Language and Culture: Connected but not the Same

The connexion between culture and language has been a topic of interest for many researchers, because it is obvious that a relationship exists, but to determine the degree one is influenced by the other is not an easy task. The first step in this regard may be to find a definition of each term. The Webster Dictionary defines Language as “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community”. On the other hand culture is defined by the same dictionary as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time” (2011). We can see that both language and culture have a common scope, that is community or a group of people. Furthermore, some communities differentiate from others by their language, as it is the case in AIIAS. A common language presupposes common cultural features. In this way we can agree with DeCapua and Wintergerst who argue that language influences the way people perceive the world, and also “each culture places its own individual imprint on a language” (2004, p.25). It is undeniable that culture and language have a intertwined relationship. That is why some cultures that place emphasis on honour and social categorization have a wider variety of words to express respect and politeness. And also there are languages that have many words to name different colors, or relationships within a family, when others have just the basic classification. These differences show the importance each culture give to a certain category (DeCapua and Wintergerst, 2004).

At the same time, the connexion between culture and language is not absolute, otherwise no translation, neither successful cross-cultural communication would be possible (Kumaravadilu, 2008). The fact that people can master a second language and still lack pragmatic skills also shows that even when culture and language are connected, they are not the same. Many linguistic and language teachers have already found that the language teaching does not presuppose culture teaching, but that the inclusion of both into the language classroom is essential for the success of the second language learning experience.

We can conclude that because language and culture share a single scope: a common group of people, they are closely but not inextricably connected; and the attempt to separate one from another may result in communication problems. For language teachers it is essential to intentionally include both aspects in their practices, because the more language and culture are connected in everyday language lessons, the more successful will be the communication experience of the students.

References

DeCapua, A. & Wintergerst, A. (2004). Crossing cultures in the language classroom. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan University.

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2008). Cultural globalization and language education. A study of interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes. New Haven, CT: Yale University.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2011). Culture. Retrieved December 27, 2011 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture?show=0&t =1324609715

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2011). Language. Retrieved December 27, 2011 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/language?show=0&t =1324609715

Otherization vs. New Set of Eyes

The influence of culture upon people’s worldview and attitudes is very strong, even when most of the time we are not aware of it. Just when we have the opportunity to travel to a different country we realize that there are other ways to do things and to understand certain situations. Sometimes when we are confronted to a culture very different from our own, we tend to see the people who are different as inferior or less capable than us. This phenomenon is called otherization. Kumaravadilu (2008) defines it as “a crudely reductive process that ascribes an imagined superior identity to the self and an imagined inferior identity to the other” (p. 16). Otherization is a natural reaction especially when we don’t know other cultures very well. It is like if we were trying to solve the conflict between what we believe is right and other people’s beliefs. But, if it is a natural reaction when we find something different, does it change over time? Does knowing more about other cultures reduce otherization? Or, does it just help us to have a proper social behavior but we still look at others as inferiors?

I think we can find an answer if we consider that otherization occurs even within the same culture, because there is no homogenous culture. Every culture has subcultures, and also “cultures are dynamic” (Decapua & Wintergerst, 2004, p. 12), which means that different generations of the same family may differ culturally. So when we meet new people, even if we have been born in the same country, the first reaction we have is probably influenced by prejudices. We usually look carefully and even analyse new people. But over the time, when we get to know them better, our feelings and attitudes towards them change. Sometimes we become very good friends and we laugh when we remember our first thoughts about them. In the same way, I believe that when we just go to a different country and are confronted to different morals and values, our first reaction is negative, but when we know the people better, our attitude change, and probably some of our customs change, also. Even when we keep our own values and manners, we do not see other’s way as wrong or inferior, just different, because our perspective has changed. As Decapua & Wintergerst (2004) described it, we will have two set of eyes, then, or maybe a new and different one. In this way, the more we travel, the wider will be our worldview. As language teachers, it is important to encourage an open attitude towards different cultures in our students, even if it is not possible for them to travel; we can still share our enthusiasm to know about other cultures trough different materials. And this positive attitude toward different cultures will be reflected on a positive attitude towards the second/foreign language.

References

DeCapua, A. & Wintergerst, A. (2004). Crossing cultures in the language classroom. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan University.

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2008). Cultural globalization and language education. A study of interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes. New Haven, CT: Yale University.

Teaching Pragmatic Competence and Compliments

Pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic competence can and should be taught in the English classroom to enable students to avoid communication failure and still let them choose what degree of politeness they want to express. There are many methods to develop L2 pragmatic competence in the classroom such as presentations, discussion, role playing, collecting data, and videos (Fernández Amaya, 2008; Grossi, 2009).

It is interesting to notice that pragmatic competence is not only important for L2 students, but also for NSs since globalization lead English speakers to interact with people from many different cultures. For example, if an Asian student makes a request in an indirect way, this may be misunderstood by a United States professor who is used to direct requests; or the open acceptance of a compliment may be understood as self-praise if the compliment is given by an Asian student to a German classmate, because the first one expected a downplaying compliment response, instead of an open acceptance. So, pragmatic competence is useful for everybody to successfully interact in this globalized world.

The complex nature of compliments and compliment responses make it one of the most difficult communication acts to master. Even though variables such as gender, age, relationship between speakers, and context play an important role in the characteristics of compliments and compliment responses; there are also common features that differ from one culture to another. The results of different studies on this issue have shown that compliments are more frequently used by United States speakers than Africans; but African speakers show more acceptance than those from the United States. Also, the topic of compliment was different between British and United States speakers. The first group use to compliment about ability, and the second about appearance. Chinese use more indirect compliments than United States speakers, and with people they know well, rather than with strangers, like the case of the second group. Japanese usually do not accept compliments to show politeness to the other speaker, but United States speakers usually respond with “thank you”(Grossi, 2009, p. 55). Knowing about these differences is crucial to have successful communication with people from different countries; therefore, English teachers play an important role in helping their students to master pragmatic competence.

References

Fernández Amaya, L. (2008). Teaching culture: Is it possible to avoid pragmatic failure? Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, 21, 11-24.

Grossi, V. (2009). Teaching pragmatic competence: Compliments and compliment responses in the ESL classroom. Prospect, 24(2), 53-62.