语言学论文Language and society.docVIP

语言学论文 姓名： 专业：英语 班级：2010级 学号： The relationship between language and culture 一，Definition of Language and culture Language: Language is one of the unique possessions of human beings. It is one of our most articulated means of expressing ideas and thoughts. According to the important features of languages that most linguists agreed on, a generally acceptable definition is: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Language is a system—elements in it are not arranged and combined randomly, but according to some rules and principles. Language is arbitrary—there is no intrinsic connection between the word (e.g. pen) and the thing (e.g. what we write with). Language is vocal—the primary medium for all languages is sound. Language is used for human communication—it is human-specific, very different from systems of communication. (Linguistics: A New Course book ) Culture: Historically, the word “culture” derives from the Latin word “colere”, which could be translated as “to build”, “to care for”, “to plant” or “to cultivate”. Thus “Culture” usually refers to something that is derived from or created by the intervention of humans—“culture” is cultivated. With this definition in mind, the word “culture” is often used to describe something refined, especially “high culture(阳春白雪)” , or to describe the concept of selected, valuable and artifacts of a society. The most widely accepted definition is, “Culture is the total accumulation of beliefs, customs, values, behaviors, institutions and communication patterns that are shared, learned and passed down through the generations in an identifiable group of people” (Hall, 1983, p.230). 二，Characteristics of Culture Culture is not something we are born with but it is learned. We learn our culture in many ways and from a variety of sources. We learn our culture from folk tales, legends and myths; we also learn our culture through art and mas