an analysis on the relationship between culture and language語言與文化的關(guān)系分析

1、<p>　　An Analysis on the Relationship between Culture and Language</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　In recent years, with the development of transportation and communication, the world is shr

2、inking to be a “global village”. Opportunities which people from different cultures may take to contact with each other are quickly growing. When they communicate, language becomes essential and the need for further unde

3、rstanding of cultural differences has arisen. Therefore，the relationship between culture and language has become a hot topic. There are at present many linguistics and cultural experts doin</p><p><b>　

4、　Culture</b></p><p>　　Definition of culture</p><p>　　Many philosophers，sociologists, anthropologists and linguists tried from different fields to make a definition for culture as perfect a

5、s possible.</p><p>　　Geertz defines culture as a historically transmitted semiotic network constructed by human which allows them to develop，communicate and perpetuate their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes

6、about the world.(Geertz, 1973:89)</p><p>　　Pioneering anthropologist Edward Tylor in 1920 put forward a classic definition of culture which defines that culture is a compound which includes knowledge, belief

7、, geography，art，law, morals， customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.(Chang Zhonglin, 2003:21)</p><p>　　Kramsch offers three definitions in her book language and

8、culture in the following: 1 .Membership in a discourse community that shares a common social space and history, and a common system of standards for perceiving, believing , evaluating and acting. 2. The discourse communi

9、ty itself. 3. The system of standards itself. (Kramsch, 1998:127)</p><p>　　Culture is more or less synonymous with civilization. It rests ultimately upon the classical conception of what constitutes excellen

10、ce in art, literature，manners and social institutions. Culture refers to the total pattern of beliefs，customs，and techniques that characterize the life of a particular society. In a word it is the total way of life of a

11、society.（張萊湘，2005： 221）</p><p>　　The word “culture” in Chinese consists of two characters wen （文）and hua （化）.The former meant: “texture” in old Chinese. Later its meaning was enlarged to mean extensively the

12、 codes and symbols, cultural relics and books, as well as notions of courtesy and morality. The latter meant “ turn to changes”. When they were first collocated together to mean knowledge，their meanings were not as inclu

13、sive as at the present time in contemporary Chinese. In the 19th century， the collocated Chinese word “wen</p><p>　　Importance of culture</p><p>　　From the above definitions of culture, it is ea

14、sy to conclude the importance of culture.</p><p>　　Culture distinguishes us from animal. Every nation has its own distinctive culture. Human beings, carrying cultural features，pass over from generation to ge

15、neration. On one hand，culture may have people identified. People from the same culture usually share some cultural features in common. That is to say they can cooperate and be united easily，especially when they are attac

16、ked by people from other cultures. On the other hand，people from different cultures usually can also enjoy a peaceful living</p><p><b>　　Language</b></p><p>　　Definition of language&

17、lt;/p><p>　　Just like culture，language also has several definitions depending on the different approaches to the study of language.</p><p>　　For Saussure，language is a system or a structure of sign

18、s combined together to produce meaning and the meaning is determined by their relationships.（胡壯麟，2001： 24）</p><p>　　In 1935, influenced by Behaviorist Psychology，Bloomfield presented language in terms of sti

19、mulus and reaction，meaning that language enables one person to make a reaction when another person has the stimulus.</p><p>　　Chomsky considered language a set of sentences，each finite in length and construc

20、ted out of a finite set of elements, focusing on the purely structural properties of language.</p><p>　　Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by

21、means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. These symbols are auditory and are produced by the organs of speech.（楊達(dá)復(fù)，2002： 6）</p><p>　　Sociologists argue that language is social behavior and language

22、has a social function, both as a means of communication and also a way of identifying social groups.</p><p>　　Though the definitions for language are not unique，it is the consensus of most linguists that lan

23、guage is defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols designed for the purpose of human communication.</p><p>　　Importance of language</p><p>　　Language is the product of the development of so

24、ciety and takes an important role in society. People can’t communicate without language. It is not only the prime vehicle of human communication but also a crucial unifying and regulating force that forms people identity

25、, binds them to their culture and enables every human society to function. Language can help people express their understanding of the world.</p><p>　　Relationship between culture and language</p><

26、;p>　　Language and culture are closely related, they can’t be separated. They affect each other. Language is an important part of culture. Some social scientists consider it as the keystone of culture. They claim that

27、culture would be impossible without language. Meanwhile，language is influenced and shaped by culture. And it reflects culture.</p><p>　　Culture affects language</p><p>　　From the definition of c

28、ulture，we know that culture includes geography，religion，tradition， custom, value and so on. In fact，culture often affects language through them.</p><p><b>　　Geography</b></p><p>　　Ev

29、ery nation lives and works in a certain natural environment，which is reflected by its language. People from different regions may have different languages. They use different words，metaphors to express their views toward

30、s their environment. In the following，I’ll give examples to explain my view in details.</p><p>　　Christmas is the most important festival in Western countries. The American and some European people who live

31、in the Northern Hemisphere, associate Christmas with cold winter, gray sky，thick snow and beautiful decorations. However, the Australians who live in Southern Hemisphere associate Christmas with enchanting sunshine, azur

32、e sky, vast beach.</p><p>　　“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” in sonnet 18 was written by Shakespeare. It’s difficult for Chinese to understand. In China summer is a very hot and unpleasant season. Bu

33、t to British， summer is the best season. It means warm and pleasant weather.</p><p>　　Britain Island is surrounded by sea. That’s the reason that words or terms about sea and boat are rich，such as smooth sai

34、ling, all at sea; ship，ferry, canoe，barge，yawl. On the contrary，Chinese people have been living in the Asia Island for thousands of years and agriculture has a long history. They have mysterious and awesome feeling towar

35、d sea. We can know from the terms 海水不可 斗量，海成撈針，把、茫大海，煙波治淼，怒濤洶涌。And there are many terms deriving from farming. For instance枯木逢春，順藤摸瓜，斬草除根，解甲歸田。（金惠康，2002： 280）</p><p>　　The words “bamboo” and “l(fā)otus” have spe

36、cial cultural connotative meanings in Chinese culture, which are not found in western culture. Many Chinese poets used them in their poems to speak highly of the exemplary conduct and nobility of character. Idioms about

37、these words are also common. For example,胸有成竹（Have a well grown bamboo in one’s mind），雨后春筍 （Bamboo shoots after a spring rain）;蓮，出漱泥而不染（Though coming from the mud, lotus is not polluted） ? Since England is not the native

38、 land of them，English</p><p>　　It is known that Eskimos use different terms for different kinds of snow. English people have only “snow” in their language. It makes no different among falling snow，snow on th

39、e ground, and blowing snow. But Eskimos do not have a word inclusively for all kinds of snow. It is said that Aztecs generalize even more than English people. They have only one term for cold，ice and snow in their langua

40、ge. （Chang Zhonglin，2003:28）</p><p><b>　　Religion</b></p><p>　　Nearly every nation has its religion. Religion is an important part in culture. Many daily used words are from religion

41、.</p><p>　　Most western people believe in Christianity. There are many words and idioms coming from Bible. So if you want to learn English well，you’d better learn Bible. Otherwise，you don’t understand what s

42、ome idioms imply. For instance: Adam’s apple （喉結(jié)）；my rib（我妻）；bear one’s cross（背負(fù)十字架）;It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.（富人進(jìn)天堂比駱駝穿過針眼還難）；Judas’

43、s kiss（背叛）。Chinese were once influenced by Buddhism, and that’s the reason that we h</p><p>　　When mention about holy land，different cultures associate different places. For Christians，they naturally associa

44、te Jerusalem. For Buddhist，they think of India. For Islam，Mecca is regarded as</p><p>　　their holy land.</p><p>　　4.1.3Habits and customs</p><p>　　Every culture has its specific fea

45、tures，which is reflected through language.</p><p>　　Chinese people from some regions are accustomed to sleep on a “炕”(a heatable bed). They eat ‘‘冰糖胡蘆’’ (candied haws on a stick) . Whereas westerners go to “

46、motel”，eat “hamburger”.</p><p>　　It is a traditional culture in China that before building a house or burying the dead, people will first survey the geographical features of a place so as to select an approp

47、riate place to avoid misfortune. This is “風(fēng)/)<” in Chinese culture. It is generally supposed that the location of a house or tomb has an influence on the fortune of a family. But in English speaking countries，the dead

48、 is buried in the graveyard in church without considering “風(fēng)水</p><p>　　China and other Asian countries have complex kinship terms. Because they advocate 合家歡樂， 子孑小滿堂.However, in western countries, people are

49、independent. After the children get married, they don’t even live with their parents, let alone other family members.</p><p>　　The views of different cultures toward animals are different. Western people fav

50、orite dog and regard dog as a family member or a friend. There is a proverb “Love me love my dog”(愛屋及烏). But to Chinese，it is incredible to regard dog as a family member. They despise dog and use “dog” to describe some b

51、ad person or thing. For example “狗急跳墻”，“狗眼看人低”，“雞鳴狗盜”。 Eating dog is common in China. But that’s unacceptable to westerners.</p><p>　　Owl is a sign of bad luck and death in Chinese culture. The mere sight of

52、 an owl or the sound of its hooting is terrible to Chinese. However，in western culture, owl stands for wisdom. There is proverb “As wise as an owl.”</p><p>　　Dragon stands for evil in western culture. In Bib

53、le, Satan is called “the great dragon” But to Chinese，dragon is good. Therefore，people translate the term ‘‘亞洲四小龍，’ to “Four Asian Tigers”，not “Four Asian Dragons”.</p><p>　　4.1.4 Value</p><p>　

54、　People from different cultures have different values. Sometimes，the differences cause misunderstandings. People should pay attention to the different values of different cultures.</p><p>　　First，I will talk

55、 about compliment. People in different cultures have different reactions to compliment. To westerners，it’s polite for a man to praise the beauty of a woman, and the woman will accept the compliment joyfully. A Chinese gi

56、rl may get irritated if a man expresses his appreciation of her beauty in public because she will think the man’s compliment as skittish behavior. Chinese politeness principle is to be modest，to show respect to others. W

57、hen praised， Chinese people usually deny th</p><p>　　Once, an American visited the home of a Chinese. As the visitor saw the host’s wife, he said: “Your wife is beautiful”. The host smiled and said: “Where，w

58、here”，which cause the American’s surprise, but still answered: “Eyes，nose，hair” Then the host was puzzled. The both sides’ misunderstandings in language were caused by different cultures. Each was expressing and understa

59、nding what the other said according to his own culture. "Where, where’’(l那里，I那里)in Chinese is a kind of humble saying. In fact</p><p>　　There is a dialogue also showing different views about compliment.

60、 An English teacher said: “Oh， what beautiful calligraphy!” The Chinese student answered: “No，no，not at all. You must be joking”. As a result, the conversation ended with the teacher’s puzzlement and embarrassment.</p

61、><p>　　Thinking patterns are different from culture to culture. In Chinese culture, “月有陰哨圓缺’’ is used to symbolize “悲歡離合” (sorrows and joys，partings and reunions) .So full moon always arouses happy emotions. Bu

62、t to French people, full moon is just like a “big，round and fat face”</p><p>　　Culture background determines a man’s native language. For example, if a Chinese infant is adopted by an American couple who liv

63、e in American, he or she will grow up speaking perfect English.</p><p>　　Language affects culture</p><p>　　Just as culture affects language，language also affects culture.</p><p>　　W

64、ithout language，there is no culture. And there is no human civilization. It is strongly believed that the way people view the world is determined wholly or partially by the structure of their native language.</p>

65、<p>　　Language can help spread culture</p><p>　　Language is the carrier of culture. It plays an important role in spreading culture.</p><p>　　England once was occupied by Roman, French. So，

66、English vocabulary was broadened by absorbing French and Latin. At the same time，Christianity was widely spread at that time.</p><p>　　When England became powerful，it built many colonies around the world. Pe

67、ople in colonies had to learn English. Meanwhile，English culture was spread. Spanish and Portuguese have the same situation.</p><p>　　China is becoming more and more powerful and playing an important role in

68、 the world. So, more and more foreigners learn Chinese. In order to spread Chinese culture，China government has sent many Chinese teachers abroad and built many “Confucius College” there.</p><p>　　Language c

69、an record culture</p><p>　　Language can record the development of a society. People can learn culture left behind by their ancestors through language，and leave their culture to descendants through language.

70、For example， if we want to know the Chinese culture 1000 years ago, we can research the records of that time. And if our descendants want to know about our culture，they can read books or other materials that record our c

71、ulture. Therefore through language, civilization passes over from generation to generation. The soci</p><p>　　In fact，we can know other cultures by reading books. We don’t need to go to go abroad to know abo

72、ut cultures of foreign countries. Language brings us convenience to learn different cultures. For example, American National Geographic magazine often introduces different cultures to readers. Perhaps，we never go to Afri

73、ca，but we can learn much information about African culture through reading the magazine.</p><p>　　Problems caused by separating culture and language</p><p>　　Many people understand language lite

74、rally. They don’t link the cultural background and language， which causes misunderstandings and even jokes.</p><p>　　When some Chinese people read 訪—夫人(First Lady, the title for the wife of the American pres

75、ident)，they might think the president has two or more wives just like emperors of ancient China had.</p><p>　　There are other terms easily understood by people. For example，“mad doctor” is a psychological do

76、ctor but not a doctor who is mad. “Dead president” is US dollars but not the president who is dead.</p><p>　　If people don’t link language with culture，they won’t understand language well.</p><p&g

77、t;　　Conclusion</p><p>　　Since we have made the relationship clear between culture and language，we know that learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation，grammar, words

78、and idioms. It also means learning culture. That’s to say learning the ways in which foreign language reflects the ideas，customs and behavior of the society. In this way we can contact with people of different cultures e

79、fficiently avoiding misunderstanding and can learn a foreign language well.</p><p>　　References</p><p>　　Krasch. Context and Culture in Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press，1993.</p>

80、<p>　　Geertz. The Interpretation of Culture. New York: Basic Books，1973.</p><p>　　常宗林《英漢語言文化學(xué)》，青島：屮國海洋大學(xué)出版社，2003。</p><p>　　胡壯麟《語言學(xué)教程》，北京：北京大學(xué)出版社，2001。</p><p>　　金惠康《跨文化交際翻譯》，北京

81、：中國對外翻譯出版公司，2002。</p><p>　　揚(yáng)達(dá)S《語言學(xué)名著選讀》，西安：西北工業(yè)大學(xué)出版社，2002。</p><p>　　張萊湘《英語語言學(xué)筆記精華》，北京：機(jī)械工業(yè)出版社，2005o</p><p><b>　　東拉西扯說“漢語”</b></p><p>　　這里提出的問題很復(fù)雜，三言兩語說不清，但問

82、題很重要，也有意思，值得議一議。先聲 明這不是寫論文，只能想到哪兒說到哪兒。</p><p>　　用來指語言的CHINESE是個(gè)涵蓋面極廣的名稱，所包容的計(jì)有：中文、漢語、華語、國 語、普通話、以及北方話、川、湘、粵、閩、吳、客家、贛等大方言所屬的-?切方言，但 凡用基本統(tǒng)一的書面漢文可以表達(dá)的語言類別，都可統(tǒng)稱CHINESE。</p><p>　　從外國人的角度，CHINESE的實(shí)際閃容

83、取決于其所處環(huán)境的特點(diǎn)。北美早期的屮國人多 為廣東人，難怪當(dāng)時(shí)（甚至現(xiàn)在）很多人認(rèn)為CHINESE就是CANTONESE （廣東話），把不 懂廣東話的人說成do not understand Chinese。在毛利求斯，CHINESE就是廣東客家話。 在馬來半島有些地區(qū)，CHINESE就是閩南話。其實(shí)所謂這話那話，一般也只是該話的某 種變體，未必是約定俗成的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)體。北美過去的“廣東話”，其實(shí)多是臺山話，不是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的 廣州話。只會說國語的北

84、方人在這類地方被說成是不懂CHINESE,不必生氣。誰都沒大 錯(cuò)，講清楚就行了。</p><p>　　CHINESE再不是中國專利，川CHINESE者未必是巾國公民。星加坡采用它作官語之一， 當(dāng)然不宜仍稱它為“中（國）文”或“漢語”，既然平族為其多民族中的一員，叫它華語最少政治 偏倚之嫌。海外其它地方許多華人已溶如當(dāng)?shù)厣鐣?，用“華語”他們最易接受。</p><p>　　在大陸，官方標(biāo)準(zhǔn)語過

85、去叫國語，是MANDARIN，當(dāng)然是百分百CHINESE。為什么五十 年代又改稱普通話呢？主要是考慮到中國的多民族。</p><p>　　除漢族外，用“國語”的還有許多其它兄弟民族，另外，還有很多有自己的民族語言文字 的民族，如藏、蒙、維吾爾等，都是屮M人。在這一環(huán)境里把MANDARIN叫國語，似不利 于民族團(tuán)結(jié)。干脆，作為天下人民共同的交際語言工具，叫個(gè)“普通話”，誰都能接受。</p><p

86、>　　臺灣不愿叫“普通話”，純出于政治原因。</p><p>　　在大陸少數(shù)民族地區(qū)，人們常說“你說不說漢族話？ ”“我嘛，漢族話說一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)兒，維族 話說囁?！痹谶@里，最容易體會為什么不把CHINESE說成“國語”的緣由。</p><p>　　中國人A□都很難說清楚的區(qū)別，怎能指望英語有簡單的幾個(gè)詞兒說明呢？難啊！</p><p>　　While "C

87、hinese” is just a generic term for both spoken and written Chinese wit h all its dialects，”putonghua，’’ and ”guoyu” should refer to ’’official spoken Chinese." ”Mandarin” is an unofficial term for ’’official spoken

88、Chinese” widel y used mainly among overseas Chinese. Its circulation should be discouraged as</p><p>　　it essentially means ’’Chinese as spoken by bureaucrats in Qing Dynasty.?，whic h，more or less，carries a

89、colonial flavor Chinese nationals should concienti</p><p>　　ously replace "Mandarin” with "official spoken Chinese” when they mean ’’putong huaM or ’’guoyu”.</p><p>　　（Since the post w

90、as in English，I assume English would be the more appropriate language for an answer.）</p><p>　　The following is from a linguistic point of view. （I am not 100% sure about th e Chinese version of the technica

91、l terms.） For more details, post questions to</p><p><b>　　sci.lang.</b></p><p>　　Note: In linguistics，there is no cut and dry rule as to what is a language an d what is a dialect. Th

92、e following is just the general convention within the f ield.</p><p>　　Chinese （hanyu，'漢i/V），also Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family （漢賊語系）.Mandarin （漢語，現(xiàn)代漢語，北方話？）（**shouldbe國語he<

93、;/p><p>　　re?） , Wu （滬語，上海話），Yue or Cantonese （粵語，廣州話），etc. are differen t languages （林dialects?） within the branch. On the other hand, Sichuanese，e. g.，（四川話）is considered a dialect of Mandarin. Mandarin can al

94、so mean the d ialect of Mandarin spoken around Beijing （北京話）。</p><p>　　When unspecified, Chinese usually means Mandarin. Huayu （華語）is the same as hanyu，but is used mostly by oversea Chinese in contrast with

95、the local non-Ch inese language. Putonghua （普通話）is an artificial language based on，and is very closed to the dialect of Mandarin spoken around Beijing. It is designed e xplicitly for the purpose of teaching everyone in C

96、hina to speak and write wit h the same dialect/language. Guoyu （國 l吾）sometimes means Mandarin，sometimes putonghua; depending on the context.</p><p>　　Chinese can also mean the Chinese script, the writing sys

97、tem based on Chinese characters or ideographs（漢字）.It is used by the Chinese （of course）, （and later by） Japanese，Koreans, etc.</p><p>　　Abstract: Degrees of listening to each other freely, common identity of

98、 native language, historical origination，customs and common writing system, the standard of language structure itself and social political factors are major standards we can depend on to distinguish language from dialect

99、，but what will determine our decision just rely on our temporary statues and different goals. The same speech system will has opposite status in the eyes of a tourist and a linguist.</p><p>　　Key words: lang