Relationships Between Language And Culture English Language Essay

Relationships Between quarrel And Culture English Language EssayThe relationships between diction, thought and kitchen-gardening excite been one of the myths of actors line for centuries. This paper will assess the power of speech and the mutual stoop between phrase and culture by observing cognition of different row speakers.The aim of this move is to find out the influence they acquire on each new(prenominal), and to evaluate the relationship between language and culture. The mutual influence between language and culture will be the major focus of this essay. The chief(prenominal) argument would be discussing whether language really influences culture or it just reflects culture.One of the definitions for language was naturalized by Harcourt (2005) colloquy of thoughts and feelings through a agreement of arbitrary signals, much(prenominal) as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. Such a system includes its rules for combining its components, such as watch c ourse. Such a system as habitd by a nation, volume, or other distinct community often contrasted with barbarism (p. 633)Thinking is often understood as an intra-mental activity inside an individual mind. In the process of thinking, language is used as a tool with inner speech representing vocalized thinking. Language is at that placefore possible to be a vari sufficient influencing thought. The grammar, syntax, limitations and traits of a language may shape the thinking style of the language speakers.Anthropology theories/concepts (200-250 words)In this thesis, ethno linguals, the study of the relationships between language and culture, and how they mutually influence and inform each other (Haviland, 1999), will be the main focus. Two anthropological theories, lingual relativity and historical dowericularism (historicism), will be discussed as the offset is the main theory of this study and the second one will function as a living.linguistic relativityThe main theory, lingui stic relativity, is the idea that distinctions encoded in one language ar unique to that language (Haviland, 1999). Under the theory of linguistic relativity, users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammars toward different types of observations and different evaluations of outwardly similar acts of observation, and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the area (Whorf and Caroll, 1956). In other words, people speak in different languages would have different thinking styles and cognition of the world.Furthermore, the schools of thought can be represented by devil extremes, linguistic determinism and universalism. thither are two forms of linguistic relativity according to their interpretation of the power of language, linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism, while universalism is an opposite idea to linguistic relativity. These concepts will lead to the main argument of this thesis.Determinism is the sac rosanctest form of linguistic relativity. It suggests that language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently. Relativism is the modest form of linguistic relativity. Its idea is that, language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently (Wolff and Holmes, 2010). In contrast, universalism is an opposite concept. In the idea of universalism, cultures, or at least languages, vary in innumerable ship canal but there are patterns of variation that reflect universal properties that we might call the nature of language (Croft, 2010).Apart from linguistic relativity, the theory of historical particularism will be used as a backup theory in this thesis.Historical particularismHistorical particularism is a school of anthropology prominent in the first part of the twentieth century that insisted on the collection of ethnographic data (through direct fieldwork) prior to mak ing cross-cultural generalizations (Ferraro and Andreatta, 2011). It emphasizes that each culture is a unique result of its distinctive past, which makes cross-cultural generalizations questionable (Bailey, G. A. and Peoples, J., 2010).Culture influences languageAccording to historical particularism, each culture has its own shape and is partially composed of traits diffused from other cultures since each fellowship has their own past and they are a representation of that unique past. Since that culture and narration are interrelated, and language is a tool to record and carry forward the history of a society.There is an often-cited example of linguistic relativism, Eskimo words for bump. It is a claim saying that Eskimos have an unusually large design of words for snow in their language. In English, we add adjective, participles or preposition phrases to modify the word snow, like go snow, snow on the ground, snow packed hard like ice, slushy snow, wind-driven flying snow, etc . However, the word snow is too inclusive to an Eskimo, they use different words for different kinds of snow instead.From the Eskimo words for snow claim, it was discovered that some languages may rich in words and expressions describing a specific thing. And the vocabulary of a language can be a peephole for us to look into that culture.The concept of cab in Chinese publicationsIn literary Chinese culture, labor has some metaphorical meanings. The concept of fatigue vastly appears in various contexts of Chinese poetry and idioms. Even among most of the common vehicles of Chinese metaphors, jade deserves special attention. The literary concept and image Chinese attached to the word jade () reflect Chinese jade culture in their tradition.The concept of jade has appeared in the content of various types of Chinese literature, such as poetry and idiom. In Chinese language, there are some idioms linked with jade. The use of jade in those idioms usually is to symbolize beautiful and fine things. The interests are some examplesIdiomsImplications of jadeluxury steadytalentstainlessnessvaluable contributionsAdditionally, there are hundreds jade-related characters take jade () radical, despite jade () itself. Most of those characters have descriptive meanings of some specific kind of jadeetc., knocking sound of, the color of or thus far the stains on a jade respectively.Jade-related charactersmeaningsfine jadejoint jade odd jadepanannular jade ringtinkling of pieces of jadejade used as tallyFrom the in a gamyer place examples of the literary use of jade, we can notice that the concept of jade is attached with numerours good features and enjoys a high position (as Chinese people created a lot of jade-related characters) in Chinese culture.It is said in the bind of Rites, one of the Chinese Five Classics of the Confucian canon, that since ancient time, all gentlemen wear pendants of jade-stones, and that they should never be without them unless there is sufficie nt reason (-). Jade has played a in truth important role in handed-down Chinese culture. (Yang, 2011)The above example about literary concept of jade in Chinese literature shows cultures influence on language. It evidences that language is a reflection of culture.japanese term for rain downfall downwaterSimilar with the Eskimo words for snow claim, there is another word myth in Japanese. There are unusually many different terms which can be used to express different types of rain in Japanese. These terms categorize the rain into different types, by intensity, season, duration and flat characteristics.Here are some expressions of rain or related to rain in Japanese.Types of rain in JapanesePronunciation in JapaneseMeaningshakuurain showerniwakaamerain showerjakuuweak rainkoburilight rainkonukaamefine rainenumisty rainuhyoufreezing rainharenochiameclear then rainhi said(prenominal)very cold rain or hailyaunight rainbaiuzensenseasonal rain-shun rinspring rainryokuuearly-summer rainjuuurefreshing rain once in ten dayskeiuwelcome raintenkyuurain from a cloudless skyhareichijikosamebrief light rain-nagame vast rain-rinulong rain-inrinlong rainyuudachisudden evening rainThe above expressions for rain in Japanese reflect the rain culture in Japan. Japanese society and culture are affected by the climate there. normal rain is a prominent feature of Japans climate. Japan has a high precipitation. The average rainfall in Tokyo is around 1,800 mm, nearly double the global average of 1,000 mm. The intensity of rain is also strong and varies from season to season. It rains a great deal in Japan, therefore the society, culture and even language of Japan are affected by rain.According to the theory of linguistic relativity, phenomena and things that play important roles in a given society and culture are often subdivided into various types and described using a tolerant variety of specialized terms.By the examples of jade in Chinese literature and rain in Japanese l anguage, the idea that culture influences language is evidenced. Considering culture to be a product of human thought, we can derive that language is influenced by human thought, but not unilaterally influencing culture (linguistic determinism). The theory of linguistic relativism is fundamentally proved, but how about language influences culture? Does language only reflect culture? In the following paragraphs, the idea that language influences culture will be discussed to find out whether language and culture really have mutual influence on each other (linguistic relativism) or language does not do much in culture.Language influences cultureThe idea that the way we view and feel the world is, to a certain extent, dependent on the language we use. Each language contains a peculiar and unique world view, which causes speakers of that language to see and think in a characteristic way, different from the speakers of other languages. This has become know as the principle of language re lativity.In this part, different cognitions of different language speakers will be shown as examples of languages influence on culture (language shapes thought)Perception of eye-witness memory and strikeThere is a study conducted by Caitlin Fausey at Stanford. In that study, Fausey found that eye-witness memory differ depending on the language one speaks. The way that a person records events is depending on the language who speaks. The grammatical structure of a language affects our thinking pattern and even our eye-witness memory. In that paper, a cross-linguistic difference in how English and Spanish speakers describe the same events is identified, a corresponding cross-linguistic difference in eye-witness memory is also found.For speakers of an agentive language like English, if they see soulfulness accidentally brush against a flower vase and the vase ends up in pieces on the floor, they can easily call in who broke it. When asked about what happened, they might say, Someone (the agent) broke the vase. They can easily notice the agent of an action. In agentive languages, descriptions like this are typical and appropriate for clearly accidental events. By contrast, non-agentive language speakers description of the same event/action often sounds evasive. Even if they see the same event, when asked about what happened, they might not memorialize who did it, and just answer The vase is brokenFurthermore, the influence of language is not only on eye-witness memory, but even on blame. A canonical non-agentive description (e.g., the vase is broken) is intransitive and does not place the person as the undetermined for the change-of-state event. People are sensitive to this distinction between agentive and non-agentive frames. Linguistic framing influences ones judgment about blame and punishment. In financial liability, agentive descriptions will lead to 30%-50% more in requested financial remedy than non-agentive descriptions do. Judgments and blame can be affected by linguistic frame.Tetraphobia in Southeast Asian countries.Tetraphobia refers to the headache of four. It is a common superstition throughout Southeast Asian countries, for examples, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. The fear of the number 4 is simply come from its pronunciation in Southeast Asian language. In Mandarin, its pronunciation of 4 is very close to that of the word for death, as both of them are pronounced as shi. And in Japanese and Korean, the two words are even perfectly homophonous.The superstition of tetraphobia has permeated all aspects of society in these countries, from architecture to communication norms. Here are some examples of tetraphobias impactMany building in Hong Kong are typically strengthened without 4-related floors, including offices, hospitals, hotels, apartments and skyscrapers. One famous example is the Vision City in Hong Kong, which is missing floors 40 through 49The Chinese stave off phone numbers and ad dresses with fours, especially when theyre combined with another number that changes the meaning. Example 94 could be interpreted as being dead for a long time.The number four was banned from license plates and can only be used once in ID numbers in Taiwan.The ex officio sound of 4 in Japanese language is shi, but Japanese people usually use the alternate pronunciation, yon, that far away from its official sound, when talking about phone numbers and dates.The names of array aircraft and vehicles in China often start with the number 5. And South Korean and Taiwanese navies also avoid 4 when naming their ships.Table 4 is often eliminated at engagements, weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. People in society in this culture always avoid using 4 in verbal speech during holidays and when a loved one is sick or dying.From the above examples, the theory of linguistic relativism is further evidenced. The power of language is significant for sure. The language a person uses can shap e whose thought. The thought of a group people forms culture. The language of a place is reflective to the culture of that place, at the same time, language promotes the culture of there. last (400-500 words)Form this study, it is clear that linguistic relativism is an evidenced theory. The relationships between language and culture are bilateral.Language is created to cope with humans need. Therefore different society created there languages in different ways. The traits of a language are shaped by the culture of a society that created the language. The communication styles, vocabulary, grammar of a language, are all able to reflect a unique culture of a place. Language can be the epitome of a culture, and even a society.Language is a tool to express human thought and spread culture. The traits and limitations of a language affects the thinking style and cognitions of its speakers. When time goes by, it can shape the culture of a single place.Language shapes human thought and brin gs culture to society while it is also attached with cultures influence.