5.4 Language and Culture-3数字时代的商务英语写作.pdf

Verbal Communication 主讲人 ：韩杨 5.4LanguageandCulture-3 Hi, there. Welcome back. We have agreed that language reflects the environment and values.In this section,we will talk abouttherelationshipbetween languageandidentity. The language we speak defines our world and our social, nationalandethnicidentities. First,let’shavealook at socialidentity. Language variations within cultures have an effect on how people communicate and how they categorize themselves. For example, people may use local or regional language to signify their identity as people from that region. The language or regional language we speak also influenceswhat others think of us.The fact that someone speaksanother language or speaksour language with a foreign or regional accent influences our social attitudes towards that speaker. Our language attitudes are also influencedby the situationsin which thelanguageisused.Many people speak two or more languages, and may use these languages in different contexts and for different purposes (e.g. onelanguageinpublicandanother athome). Next,nationalidentity The sense of national unity is concerned with the integrity of the national language, territory, and religion. An eighteenth-century German philosopher Johann G. Herder claims that language expresses the inner consciousness of the nation. Nationalists defend their national language against foreign “pollution” in the belief that moral degeneration will follow. France has a special agency to review and approve foreign words in French to ensure the purity of French. When Ireland, Israel, and Slovenia became independent nation-states, each country asserted its own distinct national language. When the head of state visits abroad, he or she must speak his or her own language, even if he or she can speak the language of the country he or she visits. This is a manifestation of national identity and dignity, representing th