Kossinov K.I, Iskakova A.O.

L.N.Gumilyov Eurasian National University, the Republic of Kazakhstan

The affinity between language and culture

Abstract: The following article is aimed at providing information about the interaction between language and culture. Works of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, and Wardhaugh. R are analysed in the article. The importance of the relationship abovementioned is highly accentuated in a foreign language lesson.

Key words: language and culture,

According to Nigel Holden, who is the author of “Cross-cultural management”, “Language - unique to the human species yet so diverse in its structures, so variegated in its systems for encoding and articulating meaning, and reflecting a distinctive world-view - will inevitably prove to be a highly complex factor to handle…” Teachers of foreign languages are absolutely aware of the differences between world’s languages. Wardhaugh points out that sometimes people who use different languages share similar cultural characteristics and vice versa, people who have diverse cultures share the similarities which can be observed in language structure. Even though similarities in structures can be found in some kin languages, as well as cultural affinity, and, therefore, are seemed the same, languages are different. Why are we sure about the utterance we have just shared with you? It is due to the fact that language is an inherent component of a culture. Culture is transmitted and saved by means of language. When we acquire our own language we directly gain the previous generation’s cultural experience. Culture is characterised with the state of mind, attitudes to living, social norms, outlooks and mentality of a people. Language is supposed to be an instrument with the help of which we express these characteristics of culture; and culture, as we all are aware of, are diverse.

Do we dare to say that culture and language are closely intertwined more than people are accustomed to think? Our reply is: “Yes, we do!” According to Savignon S.J., language can be defined as a set of results of each person’s activities pertaining to various fields of his or her life: whether it pertains to industrial, social, individual or spiritual spheres of life. But it is noteworthy that people of each nation can possess different modes of expressing their thoughts in their mother language, language is also different among people whom this language is considered mother tongue. Notwithstanding that we can observe differences, language primarily remains an integrated part of any culture as a means of communication and reflects the culture. Each particular language depends on certain culture. Drawing on that, learning a foreign language means envisaging its culture.

The concept of culture can be viewed differently enough. According to Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede, the author of “Culture and Organisations”, culture is “the commonly held traditions, values and ways of behaving of a particular community”. Obviously, how we behave depends on our culture which reflects the values and traditions we have. E.B. Tylor, on the other hand, defines culture as follows: “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” [4]. We can conclude culture is our everything that embraces all aspects of human being’s life.

When language is the centrepiece of any discussion, we cannot forget to mention the father of linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure. He claims that language is a system of signs. As for sociolinguists, language is primarily a means of communication which is utilized by human beings. Sapir E. suggests: “Culture can be defined as what a certain community does and thinks. Language is what they think”. Thereby, language acts as a realized inner form of the expression of a culture, as a means of accumulation of the knowledge of a culture” [3]. But we are puzzled with the question: “What interaction can be found between these two?” It is viable to refer to Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, the greatest researchers on the issue. They are strong adherents of the idea that language and culture cannot exist without each other; it is not possible to comprehend and appreciate the language without knowledge of culture and conversely. Nonetheless, Ronald Wardhaugh, a sociolinguist and the author of “An introduction to Sociolinguistics”, writes that there appear to be three claims pertaining to the interaction of language and culture:

1. The structure of a language determines the way in which speakers of this language perceive the world or, as a weaker view, the structure does not determine the view of the world but it is still quite influential in predisposing speakers of a language toward adopting their world-view (outlook );

2. The culture of a people finds reflection in the language they utilize: because they have particular values and do them in a certain way, they come to use their language in those modes which can reflect what they value and what they do;

3. A ‘neutral claim’ which claims that there is little or no relationship between the two [5].

If we refer to Peterson and Coltrane, their positive attitude towards culture significance during foreign language learning is clearly seen. They deem that the knowledge of culture is a compulsory in foreign language learning [2].

Over the past few years the investigation of the interaction between language and culture has been increased among scholars and outstanding contemporary linguists. The list of the scholars also includes our Kazakhstani linguist, authors of multitude of scientific works and researchers, the rector of Kazakh Ablaikhan University of International Relations and World Languages, Salima Kunanbayeva. She is an adherent of cognitive-linguo-cultural approach in foreign language learning and emphasizes the affinity of aspects “language-thought-culture” [6].

Conclusion: Nieto writes in his work entitled “Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education” that “we identify ourselves by the language we speak, the culture we are living, our beliefs, although some things are similar but we have different approaches of doing things” [1]. Spanish linguist, journalist and literary critic Fernando Lázaro Carreter expressed the following: “a natural language is the archive where the experiences, knowledge and beliefs of a community are stored” (una lengua natural es el archivo adonde han ido a parar las experiencias, saberes y creencias de una comunidad). From this statement we can infer that language is storage of our culture and loses its significance and role without it.

References:

1. Nieto, S, Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (2nd ed.), 1996.

2. Peterson, E., & Coltrane, B. (1995). Culture in second language teaching. Eric Digest EDO-FL-03-09, Center for Applied Linguistics;

3. Sapir, Edward, Language: An introduction to the study of speech. New York: Harcourt, Brace and company, 1997;

4. Tylor, E.B, Primitive culture: researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, art, and custom, 2000;

5. Wardhaugh. R, An introduction to sociolinguistics (Fourth Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2002;

6. Кунанбаева С.С Теория и практика современного иноязычного образования, , Алматы, 2010.