Wenying Jiang's Paper on Culture and Language
The relationship between culture and language Wenying Jiang
This paper discusses the inseparability of culture and language, presents three new metaphors relating to culture and language, and explores cultural content in specific language items through a survey of word associations. The survey was designed for native Chinese speakers (NCS) in Chinese, as well as for native English speakers (NES) in English (see Appendix). The words and expressions associated by NCS convey Chinese culture, and those associated by NES convey English culture. The intimate relationship between language and culture is strikingly illustrated by the survey, which confirms the view that language and culture cannot exist without each other.
Inseparability of culture and language
It is commonly accepted that language is a part of culture, and that it plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider that without language, culture would not be possible. Language simultaneously reflects culture, and is influenced and shaped by it. In the broadest sense, it is also the symbolic representation of a people, since it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds, as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking. Brown (1994: 165) describes the two as follows: ‘A language is a part of a culture and a culture is a part of a language; the two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture.’ In a word, culture and language are inseparable. Some people say that language is the mirror of culture, in the sense that people can see a culture through its language. Another metaphor used to symbolize language and culture is the iceberg. The visible part is the language, with a small part of culture; the greater part, lying hidden beneath the surface, is the invisible aspect of culture. This author’s understanding of language and culture is conveyed through the following three new
This paper discusses the inseparability of culture and language, presents three new metaphors relating to culture and language, and explores cultural content in specific language items through a survey of word associations. The survey was designed for native Chinese speakers (NCS) in Chinese, as well as for native English speakers (NES) in English (see Appendix). The words and expressions associated by NCS convey Chinese culture, and those associated by NES convey English culture. The intimate relationship between language and culture is strikingly illustrated by the survey, which confirms the view that language and culture cannot exist without each other.
Inseparability of culture and language
It is commonly accepted that language is a part of culture, and that it plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider that without language, culture would not be possible. Language simultaneously reflects culture, and is influenced and shaped by it. In the broadest sense, it is also the symbolic representation of a people, since it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds, as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking. Brown (1994: 165) describes the two as follows: ‘A language is a part of a culture and a culture is a part of a language; the two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture.’ In a word, culture and language are inseparable. Some people say that language is the mirror of culture, in the sense that people can see a culture through its language. Another metaphor used to symbolize language and culture is the iceberg. The visible part is the language, with a small part of culture; the greater part, lying hidden beneath the surface, is the invisible aspect of culture. This author’s understanding of language and culture is conveyed through the following three new