning a second language also involves learning a second culture to varying degrees. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture. It reflects culture. Cultural differences are the most

serious areas causing misunderstanding, unpleasantness and even conflict in cross-cultural communication. So both foreign language learners and teachers should pay more attention to cultural communication information.

Answer

Language is the verbal expression of culture. Culture is the idea,custom and beliefs of a community with a distinct language containing semantics -

everything a speakers can think about and every way they have of thinking about things as medium of communication. For example, the Latin language has no word for the female friend of a man (the feminine form of amicus is amica, which means mistress, not friend) because the Roman culture could not imagine a male and a female being equals, which they considered necessary for friendship.

Another example is that Eskimos have many different terms for snow...there are nuances that make each one different.

Answer

Language and culture are NOT fundamentally inseparable. At the most basic level, language is a method of expressing ideas. That is, language is

communication; while usually verbal, language can also be visual (via signs and symbols), or semiotics (via hand or body gestures). Culture, on the other hand, is a specific set of ideas, practices, customs and beliefs which make up a functioning society as distinct.

A culture must have at least one language, which it uses as a distinct medium of communication to conveys its defining ideas, customs, beliefs, et al., from one member of the culture to another member. Cultures can develop multiple languages, or "borrow" languages from other cultures to use; not all such

languages are co-equal in the culture. One of the major defining characteristics of a culture is which language(s) are the primary means of communication in that culture; sociologists and anthropologists draw lines between similar cultures heavily based on the prevalent language usage.

Languages, on the other hand, can be developed (or evolve) apart from its originating culture. Certain language have scope for cross-cultural adaptations and communication, and may not actually be part of any culture. Additionally, many languages are used by different cultures (that is, the same language can be used in several cultures).

Language is heavily influenced by culture - as cultures come up with new ideas, they develop language components to express those ideas. The reverse is also true: the limits of a language can define what is expressible in a culture (that is, the limits of a language can prevent certain concepts from being part of a culture).

Finally, languages are not solely defined by their developing culture(s) - most modern languages are amalgamations of other prior and current languages. That is, most languages borrow words and phrases ("loan words") from other existing languages to describe new ideas and concept. In fact, in the modern very-connected world, once one language manufactures a new word to describe something, there is a very strong tendency for other languages to "steal" that word directly, rather than manufacture a unique one itself. The English

language is a stellar example of a "thief" language - by some accounts, over 60% of the English language is of foreign origin (i.e. those words were originally imported from another language). Conversely, English is currently the world's largest "donor" language, with vast quantities of English words being imported directly into virtually all other languages.

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