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I. The
Language-Culture Link
For the purposes of this module, the following definitions are
offered from Owens (2005):
Communication: The process participants use to exchange information and
ideas, needs,
and desires. The process is an active one that involves encoding,
transmitting, and decoding the intended message (p. 11).
Language: A socially shared code or conventional system for representing
concepts through the use of arbitrary symbols
and rule-governed combination of those symbols (p. 7).
Speech: A verbal means of transmission (p. 6).
World
Knowledge: An individual’s autobiographical and
experiential understanding and memory of particular events.
This knowledge reflects not only the individual but the
cultural interpretation placed on knowledge (p. 23). |
Learning culture,
learning language
 Language
and culture, in many ways, are inextricably linked. Culture
is encoded in language through forms of expression, communication
preferences and the way words are used (e.g., “The door
is closed.” “The door closed.”).
Values,
beliefs, and attitudes and a broad array of nuances are enmeshed
in words
and symbols, forming the base of knowledge and a system for
communicating within every culture.
The ability
to use words to represent ideas,
concepts, etc. allows people to build world knowledge and
an effective system to communicate. Using language, one can express
thoughts, feelings and preferences and comprehend others.
World
knowledge enables people to communicate and to live, work,
play, learn,
and worship together. Words or symbols in
themselves
do not have meaning, only the potential for meaning.
Children
learn to associate the clear liquid handed to them in a
cup with the
word “water” or “agua,” depending on
what they are taught by the people around them.
Language, a complex and dynamic system of conventional symbols
that are used for thought and communication (Committee on
Language, 1983), is learned in a social context, shaped
by the customs
and practices of those around us. For example, Central Alaskan
Yupik
Eskimo language has about a dozen words for referring to
snow and to related natural phenomena, events, or behavior.
Language
and
the words we use are also acquired through educational pursuits.
An example from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, 2002,
cites Long, Scrimshaw, and Hernandez, 1992, in which a word
used by a
neurologist, “trauma,” to mean “injury” was
understood as “emotional shock” by the Mexican mother
of a child with seizure disorders. This is a clear illustration
that the meaning attached to words can be different as a result
of technical knowledge.
Language
is socially constructed. Shared patterns
and codes of behavior form a group culture; a way of being. However,
culture
is porous and socially constructed – learned from others,
shaped by events and shared experiences, conventions for social
interaction and the environment.
To have culture
is indeed human nature, but no specific culture is human nature.
Different words
for concepts such as “water” or “chair” are
easily translatable across cultures because there are objects to
reference; concepts such as “mother love,” “death,” and “sickness” are
another thing entirely, because each of these is packed with cultural
connotations that are unique, abstract, and difficult to translate.
Much of culture, in fact the most important part, exists in people’s
minds and is invisible!
The
relationship between culture and language is dynamic. Culture influences one’s worldview and the interpretation of the
realities one experiences. New words are created from new realities.
Similarly, existing words and expressions acquire new meanings:
five years ago “9/11” was just a way of writing a date.
Today this term has significant, different connotations for people,
both in the United States and throughout the world. Because culture
and experience are not static, language is not static; it is constantly
evolving.
The automatic
teller machine (ATM) is an example of how the idea of banking
began to change and how the mental map of “bank” was
redrawn; the banking hours and other related activities were also
redefined. As the use of ATMs took hold in the 1970s, early users
of ATMs learned a new concept for banking. As a result, the mental
map for banking became different between users and non-users of
ATMs.1 Over a 30-year period, the use of ATMs became commonplace
in the developed world and, more slowly, is making inroads in less-developed
countries. Over time, the concept of banking is aligning internationally,
across languages and cultures.
References
1 The concept of the modern ATM first began in
1968; a working prototype came about in 1969. Docutel was issued
a patent in 1973, and the first working ATM was installed in
a New York- based Chemical Bank. Don Wetzel, Vice President
of Product Planning at Docutel; Tom Barnes, the chief mechanical
engineer; and George Chastain, the electrical engineer, are
listed on the patent. It took $5 million to develop the ATM.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blatm.htm
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