The relationships between language, thought and culture have been one of the myths of language for centuries. This paper will assess the power of language and the mutual influence between language and culture by observing cognition of different language speakers.
The aim of this essay is to find out the influence they have on each other, and to evaluate the relationship between language and culture. The mutual influence between language and culture will be the major focus of this essay. The main argument would be discussing whether language really influences culture or it just reflects culture.
One of the definitions for language was established by Harcourt (2005): “communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. Such a system includes its rules for combining its components, such as words. Such a system as used by a nation, people, or other distinct community; often contrasted with dialect” (p. 633)
Thinking is often understood as an intra-mental activity inside an individual mind. In the process of thinking, language is used as a tool with inner speech representing vocalized thinking. Language is therefore possible to be a variable influencing thought. The grammar, syntax, limitations and traits of a language may shape the thinking style of the language speakers.
Anthropology theories/concepts (200-250 words)
In this thesis, ethnolinguistics, the study of the relationships between language and culture, and how they mutually influence and inform each other (Haviland, 1999), will be the main focus. Two anthropological theories, linguistic relativity and historical particularism (historicism), will be discussed as the first is the main theory of this study and the second one will function as a backup.
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Linguistic relativity
The main theory, linguistic relativity, is the idea that distinctions encoded in one language are unique to that language (Haviland, 1999). Under the theory of linguistic relativity, users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammars toward different types of observations and different evaluations of externally similar acts of observation, and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the world (Whorf and Caroll, 1956). In other words, people speak in different languages would have different thinking styles and cognition of the world.
Furthermore, the schools of thought can be represented by two extremes, linguistic determinism and universalism. There are two forms of linguistic relativity according to their interpretation of the power of language, linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism, while universalism is an opposite idea to linguistic relativity. These concepts will lead to the main argument of this thesis.
Determinism is the strongest form of linguistic relativity. It suggests that language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently. Relativism is the modest form of linguistic relativity. Its idea is that, language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently (Wolff and Holmes, 2010). In contrast, universalism is an opposite concept. In the idea of universalism, cultures, or at least languages, vary in innumerable ways; but there are patterns of variation that reflect universal properties that we might call the nature of language (Croft, 2010).
Apart from linguistic relativity, the theory of historical particularism will be used as a backup theory in this thesis.
Historical particularism
Historical particularism is a school of anthropology prominent in the first part of the twentieth century that insisted on the collection of ethnographic data (through direct fieldwork) prior to making cross-cultural generalizations (Ferraro and Andreatta, 2011). It emphasizes that each culture is a unique result of its distinctive past, which makes cross-cultural generalizations questionable (Bailey, G. A. and Peoples, J., 2010).
Culture influences language
According to historical particularism, each culture has its own shape and is partially composed of traits diffused from other cultures since each society has their own past and they are a representation of that unique past. Since that culture and history are interrelated, and language is a tool to record and carry forward the history of a society.
There is an often-cited example of linguistic relativism, “Eskimo words for snow”. It is a claim saying that Eskimos have an unusually large number of words for snow in their language. In English, we add adjective, participles or preposition phrases to modify the word “snow”, like “falling snow”, “snow on the ground”, “snow packed hard like ice”, “slushy snow”, “wind-driven flying snow”, etc. However, the word “snow” is too inclusive to an Eskimo, they use different words for different kinds of snow instead.
From the “Eskimo words for snow” claim, it was discovered that some languages may rich in words and expressions describing a specific thing. And the vocabulary of a language can be a peephole for us to look into that culture.
The concept of “jade” in Chinese literature
In literary Chinese culture, “jade” has some metaphorical meanings. The concept of jade vastly appears in various contexts of Chinese poetry and idioms. Even among most of the common vehicles of Chinese metaphors, “jade” deserves special attention. The literary concept and image Chinese attached to the word “jade” (玉) reflect Chinese jade culture in their tradition.
The concept of jade has appeared in the content of various types of Chinese literature, such as poetry and idiom. In Chinese language, there are many idioms linked with “jade”. The use of jade in those idioms usually is to symbolize beautiful and fine things. The followings are some examples:
Idioms
象箸玉æ¯
香溫玉軟
æ¡ç‘œæ‡·çŽ‰
冰清玉潔
拋磚引玉
Implications of jade
luxury
beauty
talent
stainlessness
valuable contributions
Additionally, there are hundreds jade-related characters take jade (玉) radical, despite “jade” (玉) itself. Most of those characters have descriptive meanings of some specific kind of jade¼ˆç‘¾¼Œç‘œ¼Œç¦¼Œetc.¼‰, knocking sound of, the color of or even the stains on a jade¼ˆç‘½¼Œç’€¼Œç‘• respectively¼‰.
Jade-related characters
瑜
ç
瑤
玦
玲
ç‘ž
meanings
fine jade
joint jade
precious jade
panannular jade ring
tinkling of pieces of jade
jade used as tally
From the above examples of the literary use of “jade”, we can notice that the concept of “jade” is attached with numerours “good features” and enjoys a high position (as Chinese people created a lot of jade-related characters) in Chinese culture.
It is said in the Book of Rites, one of the Chinese Five Classics of the Confucian canon, that “since ancient time, all gentlemen wear pendants of jade-stones,” and that they should “never be without them unless there is sufficient reason” (禮記·çŽ‰è-»). Jade has played a very important role in traditional Chinese culture. (Yang, 2011)
The above example about literary concept of “jade” in Chinese literature shows culture’s influence on language. It evidences that language is a reflection of culture.
Japanese terms for rain
Similar with the “Eskimo words for snow” claim, there is another word myth in Japanese. There are unusually many different terms which can be used to express different types of rain in Japanese. These terms categorize the rain into different types, by intensity, season, duration and even characteristics.
Here are some expressions of rain or related to rain in Japanese.
Types of rain in Japanese
Pronunciation in Japanese
Meanings
白雨
hakuu
rain shower
俄雨
niwakaame
rain shower
弱雨
jakuu
weak rain
å°é™ã‚Š
koburi
light rain
å°ç³ 雨
konukaame
fine rain
煙雨
enu
misty rain
雨氷
uhyou
freezing rain
晴後雨
harenochiame
clear then rain
氷雨
hisame
very cold rain or hail
夜雨
yau
night rain
梅雨å‰ç·š
baiuzensen
seasonal rain
春éœ-
shun rin
spring rain
緑雨
ryokuu
early-summer rain
å雨
juuu
refreshing rain once in ten days
æµé›¨
keiu
welcome rain
天泣
tenkyuu
rain from a cloudless sky
晴一時å°é›¨
hareichijikosame
brief light rain
éœ-
nagame
long rain
éœ-雨
rinu
long rain
é™°éœ-
inrin
long rain
夕立
yuudachi
sudden evening rain
The above expressions for rain in Japanese reflect the rain culture in Japan. Japanese society and culture are affected by the climate there. Frequent rain is a prominent feature of Japan’s climate. Japan has a high precipitation. The average rainfall in Tokyo is around 1,800 mm, nearly double the global average of 1,000 mm. The intensity of rain is also strong and varies from season to season. It rains a great deal in Japan, therefore the society, culture and even language of Japan are affected by rain.
According to the theory of linguistic relativity, phenomena and things that play important roles in a given society and culture are often subdivided into various types and described using a wide variety of specialized terms.
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By the examples of “jade” in Chinese literature and “rain” in Japanese language, the idea that culture influences language is evidenced. Considering culture to be a product of human thought, we can deduce that language is influenced by human thought, but not unilaterally influencing culture (linguistic determinism). The theory of linguistic relativism is basically proved, but how about “language influences culture”? Does language only reflect culture? In the following paragraphs, the idea that language influences culture will be discussed to find out whether language and culture really have mutual influence on each other (linguistic relativism) or language does not do much in culture.
Language influences culture
The idea that the way we view and feel the world is, to a certain extent, dependent on the language we use. Each language contains a peculiar and unique world view, which causes speakers of that language to see and think in a characteristic way, different from the speakers of other languages. This has become known as the principle of language relativity.
In this part, different cognitions of different language speakers will be shown as examples of language’s influence on culture (language shapes thought)
Perception of eye-witness memory and blame
There is a study conducted by Caitlin Fausey at Stanford. In that study, Fausey found that eye-witness memory differ depending on the language one speaks. The way that a person records events is depending on the language who speaks. The grammatical structure of a language affects our thinking pattern and even our eye-witness memory. In that paper, a cross-linguistic difference in how English and Spanish speakers describe the same events is identified, a corresponding cross-linguistic difference in eye-witness memory is also found.
For speakers of an agentive language like English, if they see someone accidentally brush against a flower vase and the vase ends up in pieces on the floor, they can easily remember who broke it. When asked about what happened, they might say, “Someone (the agent) broke the vase.” They can easily notice the agent of an action. In agentive languages, descriptions like this are typical and appropriate for clearly accidental events. By contrast, non-agentive language speakers’ description of the same event/action often sounds evasive. Even if they see the same event, when asked about what happened, they might not remember who did it, and just answer “The vase is broken”
Furthermore, the influence of language is not only on eye-witness memory, but even on blame. A canonical non-agentive description (e.g., the vase is broken) is intransitive and does not place the person as the subject for the change-of-state event. People are sensitive to this distinction between agentive and non-agentive frames. Linguistic framing influences one’s judgment about blame and punishment. In financial liability, agentive descriptions will lead to 30%-50% more in requested financial damages than non-agentive descriptions do. Judgments and blame can be affected by linguistic frame.
Tetraphobia in Southeast Asian countries.
Tetraphobia refers to the fear of four. It is a common superstition throughout Southeast Asian countries, for examples, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. The fear of the number 4 is simply come from its pronunciation in Southeast Asian language. In Mandarin, its pronunciation of 4 is very close to that of the word for death, as both of them are pronounced as shi. And in Japanese and Korean, the two words are even perfectly homophonous.
The superstition of tetraphobia has permeated all aspects of society in these countries, from architecture to communication norms. Here are some examples of tetraphobia’s impact:
Many building in Hong Kong are typically built without 4-related floors, including offices, hospitals, hotels, apartments and skyscrapers. One famous example is the Vision City in Hong Kong, which is missing floors 40 through 49
The Chinese avoid phone numbers and addresses with fours, especially when they’re combined with another number that changes the meaning. Example: “94” could be interpreted as being dead for a long time.
The number four was banned from license plates and can only be used once in ID numbers in Taiwan.
The official sound of 4 in Japanese language is shi, but Japanese people usually use the alternate pronunciation, yon, that far away from its official sound, when talking about phone numbers and dates.
The names of military aircraft and vehicles in China often start with the number 5. And South Korean and Taiwanese navies also avoid 4 when naming their ships.
“Table 4” is often eliminated at engagements, weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. People in society in this culture always avoid using 4 in verbal speech during holidays and when a loved one is sick or dying.
From the above examples, the theory of linguistic relativism is further evidenced. The power of language is significant for sure. The language a person uses can shape whose thought. The thought of a group people forms culture. The language of a place is reflective to the culture of that place, at the same time, language promotes the culture of there.
Conclusion (400-500 words)
Form this study, it is clear that linguistic relativism is an evidenced theory. The relationships between language and culture are bilateral.
Language is created to fulfill human’s need. Therefore different society created there languages in different ways. The traits of a language are shaped by the culture of a society that created the language. The communication styles, vocabulary, grammar of a language, are all able to reflect a unique culture of a place. Language can be the epitome of a culture, and even a society.
Language is a tool to express human thought and spread culture. The traits and limitations of a language affects the thinking style and cognitions of its speakers. When time goes by, it can shape the culture of a single place.
Language shapes human thought and brings culture to society while it is also attached with culture’s influence.
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