语言与文化

萨丕尔沃尔夫假设

语言与环境、语言与价值观、词汇的含义

课本重点章节

Language and Culture

"Verbal" means "consisting of words". Language, spoken or written, is a means of verbal communication. Therefore, verbal intercultural communication happens when people from different cultural backgrounds communicate with each other by using language.

Word differences are obvious in various languages. The relation between a word and its meaning is arbitrary. In Chinese, we live in a "fangzi". In English, we live in a house. In Soanish, we live in a casa. In Thai, we live in a ban. We name the same object differently. If we come across unfamiliar English words while reading, we may look them up in an English-Chinese dictionary for the Chinese meaning, for we presume that corresponding Chinese words can explain the English words. However, it is not always the case. The point is that words in themselves do not carry the meaning. The meaning comes out of the context.

What is the relation between language and culture? This has been described in the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which was developed by the American linguist and anthropologist

Benjamin L. Whorf and Edward Sapir. The hypothesis holds that the structure of a language affects the perceptions of reality of its speakers and thus influences their thought patterns and worldviews.

Later, the hypothesis was divided into the linguistic determinist interpretation and the linguistic relativity interpretation.

The view from the linguistic determinist interpretation is that language structure controls thoughts and cultural norms. Thus, the world is, to a large extent, predetermined by the language. And the difference between languages represents basic differences in the worldview of diverse cultures.

Linguistic relativity holds that culture is controlled by and controls language. Language provides the conceptual categories that influence how its speaker's perceptions are encoded and stored.

Some examples show that culture indeed influences the language. In Arabic, the camel plays significant roles in people's lives so there are more than 40 words for "camel".

Presumably, nothing is more important than rice to the Chinese, so we have expressions like "人是钢” and “铁饭碗”. Although Chinese has a single word for rice, it means various other things besides "ice" If we say "chifan" in Chinese, it means much more than "to eat rice".

1. Language as a Reflection of the Environment

Language reflects the environment in which we live. We label the things that are around us. For example, in the Amazon area snow is not a part of the environment; therefore, people in that region do not have a word for snow. It simply does not exist. In areas where it snows occasionally, people have a word for snow, but it may be one word without any differentiations. Most Americans, for example, use terms such as snow, powder snow, sleet, slush, blizzard, and ice. That's the extent of most people's snow vocabulary. People who live in an environment where it snows most months of the year may have a much more differentiated terminology for snow.

The environment influences the development of technology, products, and the appropriate vocabulary. For example, cultures in tropical climates will not develop heating systems and, as a result, will not have any of the accompanying vocabulary, just as people in cold climates have no need for air-conditioning and the related vocabulary.

2. Language as a Reflection of Values

In addition to the environment, language reflects cultural values. Edward T. Hall, for example, points out that the Navajo' do not have a word for late. Time does not play a role in Navajo life. There is a time to do everything, a natural time rather than the artificial clock time that industrial countries use. As a result, the Navajo do not have the differentiated vocabulary connected with time and clocks that the Americans have. Time and the passage of time are things one cannot control, therefore, one should not worry about wasting time and setting schedules

One of the problems in dealing with people from other cultures is that we translate concepts from a foreign language and culture with words that fit our expectations. For example, businessmen in the United States are typically frustrated with the mañana mentality of Spanish-speaking countries: "They said tomorrow, but they did not mean it." For the Americans, tomorrow means midnight to midnight, a very precise time period, To Mexicans, in contrast, mañana means in the future, soon. A Mexican businessman speaking with an American may use the word tomorrow but not be aware of or not intend the precise meaning of the word. This vague terminology is not precise enough for the American emphasis on efficiency, The difficulties over the word mañana are at least as much an American problem as a Mexican problem. Dictionaries do not help because they typically pretend that there are exact equivalents that have the same meanings. To communicate concepts effectively, cultural knowledge is as important as linguistic knowledge.

3. The Meaning of Words

Sometimes different cultures use identical words that have rather different meanings. The results can be humorous, annoying, or costly, depending on the circumstances. For example, an American university and its French partner discussed the possibilities of exchange for students, professors, and administrators. Both sides agreed that it would be a good idea. The French negotiator spoke very good English; the American spoke good French. In the discussion, they used both French and English. In both languages, they used the identical word- administration when they talked about exchanges between the administrations of the two institutions。 The surprise came later, For the American, "administration" in the university context meant the department chair or dean. For the French, "administration" meant upper-level clerical staff. What the American considered to be an administrator, the French considered faculty.

语言多样性

方言与社会方言

洋泾浜和通用语

禁忌语和委婉语

术语、行话

Dialects and Sociolects（课本105页）

When groups of people speak the same language system differently, they may be said to speak different dialects of the language. In other words, a dialect is a form of language peculiar to a group of people, as distinguished from the literary language of the whole people. Dialects refer to geographical differences and these differences can be national, regional or local. For example, national differences are those between American English and British English; regional differences are those between Northern English dialects and Southern English dialects; local differences are those between London and Manchester. Normally these linguistic differences cover pronunciation and intonation and so they are commonly referred to as variation in accent; however, if they also cover vocabulary and grammar they involve dialectal differentiation' Examples of different dialects can be seen all around the world. The Italian spoken in Rome sounds totally different from the Italian that is spoken in Sicily'. Parisian French and Canadian French also sound like two different languages. It is said that India has over 800 regional dialects. China is no exception. Each province in China has its own dialect.

Sociolects are also another form of linguistic variation. In fact, some people consider a sociolect as a social dialect referring to a particular social class. Indeed, one 's social background does influence one's choice of linguistic forms and one's language reveals one‘s identity. In this aspect, accent is an important marker of sociolects. For example, the so-called "Received Pronunciation*" in British English has become characteristic of upper-class speech in Britain in the 19th century. It served as a high-status marker and a qualification for high-prestige employment.

However, linguistic research has shown that sociolects refer not only to one's social condition but also to one's style according to the communicative situation. In general, there are two varieties: one is formal and the other is informal. For example, in a formal situation, one might say "How do you do, Mr. Mullins?" But, in an informal situation, one could say Hi, Jim" or "How're things going?"

More complex understanding of this issue was carried out by Martin Joos, a well-known American linguist, who identified five levels of social variation: frozen", formal, consultative, casual, and intimate. The five varieties correspond to five degrees or levels of formality. 

Some linguists consider that besides geographic dialects and social dialects, there are also ethnic dialects. An ethnic dialect is a distinct form of a language spoken by members of a specific ethnic group. A good example is Yiddish English, which is historically associated

with speakers of Eastern European Jewish ancestry. Another example that illustrates the ethnic dialect is Amish English which is spoken by Amish. The words "politics, porch, butter and job" in American English are "balledicks, bortsch, budder, chob" in Amish English.

2. Pidgin and Lingua Franca

A pidgin is a special language variety that mixes or blends languages for restricted purposes such as trading. The term is believed to have originated from the pronunciation of the English word "business" in Chinese Pidgin English. Pidgins arose from a mixture of several languages such as Chinese dialects and English, French, African dialects and Portuguese.

As a contact language between diverse language groups, pidgins have widespread use in West Africa. Cameroon used a pidgin drawn from English, German, French, and local words to facilitate communication among some 285 tribal languages.

Pidgin languages possess two characteristics. First, they have no native speakers. Second, the linguistic and grammatical structure of pidgin languages is always simple and based on one or two other languages.“Long time no se!”is an example of a pidgin expression coined by early Chinese immigrants in the United States.

Compared with a pidgin that has a relatively low status, a Lingua Franca is highly valued. A Lingua Franca is also used for communication purposes between different groups of people, each speaking a different language. However, it is viewed as an international means of communication and, therefore, holds prestige among different groups of people. For example, Latin was a Lingua Franca in the Middle Ages and French became a Lingua Franca in the 18th century. In fact, both Latin and French were used as either a means of instruction or the language of diplomacy.

Today English is considered a Lingua Franca because it has become the most widely used language spoken by non-native speakers. English is used as a second language and as a foreign language widely. It is often called a global language that sustains communication in this global village - the world.

3. Taboo and Euphemism

The word taboo" was borrowed from one of the many languages originally used in Polynesia with religious connotations. Now it refers to prohibition of a set of behaviours that should be avoided because they are offensive and impolite. Euphemism is its linguistic counterpart because it substitutes offensive and disturbing vocabulary. For example, to avoid calling people old which is rather offensive, one can say "senior citizen"; to avoid calling people "poor" which is also offensive, one can say deprived" or "underprivileged".

Taboos and euphemisms exist in all languages but what is taboo may vary from culture to culture. Indeed, because the use of words varies from culture to culture, the customs and perceptions of the society play an important role as to what is taboo or not. For example, the number 4 is taboo to the Chinese because it sounds like the word for "death". While words that have to do with bodily functions are considered taboo in the United States.

4. Jargon

Jargon refers to the special or technical vocabularies developed to meet the special needs of particular professions such as medicine and law. Medical professionals tend to communicate with other professionals using technical terms but address patients in lay terms.

Legal jargon is used everywhere. Note the complicated terminology on the back of the warranty or guarantee of any product.

A communication major may understand better than others the term "coding" feedback" and "noise".

And, unless we are pilots, we might not understand the real meaning of “‘touch- and-go".

Jargon may change over time. For example, in a gambling casino' "stiff " is now used to replace "Tom" to describe a poor tipper', and "live one" rather than "George" is used to describe a good tipper.

语言交际风格

直接/间接的、自夸/谦逊的、详细/精确/简洁的、个人/语境的、工具/情感的