1、Chapter 9Language and Culture,9.1.what is culture1.1 What is culture?Broadly speaking(广义）广义）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（狭义）（狭义）It refers to local or specific practice,beliefs or cus
2、toms.Culture Consists of:language,ideas,beliefs,customs,taboos,codes,institutions,tools,techniques,works of art,rituals,ceremonies,symbols Two types of culture:Material and spiritual 9.3.The relationship between language and culture dog,dragon,bat,owl,horse Number(7,13)1.Language expresses cultural
3、reality.2.Language symbolize cultural reality.3.Culture both emancipates and constrains the individual socially,historically and metaphorically.Discourse communities（话语社区）:the common ways in which members of the social group use similar language to meet their needs.The uniqueness of each group s lan
4、guage uses in grammatical,lexical and phonological aspects,the ways they talk and style with they talk,constitute different discourse accents(话语口音）4.Language plays a major role in socializing the people and in perpetuating of a culture,espically in print form,written form or in digital form.5.Cultur
5、e aslo affets a discourse communitys imagination,or common dreams which are mediated through the language and reflected in behavior and life.6.Culture is a wider system which completely includes language as a subsystem.The relation of language to culture is that of part to whole.1.2 The heritage con
6、cerning the study of language and culture Malinowskis study马林诺夫斯基的研究:the word wood on the Trobriand Islands off eastern New Guinea Speech community 言语社区 Firths study 弗斯的研究:Context of Situation情景语境情景语境 Hallidays study韩礼德的研究:The study of language from a socially semiotic or interactional perspective W
7、hat did linguists from the North American side do?The relationship between language and culture The American Indian culture The reconstruction of American Native languages Boas,Sapir,Whorf Field work,first-hand evidence The ethnography of communication 交际民俗学 1.3 The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis(萨丕尔沃尔夫假说)O
8、ur language helps mould our way of thinking and different languages may probably express our unique ways of understanding the world.Two points in his theory:1)Language may determine our thinking patterns;2)similarity between languages is relative,the greater their structural differentiation is,the m
9、ore diverse their conceptualization of the world will be.Linguistic determinism(语言决定论):语言决定思维 Linguistic relativity(语言相对论)：思维相对于语言，思维模式随着语言的不同而不同。The German ethnologist,Willaim von Humboldt 洪堡特 Eugene Nida 奈达:a linguist and translation theorist As translators,if we want to do a good job in CROSS-CUL
10、TURAL COMMUNICATION,we should always be aware of some types of sub-culture.Sapir：真实世界在很大程度上是建筑在社会集团的语言习惯之上，并且是无意识的，不同社会生活的世界是不同的世界，甚至相对比较简单的感知事实也在很大程度上受到不同社会模式的支配。Whorf：实际上，思维神秘莫测，而迄今为止我们对此所具有的最大理解是通过研究语言获得的。研究表明，人的思维是受到模式无情的法则控制的，这些模式就是人自己语言种种复杂的系统化，并且是人未感知到的。人的世界观是由语言控制的人的世界观是由语言控制的。一种语言有一种语言独特的系统
11、，因而思维也是独特的。1.4 More about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis The strong version(强式说):Emphasizes the decisive role of language as the shaper of our thinking patterns The weak version(弱式说):Suggest that there is a correlation between language,culture,and thought,the cross-cultural differences produced in our w
12、ays of thinking are relative,rather than categorical.A lively controversy about the hypothesis:Two examples to show the complexity and controversy of the theory:One is quoted from Hopi,an American native language spoken in Arizona;the other is taken from a language spoken in the central highlands of
13、 Irian Jaya(伊里安岛，太平洋).The first example serves to show how languages may differ from each other.The second example serves to challenge the hypothesis.He gave man speech,and speech created thought,Which is the measure of the universe Prometheus Unbound,Shelley In Hopi,there is something very special
14、about its grammar.One of the features that separate it from other languages is that it does not use the same means to express time,and hence is called as a“timeless language”(没有时间的语言).Do not recognize time as a linear dimension.Hopi verbs do not have tenses of time and no concept of speed.印欧语言：严式语言-
15、严式思维轨迹-构造分析-逻辑演绎-智性精神 汉语：宽式语言-宽式思维轨迹-整体领悟-类比联想-悟性精神 Two American scholars conducted a large cross-linguistic investigation of basic color vocabulary.The finding is that color word systems in different languages are not like what has been assumed by the Sapir and Whorf hypothesis,being culturally det
16、ermined and hence absolutely different from one another.Different languages might well undergo a universal evolutionary process of development which made the basic color system in one language different from that in another only in terms of the stages of their evolution.See the basic evolutionary st
17、ages of basic color words on Page 165.According to this evolutionary theory,English has all the eleven basic color words so it reaches the last stage of evolution.This theory correctly captures a kind of generalization in color words cross-culturally.This evolutionary theory finds a good example in
18、the second example of the Irian language,a language which has become well known for its very restricted system of basic color words.There are only two basic color words in this language:modla for light,bright,hence,white,and mili for dark,dull,hence,black.What will native Irian language speaker do i
19、f he/she wants to designate colors other than black and white?Or do white and black always mean white and black cross-linguistically?The investigation revealed that native speakers of this culture use this White versus Black contrast to convey more messages about their color perception.They use modl
20、a as a general color term to include all warm colors such as red and yellow and use mili as another umbrella color word to cover all the cold colors.Therefore,the contrast between modla and mili in fact is a contrast between“whitewarmness”versus“blackcoldness”.The color word system in the Irian lang
21、uage is still in its first stage of evolution and by means of using this whitewarmness and blackcoldness contrast and other types of color words derived from object names,animals,plants and so on,the speakers from this culture can successfully express any colors labelled by distinct color words in a
22、nother culture.语言具有普遍性的理论。认知科学强调人类认知的共性，这跟语言相对论恰好针锋相对。强调人类认知的基础是人的遗传天赋。常举的一个例子是颜色词的研究。从表面上看各种语言的颜色词各不相同，但Berlin和Kay的研究（1969）发现它们有共性。任何语言至少都有两个颜色词（白和黑），新几内亚高地语只有“白”和“黑”两个颜色词。英语有11个颜色词。有右边的颜色词，就必有其左边的颜色词。这就是语言的共性，并且认知语言学家认为这种共性是有生理基础的，那就是白色跟黑色具有最强的聚焦性，因为眼睛对这两种光频最敏感。杨永林，色彩语码研究杨永林，色彩语码研究-进化论与相对论进化论与相对论之
23、争，之争，外语教学与研究2000年第3期，第190-195页。1.萨皮尔-沃尔夫假说的基本内容是什么？你对其作何评价？2.试论语言与文化的相互影响 3.从中西文化比较看沃尔夫对霍皮语言和欧洲语言的比较 4、怎样看待中西文化对话中的民族文化立场 1.5 Case studies(个案研究)The interplay of language and culture may range from textual structure to phonological variation.Kaplan(1966):The structural organization of a text tends to
24、 be culturally specific.Nida(1998):Words are sometimes“idiomatically-governed”and“culturally-specific”.杨永林(1993)made several case studies through his personal exposure to the American culture.1)When you get your hands dirty,it does not necessarily mean in the American culture that youve done some ma
25、nual work and need to wash your hand.(practice something,be engaged in doing something)2)When you have enough dumbbells(哑铃),it does not necessarily mean that you keep pairs of this instrument for regular physical practices.(have lots of stupid guys)英汉习俗差异是多方面的，最典型的莫过于在对狗这种动物的态度上。狗在汉语中是一种卑微的动物。汉语中与狗有
26、关的习语大都含有贬意：“狐朋狗党”、“狗急跳墙”、“狼心狗肺”、“狗腿子”等，尽管近些年来养庞物狗的人数大大增加，狗的“地位”似乎有所改变，但狗的贬义形象却深深地留在汉语言文化中。而在西方英语国家，狗被认为是人类最忠诚的朋友。英语中有关狗的习语除了一部分因受其他语言的影响而含有贬义外，大部分都没有贬义。在英语习语中，常以狗的形象来比喻人的行为。如You are a lucky dog（你是一个幸运儿），Every dog has his day（凡人皆有得意日），Old dog will mot learn mew tricks（老人学不了新东西）等等。形容人“病得厉害”用sick as a
27、dog，“累极了”是dog-tired。与此相反，中国人十分喜爱猫，用“馋猫”比喻人贪嘴，常有亲呢的成份，而在西方文化中，“猫”被用来比喻“包藏祸心的女人”。龙在中国人民的心目中占有崇高的位置，有关龙的成语非常多，且含有褒义。如“龙跃凤鸣”、“龙骧虎步”等。在外国语言中，赞扬龙的词语非常之少，且含有贬义。如“dragon”指凶暴的人，严厉的人，凶恶严格的监护人，凶恶的老妇人（尤指很少给在其看管下姑娘自由的老妇人）等。以dragon组成的词组也多含贬义。如dragons teeth：相互争斗的根源；排列或多层的楔形反坦克混克混凝土障碍物。the old Dragon：魔鬼。Culture-loa
28、ded words 烫手的山芋vs.hot potato 雨后春笋vs.spring like mushroom 大鱼大肉、鱼肉百姓、酒肉朋友 meat and potatoes，Meat and drink to someone sweet smile(甜甜的笑容),sweet girl(甜美的女孩),sweet nothings(甜言蜜语)kill the goose that lays the golden eggs vs.“杀鸡取卵”Cold words vs.冷言冷语 Constant dropping wears the stone.滴水穿石 Diamond cut diamond
29、.棋逢对手 Kill a man when he is down.落井下石 1.6 Do we need culture in our linguistic study?Yes.A study of linguistic issues in a cultural setting can greatly promote our understanding of MOTIVATION and DIRECTIONALITY in language change.有助于对语言变化的动因和方向性进行理解。The Watergate example:The watergate:美国华盛顿特区一综合大厦，1
30、972年6月17日夜间共和党争取总统连任委员会有关人员潜入大厦内民主党全国委员会总部而被捕，暴露了共和党政府在总统竞选中的非法活动，导致美国历史上首次的总统辞职(尼克松)。水门事件式丑闻，丑闻 This suffix enjoys a rich productivity in American English.Words derived from this source inevitably take on a culturally pejorative implication to refer to“the disclosures of misconduct in highplaces”(被
31、揭发出来的高层丑闻).1.7 Culture in language teaching classroom The relationship between culture and language teaching Three objectives for us to teach culture in our language class:1)To get students familiar with cultural differences;2)To help students transcend their own culture and see things as the member
32、s of the target culture will;3)To emphasize the inseparability of understanding language and understanding culture through various classroom practices.2.Language and society 2.1 How does language relate to society?Linguistics as a MONISTIC or AUTONOMOUS PURSUIT of an independent science 一元性或自治性 Chom
33、skyan linguistics Linguistics as a DUALISTIC inquiry 二元性 Sociolinguistics The sub-field of linguistics that studies the relation between L and society,between the uses of L and the the social structures in which the users of language live.2.2 A situationally and socially variationist perspective An
34、appropriate language use in any social interaction not only has something to do with structural rules,but also involves some socially institutionalized norms in usage.The choice of one form over another is both stylistically and socially governed.A maxim in sociolinguistics:“You are what you say.”(尔
35、即尔所言)Some social factors that influence our language behaviour in a social context:1)class 2)gender 3)age 4)ethnic identity 5)education background 6)occupation 7)religious belief2.3 William Labovs study William Labov(拉波夫):a famous sociolinguist He conducted a survey at several departments in the Cit
36、y of New York in the middle of 1960s.The objective of his survey was to examine the relationship between speakers social status and their phonological VARIATIONS.The Social Stratification of English in New York City(1966)纽约英语的社会阶层性 Labov explicitly delineated the patterns of stratification by class
37、and style and successfully introduced class as an indispensable sociolinguistic variable.调查纽约市内不同阶层的人说英语时使用元音 后的r音的情况（保留还是脱落）。元音后r 音的保留被认为是社会中上层人士说话的标志。William Labov(born December 4,1927)is a professor in the linguistics department of the University of Pennsylvania.He is widely regarded as the found
38、er of the discipline of quantitative sociolinguistics and pursues research in sociolinguistics and dialectology.2.4 Gender differences in speech Differences between women and men have always been a topic of interest to the human species and supposed linguistic differences are often enshrined in prov
39、erbs:A womans tongue wags like a lambs tail.(England)Foxes are all tail and women are all tongue.(England-Cheshire)The North Sea will sooner be found wanting in water than a woman at a loss for a word.(Jutland)There exists a WOMEN REGISTER.Its features include:1)Women use more“fancy”color terms mauv
40、e,beige,aquamarine,lavender,magenta Imagine a man and a woman both looking at the same wall,painted a pinkish shade of purple.The woman may say:The wall is mauve.If the man should say the above sentence,one might well conclude he was imitating a woman sarcastically,or was a homosexual,or an interior
41、 decorator.2)Women use less powerful curse words 少用God damn it!Damn!Shit!Fuck you!常用Oh,dear!Goodness me!a.Oh dear,youve put the peanut butter in the refrigerator again.b.Shit,youve put the peanut butter in the refrigerator again.3)Women use more intensifiers terrible,awful,so good,such fun,exquisite
42、,lovely,divine,precious,adorable,darling,fantastic.In Chapter III in Jane Austens novel,Pride and Prejudice,Mrs Bennet,excited after participating in a party,talked to her husband about Mr.Bingley as follows:Oh!My dear Mr.Bennet,we have had a most excellent ball.Jane was so admired.Every body said h
43、ow well she looked.Mr.Bingley thought her quite beautiful,I was so vexed to see him stand up with her.I am quite delighted with him.He is so excessively handsome!Mr.Darcy is a most disagreeable,horrid man.So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him!He walked here,and he walked there,fanc
44、ying himself so very great!Not handsome enough to dance with.4)Women use more tag questions John is here,isnt it?5)Women use more statement questions Dinner will be ready at seven oclock?6)Womens linguistic behaviour is more indirect and more polite than mens These differences in language use are br
45、ought about by nothing less than womens place in society.LINGUISTIC SEXISM 语言性别歧视现象 许多职业名称如doctor,professor,engineer等，人们习惯于把它们跟男性联系在一起，若要指称女性，往往要加上woman一词，如woman doctor。还有一些名称含有男性的语素-man，如chairman,congressman,spokesman,salesman等，也用来指女性。Man 作为mankind的同义词指人类，男女性都包括在内。与之相呼应，英语的人称代词中，he(他)有时也可包括she(她)，例
46、如：A professor usually sees his students during office hours.What is linguistic sexism?According to Ruth King(1991:2-3),We can assume an act of linguistic discrimination against women has occurred if:1.there is a difference in the way men and women are treated;2.this differing treatment is less favou
47、rable to women;and 3.the basis for the difference is gender related.King,Ruth.1991.Talking Gender;A Guide to Nonsexist Communication.Toronto:Copp Clark Pitman Ltd.Types of linguistic sexism(from King 1991)1.male-as-norm(women invisible)Each candidate should include three copies of his rsum with the
48、application.2.irrelevant reference to gender That woman dentist is really excellent.3.irrelevant reference to physical appearance or domestic relationships Susan Dixon,a beautiful,green-eyed blonde,has just entered her first year of medical school.4.inappropriate forms of address Hey honey!Whats wro
49、ng?1.语言中的性别歧视现象语言中的性别歧视现象 刘在良 山东外语教学 1996年03期 2.英汉两种语言中的性别歧视现象英汉两种语言中的性别歧视现象 邓红霞 湖南大学学报(社会科学版)2001年第1期 【摘要摘要】从比较语言学、社会语言学和语义学的原则入手,从构词和造字、词的搭配、词的内涵意义、称谓、句法中性的标记和谚语等方面讨论性别歧视现象在英、汉两种语言中的表现。3.语言中的性别歧视及其社会文化内涵语言中的性别歧视及其社会文化内涵 谢元花 湖北师范学院学报(哲学社会科学版)2002年03期 【摘要摘要】本文首先分析语言中存在着大量的语言性别歧视现象:(1)忽视女性的存在;(2)把女性视
50、为男性的附属;(3)贬低女性。然后从社会分工、社会文化、社会心理三方面来分析造成语言中性别歧视现象背后的社会文化根源。最后说明要消除语言中的性别歧视现象,不能只靠人为地对语言本身进行改变,而主要应该靠根除社会上存在的性别歧视观念来完成。4.女性的言语特色与英语语言的性别特色女性的言语特色与英语语言的性别特色 刘燕 黑龙江教育学院学报 2002年01期 【摘要摘要】英语语言文化具有性别歧视的特点,这一特点在女性的交际言语和英语语言的词汇中表现得尤为突出。但随着社会的发展和妇女地位的提高,英语语言中的性别歧视现象会日趋减少,女性应当享有的平等权利也将会在语言中得以充分的体现。5.语言中的性别歧视语
