语言学教程ChapterSeven.pptVIP

Lecture NineChapter SevenLanguage, Culture, and Society 7.1 language and culture What is culture? Broadly speaking, it means the total way of life of a people, including the patterns of belief, customs, objects, institutions, techniques, and language. In a narrow sense, it refers to local or specific practice, beliefs or customs. 7.1.1 The relationship between L C There exists a close relationship between language and culture, generally, a relation of part to whole, for L is part of C. Language is an indispensible carrier of culture. The knowledge and beliefs that constitute a people’s culture are habitually encoded and transmitted in L. Culture finds a better representation through language use. Language and culture correlate with each other at different levels of linguistic structure. A historical survey of the study of the relation between L and C Anthropological study of linguistics: a study of language in a socio-cultural context. According to Malinowski (1884-1942), the meaning of a word greatly depends upon its occurrence in a given context, or rather, upon a real language situation in life. “In its primitive uses, language functions as a link in concerted human activity, a mode of action, and not an instrument of reflection.” The work of Malinowski paved the way for a cultural, rather, a contextual study of language use in Britain. Theory of the context of situation In order to set up a model for illustrating the close relation between language use and its co-ocurrent factors, J. R. Firth (1890-1960) developed this theory. (a) The relevant features of the participants, persons, and personalities. i. The verbal action of the participants. ii. The non-verbal action of the participants. (b) The relevant objects. (c) The effects of the verbal action Two points can be made to show the strong culture-oriented implication of this theory. Firth seemed to suggest the creativity and diversity of linguistic idiosyncrasy(特征，习性) in language use. On