语言与文化

语言学期末论文

Title:

学

学

The

Interrelation

between

Language

and

Culture

in Language Use

院

:

外国语学院

班

级

:

英语

号

:

学生姓名

:

Chapter 1

Introduction

Language,

a

part

of

culture,

is

tightly

intertwined

with

culture.

The

differences

of

language

significantly

reflect

the

nature

of

cultural

differences.

As

a

result

of

the

shrinkage of the globe, different languages and cultures contact and impact each other.

Ana

lysing

the

interrelation

between

language

and

culture

would

contribute

to

intercultural

communication.

This

essay

will

first

generally

demonstrate

the

relationship

between

language

and

culture,

and

then

the

author

will

analyze

the

Sapir-Whorf

Hypothesis,

lastly,

several

linguistic

evidences

of

cultural

differences

will be offered.

Chapter 2

Language and Culture

2.1 The Relationship between Language and Culture

The

relationship

between

language

and

culture

is

complex

and

complicated.

It

is

widely

acknowledged

that

language

is

the

basic

tool

which

people

apply

to

communicate

with

the

others

and

conduct

their

social

lives.

However,

language,

in

most cases, cannot make sense in the absence of culture which refers to the entire way

of

life

of

a

society.

First

and

foremost,

the

words

people

utter

are

from

common

experience. That is, people talk about facts, ideas and events among those with similar

world knowledge. What

’

s more, language is a system of signs with their own cultural

substances

and

values.

Consequently,

language

embodies

cultural

reality

(Kramsch

2000) . To sum up, language and culture are interdependent and inseparable.

2.2 Analysis of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

According

to

Sapir-Whorf

hypothesis,

due

to

the

fact

that

the

structure

of

the

language people habitually use influences the ways they think

and behave (

戴炜栋

,

何兆熊

2010) , no two cultures having different languages can have identical views

of the world. Take the word

dragon

for example. In the western countries, dragon, to

some degree, is similar to snake, which is brutal and cruel. While in

China, dragon

represents the spirit of Chinese nation. Chinese believe that they are the descendants

of

dragon

and

consequently

they

worship

it

a

lot.

This

example

shows

that

people

speaking different languages hold different ideas about a same thing. It is proved that

an

American-born

Chinese

who

speak

English

are

likely

to

think

in

a

English-way

(more active and innovative) which is different from traditional Chinese speakers.

2.3 Illustration of the Cultural Differences in Language Use

Different languages have resulted in a series of cultural differences. The author will

illustrate them from the following three aspects:

2.3.1 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation

If you ask a foreign friend

“

Have you eaten (

吃了吗

)?

”

, he maybe feel rather weird.

It seems to him that you are inviting him to have a meal with you, but, actually, you

have no such intention. To Chinese, however, it is nothing but an ordinary way for us

to

greet

acquaintances.

Similarly,

if

an

English

greet

you

with

“

Today

is

a

little

bit

cold,

isn

’

t

it?

”

You

might

think

there

is

something

wrong

with

that

guy.

Another

example,

a

Chinese

speaker

may

say

“

Nihao

(

你好

)

”

or

“

Ninhao

(

您好

)

”

whether

they

meet

for

the

first

time

or

not,

which

is

also

different

from

English-speaking

people who say

“

How do you do

”

instead of

“

How are you

”

to the people they meet

for the first time. These typical examples show that greetings from two languages, to

some extent, are different.

In addition,

there are some interesting different

ways to

express

farewell

.

In China,

out of politeness, the guest will say to the host

“

Please stay here (

请留步

)

”< /p>

, and the

last

sentence

of

the

guest

is

usually

“

Walk

slowly

(

慢走

)

”

.

When

these

words

are

translated literally, the English speakers are prone to misunderstand them. Fortunately,