LANGUAGE, CULTURE, & SOCIETY

5.1 What is Language? Language is a system of symbols for thinking and communicating. Language is a tool we have been using to understand and develop our thinking. We have been: Learning about the thinking of others by reading Expressing our own thinking through writing Exchanging ideas with others by speaking and listening Thought and language can contribute to clear, effective thinking and communication.

What is culture? Broadly speaking, culture means the total way of life of a people, including the patterns of beliefs, customs, objects, institutions, techniques, and language. In a narrow sense, culture refers to the local or specific practice, beliefs or customs.

Relation between language and culture Language expresses cultural reality Language embodies cultural identity: from a person’s use of certain vocabulary, we know where he is from Language symbolizes cultural reality: people are identified by their use of language; Language helps perpetuate the culture – it is through language that culture is passed down from generation to generation, from one place to another.

To sum up, we may say the relation of language to culture is that of part to whole, for language is part of culture. The knowledge and beliefs that constitute a people’s culture are habitually encoded and transmitted in language.

What is Society? The totality of social relationships among humans. A group of humans broadly distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture. The institutions and culture of a distinct self-perpetuating group

Relation between language and society Language is not always used to exchange information as is generally assumed, but rather it is sometimes used to fulfill important social function – to maintain social relationship between people. Users of the same language in a sense all speak differently. The kind of language each of them chooses to use is in part determined by his social background. When we speak we cannot avoid giving our listeners clues about our origin and our background. The social environment can also be reflected in languages, and can often have an effect on the structure of the vocabulary. For example, a society’s kinship system is generally reflected in its kinship vocabulary. As a social phenomenon language is closely related to the structure of the society in which it is used, and the evaluation of a linguistic form is entirely social.

Relationship Between Language, Culture and Society In the normal transfer of information through language, we use language to send vital social messages about who we are where we come from and who we associate with

Relationship Between Language, Culture and Society Sociology of language Focuses on the manner in which social and political forces influence language use. Sociolinguistics Focuses on how language and language use reflect the larger society

Sociolinguistics The study of relationship between language and society. Sociolinguistics has become an increasingly important and popular field of study with globalization. The relationship between language and society affects a wide range of encounters--from broadly based international relations to narrowly defined interpersonal relationships.