语言学教程ChapterSev 35页

LectureNineChapterSevenLanguage,Culture,andSociety\nIthaslongbeenrecognizedthatlanguageisanessentialandimportantpartofagivencultureandthattheimpactofcultureuponagivenlanguageissomethingintrinsicandindispensible.Thischapterisamultidisciplinaryattemptingtoprovideadifferentperspectivetothestudyoflanguagescienceintermsofsomenewtendenciesanddevelopmentsinthefieldofsociolinguistics.Wepayourattentionto:languageandculture,Languageandsociety,andlanguageandcross-culturalcommunication.2\n7.1languageandcultureWhatisculture?Broadlyspeaking,itmeansthetotalwayoflifeofapeople,includingthepatternsofbelief,customs,objects,institutions,techniques,andlanguage.Inanarrowsense,itreferstolocalorspecificpractice,beliefsorcustoms.7.1.1TherelationshipbetweenL&CThereexistsacloserelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture,generally,arelationofparttowhole,forLispartofC.Languageisanindispensiblecarrierofculture.Theknowledgeandbeliefsthatconstituteapeople’sculturearehabituallyencodedandtransmittedinL.Culturefindsabetterrepresentationthroughlanguageuse.Languageandculturecorrelatewitheachotheratdifferentlevelsoflinguisticstructure.3\nAhistoricalsurveyofthestudyoftherelationbetweenLandCAnthropologicalstudyoflinguistics:astudyoflanguageinasocio-culturalcontext.AccordingtoMalinowski(1884-1942),themeaningofawordgreatlydependsuponitsoccurrenceinagivencontext,orrather,uponareallanguagesituationinlife.“Initsprimitiveuses,languagefunctionsasalinkinconcertedhumanactivity,amodeofaction,andnotaninstrumentofreflection.”TheworkofMalinowskipavedthewayforacultural,rather,acontextualstudyoflanguageuseinBritain.TheoryofthecontextofsituationInordertosetupamodelforillustratingthecloserelationbetweenlanguageuseanditsco-ocurrentfactors,J.R.Firth(1890-1960)developedthistheory.4\n(a)Therelevantfeaturesoftheparticipants,persons,andpersonalities.i.Theverbalactionoftheparticipants.ii.Thenon-verbalactionoftheparticipants.(b)Therelevantobjects.(c)TheeffectsoftheverbalactionTwopointscanbemadetoshowthestrongculture-orientedimplicationofthistheory.Firthseemedtosuggestthecreativityanddiversityoflinguisticidiosyncrasy(特征，习性)inlanguageuse.Ontheotherhand,whatFirthemphasizedinthistheoryisquitesimilartoamoreupdatingsociologicalaxiom(公理)inlanguageuse,namely,“whospeaks(orwrites)whatlanguage(orwhatlanguagevariety)towhomandwhenandtowhatend”.5\nEthnography(人种论)ofcommunicationanauthoritativeresearchframeworkofourtimeinalinguisticstudyofsocialandculturalfactors.DellHymes(1927-)Theessentialelementssuggestedbytheframeworkinclude:Speechcommunity,Situation,event,andact.Mnemonic(帮助记忆的)SPEAKINGcomponents:situation(场景),participants(参与者),ends(目的),actsequence(相关形式与内容,行为秩序),key(语气),instrumentalities(语式),norms(准则),andgenres(体裁)6\nSapir-WhorfHypothesisaninfluentialbutalsocontroversialtheoryaboutthestudyoftherelation-shipsbetweenlanguageandculture,auniqueunderstandingoflinguisticrelativity.ItsuggeststhatOurlanguagehelpsmouldourwayofthinkingand,consequently,differentlanguagesmayprobablyexpressspeakers’uniquewaysofunderstandingtheworld.Followingthetheory,twoimportantpointscanbecaptured:a.Linguisticdeterminism:Lmaydetermineourthinkingpatterns.b.Linguisticrelativity:similaritybetweenlanguagesisrelative.Fortwodifferentspeechcommunities,thegreatertheirstructuraldifferentiationis,themorediversetheirconceptualizationoftheworldwillbe.7\nAccordingtoEugeneNida,todoagoodjobincross-culturalcommunication,weshouldbeawareofthefollowingfivetypesofsub-culture:Ecologicalculture;Linguisticculture;Religiousculture;Materialculture;Socialculture.7.1.2MoreabouttheSapir-WorfHypothesisWhatthishypothesisprimarilysuggestsisthatourlanguagewillmouldourviewoftheworld.Fewpeoplewouldpossiblyacceptthisoriginaltheorycompletelynow.TwoversionsofSapir-WorfHypothesis:Thestrongversion—theclaimthattheoriginalhypothesismakes,emphasizingthedecisiveroleoflanguageastheshaperofourthinkingpatterns.8\nTheweakversion—amodifiedtypeoftheoriginalone,suggestingthatthereisacorrelationbetweenlanguage,culture,andthought,butthecross-culturaldifferencesthusproducedinourwaysofthinkingarerelative,ratherthancategorical.Ifwegoovertheliteratureconcerningthehypothesis,we’llsoondiscoverthatithasarousedalivelycontroversy.Someresearchersclaimtohavefoundreliableevidencetojustifyitsvalidity,whileothersarguethatenoughcounterevidencehasbeenobtainedtojeopardizeitsfeasibility.Twoexamplestoshowthecomplexityandcontroversyofthetheory.9\n(a)Hopi,anAmericannativelanguagespokeninArizona,doesnotrecognizetimeasalineardimension,anditsverbsdonothavetensescomparabletothoseofEuropeanlanguage.itservesasagoodexampletoshowlanguagemaydifferfromeachother.(b)DugumDani,apapuanlanguagespokeninthecentralhighlandsofIrianJava,hastwobasiccolorwords:modlaforwhite,miliforblack.ThestudyofthecolorwordsysteminDanilanguageshowsthatcolorwordsystemsindifferentlanguagesarenotlikewhathasbeenassumedbySapirandWolfhypothesis,beingculturallydeterminedandhenceabsolutelydifferentfromoneanother:differentlanguagesmightwellundergoauniversalevolutionaryprocessofdevelopment,whichmadethebasiccolorsysteminonelanguagedifferentfromthatinanotheronlyintermsofthestagesoftheirevolution.10\n7.1.3CasestudiesAconstellationofexamplescanbecollectedfromdifferentlevelsoflanguageanalysistoillustratetheinterplayoflanguageandculture.Kaplanclaimsthatthestructuralorganizationofatexttendstobeculturallyspecific.Phonologicaldifferencesordialectalaccentsrevealmorethangeographicaloriginsofspeakers.Across-culturalstudyofthemeaningofsomeidiomsormetaphoricalusesinagivensocialcontext,however,willdefinitelyprovideanoptimalopportunitytoexaminetheissue.“getyourhandsdirty”:engageindoingsomething“dumbbell”:stupidguy11\nTheEskimoshavecountlesswordsforsnow.TheArabs,forcamels.Linguisticevidenceofculturaldifferencestermsofaddress,Greetingsthanksandcompliments,privacyandtaboos,andcolorwords.7.1.4towhatextentdoweneedcultureinourlinguisticstudy?Astudyoflinguisticissuesinaculturalsettingcangreatlypromoteourunderstandingofmotivationanddirectionalityinlanguagechangeandwewillhaveanopportunitytoshowhowtodolinguisticsinaculturalcontext.12\nAbunchofderivedwordshasbeenrushingintotheEnglishlanguageafterthedisclosureofthenotoriouspoliticalscandaldubbedthewatergateevent:“Billygate”,“Debategate”,“Cattlegate”…Asociolinguisticstudyofthecombiningform–gateanditsderivationsconcludesthatthissuffixenjoysarichproductivityinAmericanEnglishandwordsderivedfromthissourceinevitablytakeonaculturallypejorativeimplicationtoreferto“thedisclosureofmisconductinhighplaces.”andavarietyofderivationalprocessescanbeexplainedinthestudyoftheproductivityofthiscompoundingform.Wecandrawsometentativeconclusions:13\na.“Watergate”,asawordtakingonapejorativeimplicationtoreferto“thedisclosuresofmisconductinhighplaces”,hence,asynonymtoscandalsofdifferenttypes,willstayinEnglishforquitealongtime.b.Itsstructuralstatusinthelanguagebecomesratherstable.c.Thesemanticimplicationithaswillstaywiththewordforquitealongtime.7.1.5CultureinLanguageTeachingClassroomToknowanothercultureisaratherdifficultjob.Toactorbehaveappropriatelyinatargetcultureisamoredemandingtask.Therearemainlyatleastthreeobjectivesforustoteachcultureinourclassroom:14\nTogetthestudentsfamiliarwithculturaldifferences;Tohelpthestudentstranscendtheirowncultureandseethingsasthemembersofthetargetculture;Toemphasizetheinseparabilityofunderstandinglanguageandunderstandingculturethroughvariousclassroompractices.Agoodunderstandingofstructuralthingsinsomecaseshasmuchtodowithaconsciousunderstandingoftheculturalbackgroundofthetargetlanguageforlanguagelearners.7.2LanguageandSociety7.2.1HowDoesLanguageRelatetoSociety?Discreteevidencehasbeengatheredfromgreatphilosophersandgrammarians’workstoshowtherelationbetweenlanguageandsociety.15\nAseparationofthestructuralstudyoflanguagefromitssocialcontextofusagewasclaimed,justified,andreinforced.Theresurrectionofadualisticviewoflinguisticinquirycameintobeinginthe1960s,alongwiththedevelopmentofsociolinguistics,asanoppositiontoChomskyan.Metaphorically,languageisregardedasamirrorofsociety,throughwhichwecanunderstandsocialactivitiesofacertainsocietybetter.Functionally,societyprovideslanguagesuitablecontextofuse,inwhichwecanenjoyaspectsoflanguagevividlyandtruthfully.7.2.2ASituationalandSocialVariationistPerspectiveAnappropriateuseofalanguageinanysocialinteractionnotonlyinvolvesitsstructuralrules,butalsoinvolvessomesociallyinstitutionalizednormsinusage.16\nThechoiceofoneformoveranotherisbothstylisticallyandsociallygoverned.Therehasbeenamaximinsociolinguisticsclaimingthat“Youarewhatyousay”.Inasocialcontext,ourlanguagebehaviorsareinfluencedbysomesocialfactors,somemajoronesinclude:Class,gender,age,ethnicidentity,educationbackground,occupation,andreligiousbelief.Abouttherelationbetweenspeaker’ssocialstatusandtheirphonologicalvariations,inthe1960s,WilliamLabovconcludedthatclassandstylearetwomajorfactorsinfluencingthespeaker’schoiceofonephonologicalvariantoveranother.17\nScholarshavealsocarriedouttheinvestigationofgendereffectsuponone’slinguisticbehavior.ItisbelievedthatthereexistsaWOMENREGISTERinthelanguagethattakesonthefollowingfeatures.1.womenusemore“fancy”colortermssuchasmauve(淡紫色)andbeige（米黄色）.2.Womenuselesspowerfulcursewords.3.Womenusemoreintensifiersuchas“terrible”and“awful”.4.Womenusemoretagquestions.5.Womenusemorestatementquestionslike“Dinerwillbereadyatseveno’clock?”6.Women’slinguisticbehaviorismoreindirectandhencemorepolitethanmen’s.18\nThesefeaturesofwomen’sspeechreflectwomen’ssocialplace.Womenregisterisalsousedbypowerlessmembersinsociety.Morecogently(令人信服地),thelinguisticdifferencesbetweenmenandwomenareculturallyandsociallygoverned.Itisthesocietythatmakesmenandwomenbehaveindifferentlinguisticways.Usersofthesamelanguageinasenseallspeakdifferently.Whateachofthemchoosestouseisinpartdeterminedbyone’ssocialbackground.Whenwespeakwecannotavoidgivingourlistenerscluesaboutouroriginandourbackground.19\nThesocialenvironmentcanalsobereflectedinlanguage,andcanoftenhaveaneffectonthestructureandthevocabulary.Forexample,asociety’skinshipsystemisgenerallyreflectedinitskinshipvocabulary.20\n7.2.3WhatShouldWeKnowMoreaboutSociolinguistics?Sociolinguisticsreferstoanystudyoflanguageinrelationtosociety.Commonly,fromthe1960s,ofstudiesofvariationinlanguagebyLabovandhisfollowers.Inthatsense,sociolinguisticsmightbedefinedasthestudyofcorrelationsbetweenlinguisticvariablesandno-linguisticvariablessuchasthesocialclassofspeakers,theirage,sex,etc.Increasingly,fromtheendof1970s,ofarangeoflooselyconnectedinvestigations,includingconversationanalysisasconductedespeciallybysociologists,thestudyofrelationsingeneralbetweenlanguageandideologyorlanguageandpower,linguisticaspectsofsocialpsychology.21\nWeshouldfocusontwoimportantthings:structuralthingsandtheirusesinasocio-culturalcontext.Wemainlydealwithtwothings:howtheabovetwofactorsarerelatedtoeachotherandwhyitshouldbeso.Itisinterdisciplinaryandthepluralismanddiversitymakeitdifficulttodelineatethescopeofthisfield.Overlappingwithothertypesofscientificresearchisanotherstrikingproperty.Wecaneitherclassifysociolinguisticsstudiesbymeansofahierarchicaldivision,orbymeansofanorientationalcategorization.Itcanbespecifiedastworelatedbutdifferentperspectivesofobservation:SOCIOLINGUISTICSTUDYOFSOCIETYandSOCIOLINGUISTICSTUDYOFLANGUAGE.22\nThedifferencesbetweenthetwoapproachesarethatIfwewanttoknowmoreaboutagivensocietyorcommunitybyexaminingthelinguisticbehaviorofitsmembers,wearedoingasociolinguisticstudyofsocietyatamacrolevelofinvestigation.Thesubjectstostudyincludebilingualism,languageattitudes,languagechoice,languagemaintenanceandshift,languageplanningandstandardization,vernacular(方言)languageeducation,etc.Ifwewanttoknowmoreaboutsomelinguisticvariationsinlanguageusebyturningtopotentialsocio-culturalfactorsforadescriptionandexplanation,wearedoingasociolinguisticstudyoflanguageatamicrolevelofinvestigation.23\nThesubjectstostudyincludeStructuralvariants,addressforms,genderdifferences,discourseanalysis,pidginandcreolelanguage,etc.7.2.4whatimplicationscanwegetfromsociolinguistics?Thepastdecadeshavewitnessedarapiddevelopmentinsociolinguisticsandthefindingshavegreatlyenrichedourunderstandingoftherelationbetweenlanguageandsociety.Alongwiththegradualmaturityandacceptance,Anewdaughterdiscipline,“appliedsociolinguistics”emerges.Somemoresuccessfulpracticeshavebeenfoundinlanguageclassrooms,lawcourts,andclinicalsettingsrespectively:Inlanguageclassrooms,therearetwodifferentviewsofphilosophyinlanguageteaching:24\ntraditionally,languageteachingistreatedasaprocessofacquiringknowledge,inwhichstudentsknowsomethingoflanguageasthelinguistsdo.ButaftertheintroductionofHyme’stheoryofCommunicativeCompetenceintolanguageteaching,languageteachershavebeguntopaymoreattentiontothequestionofhowtotraintheirstudentsasactiveandsuccessfullanguageusersinareallanguagecontest.Sociolinguisticisbelievedtohavemadesomeimportantcontributionsinlanguageteaching:Ithascontributedtoachangeofemphasisinthecontentoflanguageteaching.Ithascontributedtoinnovationsinmaterialsandactivitiesfortheclassroom.25\nIthascontributedtofreshlookatthenatureoflanguagedevelopmentanduse.Ithascontributedtoamorefruitfulresearchinthisfield.Inlawcourts,theinquiryoftherelationbetweenlanguageandlawhasopenedanotheravenuefortheapplicationofsocio-linguisticfindingstosomemorepracticalissuesinsociety.Forexample,Theimportanceroleoflinguistsintheanalysisoflanguagedatagatheredasevidenceinlawcourtshasbeenrecognized.Thejointworkbysociolinguisticsandlegislatorsinthepreparationofsomelegaldocumentsisproventobehelpfultoincreasethereadabilityofthistext.Ontheotherhand,investigationsoflanguageuseinalawcourtbackgroundalsohaverevealedsomeinterestingresultswhichinturngreatlyenrichourunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweentheconceptofpowerandlanguageinuseandexplainwhypeoplespeakdifferentlyinthisuniquesetting.26\nInclinicsettings,theanalysisofdialoguesbetweendoctorsandpatientsinahospitalcontexthasalsoattractedtheinterestofsomeresearchersinsociolinguistics.Thestudyofthistypeisalsoemployedtoillustratethingssuchashowtheconceptofpowerisencodedanddecodedthroughlanguageuseinahierarchicalsocietyandwhatpragmaticpatternsandforcesinreferenceandimplicationareinvolvedinaspeechevent.7.3Cross-culturalCommunicationWiththeglobalization,thecross-culturalcommunicationisbecomingmoreandmoreimportant.Butarealcommunicationtakesplacewhenwelistenwithunderstanding,collapseswhenwelistenwithmisunderstanding.27\nThatis,culturalstereotypesandconflictscomeinwhenwecommunicatewithnorealunderstanding.Languageplaysadecisiveroleincommunicationbutthediversityinlanguageandculturemakescross-culturalcommunicationahighlyriskmission.wewilllearnsomebasicelementsaboutcommunication,andstudyagroupofcasestudiescollectedfromdiverseculturalsettingsinthefollowingsubsections.7.3.1Whatweshouldknowallaboutcross-culturalcommunication?Communicationischaracterizedbyintentionalcommunication.Toachieveasuccessfulacross-culturalcommunication,wehavetoknowandfollowsomebasicprinciples.28\nAccordingtoRogers(1960)Atripartitemodelcanbesetupforsuccessfulcommunication:Trytolookatthingsfromotherperson’spointofview;Trytosensetheirfeelingtoagivenissue;Trytounderstandtheirwayofknowingtheworld.Somesuggestiveprinciplesareprovidedasbasicguidelines:1)successfulcommunicationoccurswhenthehearercansee,feel,andunderstandissuesfromthespeaker’spointofview.2)successfulcommunicationoccurswhenthespeakerandhearerknoweachother’sintention.3)successfulcommunicationoccurswhenthetwopartiesadoptadynamicdialoguepatter.29\n7.3.2CaseStudiesSuccessfulcross-culturalcommunicationbringsmorewealth,peace,andopportunities,whilefailureinthisrespectlikelyenticesmoreprejudice,conflict,andhostility.Toenrichourknowledgeincross-culturalcommunicationandenhanceourstrategicperformanceinthisrespect,wehavetofollowsomestrategiesincross-culturalcommunication.WheninRomedoesastheRomansdo.linguisticformsaredifferentfromonelanguagetoanotherSemanticselectionsvaryacrossseparatelanguagesystems.Andonethingyoucanconvenientlysayinonelanguagemaynotbesoinanotherlanguage.Forexample,pronominalusage,addressforms,andgreetingexpressions.30\n2)Putyourselfinothersshoes(设身处地)Successfulcross-culturalcommunicationdependsmuchonasensibleinterpretationandpredictionofwhattheotherpartywillthink,feel,andbehavewhensomecrucialthingsoccur.Toacquirethissensitivityisagreatchallengeandthereasonsforthisdifficultyaremultiple:a.yourlinguisticknowledgeinthetargetlanguage,b.yourunderstandingofthetargetculture,c.yourconsciousnessofthenatureofthetargetnation,d.yourcautiontotheoccurrenceofrashandriskyassumptionRealcommunicationisbasedonacomprehensiveunderstandingofthetargetlanguage,culture,andsociety.31\n3)Oneculture’sMeatisAnotherCulture’sPoison.Proverbsepitomize(成为的…典范)theessenceofcultureandthevaluesystemofsociety,peopleindifferentculturesusedifferentproverbsandtaboos.Wehavetobeawareofthefactthattheroadtosuccessfulcross-culturalcommunicationisanextremelythornyone,fulloflinguisticpitfallsandculturaltraps.Loveme,lovemydog.爱屋及乌4)HonestyandSincerityarekeypointstomutualunderstanding.Richcommunicativeknowledge,highculturalconsciousness,andgoodlinguisticperformancearenecessaryprerequisitesforbecomingagoodcross-culturalcommunicator.Attitudeorgesturemattersalot.WebelievethatHonestyandsincerityarethebridgethatwillhelpustranscendculturalbarriers.32\nStory3Glancingaroundarestaurantintheairport,aFrenchmanremarkswonderinglytohiswife,“DoyouknowhowmuchthisairportcosttheBritishtaxpayers?Nothing!”Hethenmakesafingerandthumbring,meaning“zero”.Unfortunately,atthesametime,theFrenchmanisglancingataColombianwhoisenjoyingafinewinewithhisdinner.TheColombianismadeveryangrybythemeangesturebecausehebelievesitisdirectedathim.Soheswallowshiswinethewrongwayandholdshisnosebetweenhisfingerandthumb.33\nYetthisgesturehorrifiesaSyriansittingoppositetheColombianbecausehethinksheisbeingtoldto“gotohell”.ThankstoaGreekfriend,theSyrianisheldback,withgreatdifficulty,fromgettingupandhittingtheColombianonthenose.Meanwhile,therestaurantownerhurriesoverandattemptstocalmthemen,holdingoutbothofhishands.This,ofcourse,istakenbytheGreektobeadouble“moutza”and,inhisanger,heinstantlytriestokilltheunfortunatemanwithhisfishknife!Soyousee,thelessonfromallthesestoriesisthatoneshouldbecarefulwithone’sownbodylanguage,especiallywhenonecommunicateswithaforeigner!34\n7.4SummaryWehaveintroducedsomeimportanttheoriesandpracticesinasocio-culturalinquiryoflinguisticissues.Afteralmost40years’development,sociolinguisticshasgainedmuchmomentumandvitalitybyincorporatingtheinsightsfromotherrelevantsciencesandhasgraduallysecureditspositionasalegitimatepursuitinlinguistics.Ontheotherhand,thestudyoftherelationshipsbetweenlanguage,culture,andsocietyisaratherintriguingtask.Theinterdisciplinarynatureofthispursuitrequiressatisfactorymasteryofknowledgeinrelevantfieldssuchasanthropology,sociology,socialpsychology,ethnology,andcognitivesciencesonthepartofitsresearchersandpractitioners.35