Culture of the word and culture of the thought

Probably no topic is more central to psycholinguistic than which concerns the relationship of language, thought, and culture. Does Language influence Thought? Does it’s create Thought? Can we think without Language? Does language affect our perception of nature and society?

The purpose of writing this article is to gain a clear and thorough understanding of the interconnection between language, thought, and culture. The data used in this article is the data of several books and articles about mind, language, and culture. The results of this analysis show, that the capability of the human mind can think and remember about things or objects. We can understand everything in our mind if they are manifested in language. The result of that, we know as Culture. So the language, mind, and culture are the three things that affect each other and the relationship is deeply rooted.

·Thought

Mind or thought is a mental tool of thinking. The mind process is the brain’s response of what has happened today, the present and the future. Mind or thought made humans to think about everything, and the result is expressed in speech or action to notice the other peoples, and to realize that we used language.

Any three steps of thinking process that is:

I.Make formation of concept about something in we are mind, in this step we analyze the characteristics of some objects.

II.Forming the opinion about that, in this step we make and arrange the concept of idea in language with a sentence.

III.Make conclusion and forming the decision, in this step we make conclusion about the opinion. Any three kinds of opinion that is: agreement, disagreement, and analogical (comparison).

·Language

Language is media and results of the human mind. That is used to communicate, either like through written, oral speech, or body movement (sign language). With language, humans can adapt they customs, behavior, social governance, and also easy to assimilate themselves with all forms in society. This indicates that in speech necessary language and thought, then it realized in the form of language.

Language in general can be interpreted as a symbol of the human vocal system that used as a tool for thinking, forming we are mind, and to understand the mind of other person (Kunjana Rahadi, 2001:159). With language we can think about all objects in this world, the concrete and abstract objects that are not only near with us but also far away from us. With symbol abstract language, people can think about something constantly and then bequeathing the experience to the next generations. With language we can also learn something from the other people.

·Culture

Culture is things that related to the mind and human reason. Culture is the result of the creativity and thinking of each member in language community. Culture that born from the individual and the community reflects the attitude and thinking of the society itself.

Culture is derived from the Latin word Colere mean the process or work. Culture is very closely connected with the society. Malville J. Bronislaw Mlinowski Herkovits, suggested that everything contained in the society is determined by the culture of the society itself.

According the various definitions, we can make conclusion. Culture is the result of human thought which will affect the level of knowledge and the system of ideas contained in the human mind, so it make the culture is abstract. The manifestation of culture is such as behavior and real things, example language is human life equipment to communicate with other human beings or other living creatures.

1.Language and Thought

Language in general can be interpreted as a symbol of the human vocal system that used as a tool for thinking, forming we are mind, and to understand the mind of the other person. From this definition we can know the clear connection between language and mind. Language cannot be separated from thought.

There different statement from two group researcher. Frist group explain that language as the basis of thought. Second group explain that thought as basis of Language.

a.Language and Speech As The Basis Of Thought

The opinion as explained by Edward Sapir supported by his student, Benjamin Lee Whorf. Both explain that the language affect to the thought. In other words, morebetters people to mastery language, better too the quality of thinking and to speak well. Accordingly this statement, thought is not something different from speech, but is actually a kind of speech that is not spoken aloud. It is speech that controls what and how we think, thought does not control we say.

Argument against this idea

·In speech, understanding come first than production

Normal children learning a language understand speech before they are able to meaningfully produce it. Researcher studying children have found that the children understanding of speech is well in progress than their ability to produce it. For example in one study children who could say only single words such as ‘ball’, ‘truck’ ,’kiss’ and ‘smell’ could understand and entirely new structures composed of more than one word, example ‘kiss ball’ and ‘smell truck’. We know the children understood what was said to them because they did what they were told to do-unusual acts of kissing a ball and smelling a truck, things they had never done before. From this research, it can conclude that speech production is not basis of thought.

·Speech understanding by people with speech disabilities

Those born without the ability to speak, they have intellectually like a normal people. They can learn to understand speech even though they cannot produce any. For example the case of a 3 years old Japanese girl who was dumb from birth but could hear and was normal in all other respects. The fact that she could respond correctly to a variety of complex commands proved that she could understand what was being said to her. If someone said, “rie, put the red paper under the table“, “or bring me a banana from the cupboard”, she could do it. In facts, while she has never had the ability to produce speech, she can think more creatively than a large majority of the speaking population.

·Thinking  while paralyzed by a drug

In 1947 one group of researchers (smith, Brown, Tomas and Goodman) Wondered what would happen to a person’s thought if the body were almost completely paralyzed. Their wondering led to smith make himself injected with a curare-like drug which induces complete paralysis of the system such as the heart and digestive system continue to function under the drug. Smith had made a scientific point since while paralyzed he could in no way speak and could make only minimal bodily responses, it is clear that thought was not dependent on body movement or movements of the organs of speech, then it would indeed seem that speech-associated muscle movements are not necessary for-thought.

·Talking about one thing while thinking about another

Suppose you are talking to someone, say, about a movie you both have seen, and further suppose that you are thinking about something else at the same time, such as where you are going for dinner. We often speak about one thing and about another at the same time.

·Where Language does affect Thought

Language can affect thought when thought is established. For example, Language may be used to provide us with new ideas, if you read some sentence, article, listening what other people said to us, etc.

b.Thought As The Basis Of Language

The second groups have opinion, the mind is determines the quality of language. This opinion is explained by Noam Chomsky. Since human is born, people have supplied with thought and language competence (language competence). In other words, the basic language competence is innate by nature not as the result of a learning process.

Argument of this idea

·People acquired meaning some word with thought

The relationship between the sound of the word and meaning is conventional. The meaning that is to be associated with a sequence of speech sounds does not come with it, it must be acquired. Meaning for words is acquired in four main ways:

1.A sound form is associated with an object, situation or event in the world, e.g. the sound ‘dog’ with the object ‘dog’.

2.A sound forms is associated with an idea or experience in the mind, e.g. the sound ’pain’ with the feeling of pain.

3.An analysis of known component morphemes may suggest a meaning, e.g. the meaning of unprimitive can be gained through knowledge of un and primitive.

4.By a linguistic description (definition) or by linguistic context.

So, the ultimate source of meaning is based on experiences of the world and mind, experiences which are of a non-linguistic nature. It must be the case that thought, with its ideas and concepts, is created in the mind by a process, and that is independent of language.

·Deaf children without language can think

There are many deaf children who do not begin to acquire language until a rather late age, often after 3 or 4 years when they begin to attend special school. However, if you were to observe young deaf children playing in a playground, you would not notice much difference between them and ordinary hearing children. They are not animalistic creatures. At play and when participating in activities around the home, they behave just as intelligently and rationally with respect to their environment as do hearing children.

·The true relationship between language and thought

The philosopher, John Locke, some centuries ago proposed precisely this view: that the relationship between language and thought is such that thought is independent of language, with language deriving from thought. Given such a relationship, language can thereby fulfill its primary role which is as an instrument for the expression or communication of thought. I find no good reason to challenge this reason

·Discussion Question

If we in discussion situation and have some question, the process to make the question is fact that thought is determine the language, because we make a concept about the good question in this discussion before we say the question. Example: I know what I want to say, but I can’t find the word to application that?

According the two researchers opinion above, each have the own prescriptive to analyze mind and language. Language and mind in principle, affect each other until a person reaches a certain level of development. For example, young children under teen ages get a huge influence language of the elder people, parents, and the environment.

If we look at how a child under three or five years to learn the language, child will tend to mimic and imitate everything that people said and doing around him. That is why at this stage the development of a child needs to get a good exposure of language and correction, so in future child could speak well too. When child grow older, language doesn’t give much influence to thought, but the thought that will determine the quality of language. If people can think properly and coherently, they can speak well too. Conversely the people cannot think properly and coherently, they have a poor quality in language usage.

2.Language, Thought and Culture

Culture is the result of the creativity and thinking of each member in language community. (Kujana Rahadi, 2001: 162). So the relationship between language thought and culture is deeply rooted. Language can be interpreted as a symbol of the human vocal system that used as a tool for thinking, forming we are mind, and to understand the mind of other person. Thought is place to process all information that we obtain and also place to process all Information that we want to utterance. The results of thought process and language we know as culture

Culture is never static. Culture is dynamic and adapts to the dynamics of the society and environment. Language and thought is includes on element that builds a culture. When compared, the language and culture are two different sides of a coin, but it cannot be separated because the language is a reflection of the culture and the thought identity of the speakers. So to create a good culture in a society depends on how the society was able to think well in extracting a speech language.

3.Conclusion

The culture of each nation is always different in all the time as long as the language is also in different. When a person is not a good mastery of the language, the people’s minds will not qualify either. If the quality of a person’s mind is not good, the people will not be optimal to thinking and creativity in create the culture. In other words, when the language of a community is not controlled properly, the cultural of society that not be born properly.

Culture will be optimal to progress and developed when thinking process of society is organized. Thinking process of society can organized if the language acquisition in society is also qualified.

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Lecture 3. Elements of Cultural Systems

Culture can be defined in numerous ways:
community, social class differences, minorities, social groups,
nationalities, geo-political units, societies. All these have a
place, for culture is multifaceted. In our examination of culture,
however, we want to emphasize those features of culture that
contribute to the perception of difference and hence influence
intercultural communication. For that reason, culture is defined as
follows: “Culture
is the holistic summation and interrelationship of an identifiable
group’s beliefs, norms, activities, institutions, and communication
patterns.”

We do not yet fully understand how much of human
behavior is instinctive and how much is learned, although most social
scientists accept the notion that cul­ture is mostly learned. In
any case, culture is a powerful vehicle for learning and
socialization, a
term Brislin applied to cultural learning. That means we adapt to the
group ways of doing and thinking. Usually, we learn in a group
con­text, not in isolation. Schools, families, neighborhoods,
churches, mosques, syn­agogues, and affiliative groups, represent
instances of the social process associ­ated with learning.
Through the group factors such as language, habits, customs,
expectations, and roles, individuals shape their world—and think,
act, and com­municate typically according to social group
expectations. Of course, a person can reject or modify cultural
influence, and one can exercise free will. Many cul­tural
imprints are subtle and habit-based. Without scrutiny, culture’s
influence remains elusive, if not beyond conscious recognition.

How does culture function?

First, culture sets
an agenda of rules, rituals, and
procedures. Attitudes to­ward time, how to dress, when and what
to eat, when to come and go, and how to work, illustrate this first
function of culture. Basic to socialization is develop­ing a
sense of proper and improper behavior and communicating within those
cultural rules. For example, your family (an obvious significant
cultural unit) may have warned you «not to point at people»
with reprimands if you pointed anyway. The numerous cultural rules
are assimilated over time.

Fundamental themes surrounding human development
account for cultural rules, rituals, and procedures. We learn various
ways to live ranging from sur­vival (involving dependency), to
group relations (involving interdependency), to self-worth and
autonomy (involving independence). These universal needs on a
dependent-interdependent-independent
continuum can be viewed as
overlap­ping. Culture sets the rules on how these features of
life and relationships are worked out. In this sense, the rules for
exhibiting these themes or principles have cultural boundaries. A
smile conveys sincerity and leads to interpersonal trust in one
culture, but serves to hide emotions in another. This is a case of
cul­ture exerting boundary and agenda-setting influence on human
actions and thought.

Second, culture reinforces
values of good and evil and conveys
belief. Consequently, we develop approaches to thoughts and beliefs
about the world.

Third, culture teaches
how to relate to others, or how to
communicate.

How does culture
relate to communication?

1. By encouraging communication style expected
   within each culture. Communication style is highly fashioned after
   the appropriateness of cultural communication expectations for each
   person. For example, loud­ness, pitch, rate, and certain stances
   and gestures characterize communica­tion behaviors. The specific
   way a cultural communicator uses these may depend on that person’s
   conception of the «ideal» cultural person.

2. By the power to shape perception. Ways of
   thinking, dominant symbols or images, and communication norms all
   are linked with culture. Depending on your culture’s attitude
   to­ward people dissimilar to them, and how you were taught, you
   may have a good or a bad measuring device. The human tendency toward
   categorizing others is without question—and culture obliges by
   offering category sys­tems to its members.

Culture is something like a glue that bonds people
together. A person who refers to Mexican American culture probably is
thinking of a large population with some commonalities of world
views, attitudes, concept of self, and language. Obviously, one
problem in identifying culture is over generalizing or stereotyp­ing,
since numerous differences among individuals exist in any one
culture. To avoid this problem of stereotyping, we cannot then swing
to an opposite extreme and argue for no commonalities. On the
contrary, there is a middle ground where we can speak of modalities
or commonly occurring tendencies among
groups of people. By modality we do not suggest stereotypes as if to
say a group always demonstrates certain qualities or never changes.
Of course, numerous in­dividual differences and a range of
diversity characterize cultures. Too, the pre­cise boundary where
one culture ends and another culture begins is obscure. Nevertheless,
we can approach the concept of culture perhaps as we approach the
notion of group in small group communication, where we recognize the
group’s interdependence and its development of unique style, common
features, and patterns as a whole, but realize individual
differences.

Elements of Culture

Culture is like luggage we always carry. From it
we unconsciously lift daily needs: survival, information, prediction
and maintenance of interpersonal rela­tionships, and personal
goals. From our culture, we apply what we consider the appropriate
categories and communication tools as we interact. We do and think
what our cultural learning taught us in each communication
opportunity.

As a system, culture contains the following
elements as major components, together comprising culture. True to
what is called general systems theory, the elements outlined here
function as an organized, holistic set to define a system. Applied to
culture, a system and the elements in that system exhibit several
qualities: mutually
interactive;
each part
influences the whole; each element has
its own attributes or properties, but
they contribute to the whole; serve to define boundaries,
or invisible lines differentiating one
culture from another; both causes of and
results of communication; communication
patterns are in a sense inseparable from the culture and the culture
from com­munication; typically has self-monitoring and feedback
leading toward balance and sta­bility
when elements are out of balance or not
functioning correctly; 6. systems can be open or closed; an open
system exchanges energy or mater­ial
with its environment, generally can alter its internal structure, and
is open to change (unless too much openness violates the system’s
boundaries resulting in identity or integrity loss); closed
systems lack outside stimula­tion,
hold excessively rigid boundaries, and often cause diminished
adapta­tion to growth and change. Even though the elements
mutually interact, a hierarchy begins in the inner parts of the model
with cultural history, cultural identity, world view, and beliefs and
values.

Cultural History. Historical
development and tradition for people are a foundation for analysis—
basic cues to understanding a culture. Cultures have various ways of
expressing their history, heritage, and tradi­tions. Among some
African cultures, a totem—often displaying elaborate artistry—is
used to show tribal history. In some cultures, the past is recorded
in books, or in some cases by local historians who specialize in
memorization of a culture’s history. No matter how a culture records
its history, the point for the intercultural communicator is to
appreciate a culture’s past.

Cultural Identity. Members
of every culture have a sense of social identification: who they are
and why. In other words, cultures can be likened to a group
personality. One’s cultural identity affects interpersonal
relationships and expected mod­els of individual personality
behavior. From a sense of social identity (who we
are), one receives a sense of personal
identity (who I
am). For example, in some cultures, decisions are collective rather
than individual—even to the point of giving up individual rights in
favor of decisions made by the leaders in that cul­ture.

Cultural World View, Beliefs, Values, and ways
of Processing Information and Thought. Each
culture has an interpretation of reality, or perceptual “window’,
through which people see self and others. Moreover, cultures hold
assumed truths (beliefs), concepts deemed as holding ultimate
significance and of long-term importance (values), and world view.
World View is a specific belief system about the nature of the
universe. More than just an outlook or philosophy of life, world view
functions as a central construct related to how much control one
believes is available. A culture’s pattern of thought refers to the
way a cultural group views such things as decision making, the kind
of logical system and evidence usage practiced, and cognitive
pathways of thought.

Cultural technology. Probably
the most salient features to most tourists abroad are the differences
in a culture’s technology, material culture—food, clothing, travel:
and tools or machine technology. Since technology is usually a matter
of cultural invention and of
intercultural contact with other
technologies, it might be argued that no opportunities have arisen
for acculturation of a technology, or perhaps the culture has
rejected the technology. Too often, we prematurely judge a culture by
its
material features. A person who values technological features may
overlook a rich cultural heritage in such areas as art, language, and
interpersonal relationships.

Material culture does not exist merely as a
feature with functional value. Overt
material culture may reflect a more
subtle, covert peculiarity
(much like the tip of an iceberg revealing only a small part of the
total iceberg).

Cultural Roles. Cultural
attitudes also revolve around categories of people and their expected
pattern of performance or activity. These predetermined patterns, or
at least pre­scribed and expected behaviors about categories
people occupy, are called roles. Each culture has its expectations of
us, according to various role areas:

Age roles. Occupational roles. Friendship
roles. Gender roles.

Roles serve in three ways. First, roles help guide
personal and social be­havior. Second, they serve as standards in
a stabilizing function, allowing members to predict certainty about
what otherwise would amount to ambiguity in role relationships.
Third, they give identification, as if to satisfy a need to know self
and others. However, roles can be a source of stress, especially if
(1) a person does not fit a cultural role, (2) there appears to be no
adequate role model or if the guidance is too ambiguous, or (3) if a
person is attempting to play multiple roles.

Artistic Expression. Another
element in cultural systems is the relevant artistic expressions of a
par­ticular culture. When we consider music, sculpture, painting,
and weaving as reflections of underlying themes of a culture at a
given time in its history, this element assumes deeper significance.
The myriad of aesthetic differences and explanations of why one
culture’s view of «beautiful» is another culture’s view of
«ugly» go far beyond the scope of the artistic object or
its manifestations. Artistic expression can reflect current, relevant
themes of
a culture, by which the investigator gathers more and better insight.
Or an investigator may discover a bit of artistic work to hold only
vestigial significance,
meaning the art once held unusual significance but no longer holds
the original meaning.

Cultural Language and Interaction. The
relation between language and culture is significant. Language and
its cate­gories filter, shape, and organize reality by the
boundaries that linguistic sys­tems draw. Every culture has a
language, al­though of the thousands of language communities on
earth, over one-fourth have yet to be written.

Every culture has a linguistic code and a sense of
interactional rules. In terms of the code, there is not only a
language for every culture, but there are specific categories of that
language that may not transfer to other cultures. Many cultures use
unusual codes, which may prevent others from under­standing. For
example, jargon, slang, or «in-house» codes allow rapid,
shorthand-type communication. Cultures can speak telegraphically,
where a sin­gle phrase has a wealth of meaning for people who
have experienced the phrase. These codes can function for clarity, or
they can function to hide meanings from others outside the
subculture. With our own in-house communication system, people who do
not share the jargon will sooner or later drop out. This category of
interaction and language also implies a set of linguistic us­ages
expected in every interactional context. For example, there are
certain words and phrases expected in greetings and leavings.

Cultural Changeability. Another
element of cultural systems assesses likelihood of a culture’s
change. What is the change potential in a culture? How stable or
unstable is a particular culture? It is not immediately obvious why,
but cultures can be analyzed on a continuum from innovative
to resistant.
For apparent historical and
tradi­tional reasons, some cultures have propensity for change;
others do not.

Ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism
is a unique element of cultural systems. More than simply an
atti­tude, ethnocentrism refers to culturally shared notions of
superiority in compari­son with other cultures. Almost every
culture exhibits some tendencies to judge others. The us-versus-them
attitude is easily observed in interracial interaction when cultural
categories remain stagnate or inflexible. In many nations, urbans
look down upon rurals, elites scorn peasants, and white-collar
employees de­value blue-collar employees. Some individuals within
national cultures practice ethnocentrism. This tendency to judge
appears universal and is part of the attitude system sometimes
lurking in intercultural communication climates. High ethnocen­trism
leads to negative stereotypes.

Nonverbal Behaviour. Every
culture has some system of nonverbal behaviors—gesture, touch,
facial expression, and eye movement. The collective pattern of such
behaviors, while usually in concert with spoken communication, is
itself a symbol system. Non­verbal behavior, in this sense,
becomes nonverbal communication and is loaded with cultural
expectations. Researchers agree that a culture’s nonverbal
commu­nication system is the most powerful communication system
available, although not without its liabilities. The differences in
nonverbal behavior among cultures can cause breakdowns in
intercultural communication.

Spatial relations. One
facet of nonverbal behaviors involves use of space. As a part of the
dynamic interrelationship with other cultural elements, space is
correlated with information and meaning inferences. Space is related
to relation­ship development, perceptions of feelings and moods,
inferences about inten­tions, and generalizations about
personality. Inferences about spatial usage also leave wide
ambiguities.

Time. Time is
also considered a facet of nonverbal behavior. Time’s im­plications
for intercultural communication begins with understanding how time is
culturally rooted, and our use of time is wedded to our culture’s
cognitive per­ceptions surrounding time.

Recognition and Reward. Every
culture has norms for understanding success and failure. Within the
boundaries of cultural systems, relationships exist that express
recognition and reward. Initiation rites, when successfully
completed, represent a cultural method for advancement in tribes and
clans. Proper behavior is usually rewarded in some way. Of course,
what constitutes proper behavior is culturally variable. What
constitutes rewarding is also culturally dependent. The kind of
reward or recognition that is appropriate is a significant cultural
difference. Money is appropriate in some cultures. Gifts, personal
praise, written statements, future contracts, new titles, promotions
in rank, acceptance into a group, initiation completion, and equality
are but a few additional ways of show­ing recognition.

Cultural Rules and Procedures. Every
culture has rules, meaning the regulations and expectations guiding
the conduct about how things are to be accomplished. Procedures are
related to rules and are the operational habits for enacting cultural
rules. Most people are aware of the way we are expected to perform in
a culture. Unfortunately, the rules of a culture are rarely stated;
nevertheless, we are ex­pected to develop communication
competence with those rules.

Rituals refer to activities customarily followed
in a culture. Some rituals are for­mal, as in ceremonies, rites,
formal occasions, initiations, solemn observances, or liturgies.
Examples include weddings, births, funerals, baptisms, graduations,
and a host of others. Other rituals are informal customary
observances and lack the stiffness and solemnity of formal rituals.
Examples include meeting friends after work, going to lunch at a
certain place every week, crossing your fingers for good luck, or
throwing bird seed at a wedding. In general, these are more ca­sual.
Rituals can be mixtures of formal and informal or be marked by a
series of punctuations of formal/informal rituals (even routines)
within a larger ritual.

Institutional Subsystems in Culture

Ways of acting concerning these systems elements
discussed previously and other features become routine in formal ways
within a culture. Patterns of ex­pectation for an entire group’s
survival could be described as institutional sub­systems of a
culture.

Economic Subsystems.

Family Subsystems. Like
many cultural elements, concepts of family frequently are compared
only with our own cultural experience. Our culture becomes a
measuring rod with which to compare and contrast cultural views of
social organization and mar­riage. Because they face common
problems and needs, family units adapt to meet those needs. For
example, if an economic need exists for farm labor, a person from
that cultural situation might deduce that having many children could
sup­ply that need. To foster that goal, the marriage practice of
polygyny (polygamy
is the generic word for more than one spouse, but technically one man
with many wives is polygyny) may result as that culture’s way of
meeting its needs. Superstitions, magic, and various religious
beliefs supporting such a marital norm may ultimately develop, thus
making it, in a sense, an institution. Other basic modes of marital
units, such as polyandry (one
woman with more than one husband), monogamy
(one husband and one wife), and serial
monogamy (a se­ries of monogamous
marriages with different partners) develop in a similar way.

Researchers describe family units under two major
classes. The first unit is the nuclear
family, a unit referring to father,
mother, and siblings. The second unit is the extended
family, which includes the nuclear
family and extends to in­corporate the grandparents, uncles,
aunts, cousins, and so on. Beyond these two classes, the trained
cultural observer is concerned with the actual lineage, wherein group
membership can be actually demonstrated from some common ancestor.
Descent groups refer
to groups where a common ancestor is assumed and where group members
have ritual, property, or activity in common. A col­lection of
lineages where common descent is not necessarily demonstrated is a
clan.
Collections of clans may become a tribe.

The fundamental family unit accrues only after
marriage procurement, a
process that also varies culturally. For example, some clans adhere
to strict prohi­bitions, allowing marriage only within the clan
(or even some other significant unit), a practice called endogamy.
One reason for endogamy is the
containment of property or perhaps sacred qualities connected with a
lineage. For instance, the ideal marriage of a Yoruk of Turkey is
between first cousins. An­other variation of marriage
availability is the procurement of marriage partners from outside the
clan (or other significant unit), a practice called exogamy.
Some­times
exogamy occurs to strengthen ties with other clans or to ensure the
exchange of economic resources
through marriage. The Tzetal tribe of Mexico opposes intrafamily
marriages, including marriage to even very distant kin.

Kinship systems also involve the role of
authority. Male-dominated author­ity patterns in the family are
called patriarchal, while
female-dominated authority patterns are called matriarchal.
Finally, qualities of inheritance or
naming, or both, that come through the mother’s side are found in
matrilineal cultures.
Patrilineal groups
foster inheri­tance or naming, or both, emphasizing the father’s
side.

Political Subsystems. Universally,
societies have some form of governing organization functioning on a
formal level and an informal level. On the formal
level, such governing orga­nizations
originate because of self-appointment, inherited rights, vote,
consen­sus, or political takeover. A less obvious informal
method of accruing perceived power,
status, and leadership also exists. In various cultural groups, some
lead­ers are assumed to have a certain degree of supernatural
power.

Subsystems of Social Control. All
cultures have methods of dealing with violations of norms (accepted
modes of behavior) and laws. Societal punishment appears to be
universal, although consequences vary from fines to banishment or
death.

Health Management Subsystems.How
a culture addresses the health of cultural members also poses a
significant cultural system. Cultural differences related to health
care delivery unfortunately correspond to differential quality of
life questions. Traditionally disadvantaged ethnic popu­lations
in the United States have higher than average infant mortality rates
and overall fewer years life span on the average. While socioeconomic
factors play some role in these differences, other cultural factors
intervene. Brislin identifies a number of reasons for poor physical
and mental health related to cul­ture. Some of his reasons are
adapted as follows: with lack of insurance or personal resources
people wait too long before calling a health professional;
traditional remedies may be used either because modern medicine is
too ex­pensive or because it is seen as ineffective; little trust
in health subsystems or in health professionals; inadequate or
inaccurate information provided for families; cultural values toward
the age at which mothers pay more attention to their infant’s health
needs; accurate indicators of physical or psychological distress are
not viewed as significant indicators of illness to report. In other
words, symptoms a certain culture looks to as a sign of illness may
be inaccurately linked to the real illness, and conversely, symptoms
that modern health profes­sionals look for in examinations may
seem irrelevant to an acculturated individual; nonverbal
signs typically associated with certain psychological disorders (like
depression) are culture-bound, especially clinical diagnoses that
involve inter­

action and rapport qualities and facial
expressions. Mental health experts must

conduct clinical
evaluations using cultural base lines of normality.

Educational Systems.

Religious Subsystems. Religious
systems involve beliefs, ceremonies, places of worship, norms of
respect, and
linguistic concepts that can cause great embarrassment for those who
do not understand
them.

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(the download is the introduction to the book in which my chapter appears; its abstract follows) Contemporary Japan is overrun with lovable animated characters (kyara), from globalized Hello Kitty to obscure Gin-Maru Kun, the ginkgo nut mascot for my university library. Ephemeral versions that describe cultural ideals such as ai ‘love’ also appear in public service messages, as analyzed in this chapter. All of these exhibit phenomena emergent from Japanese religious philosophies that appear in other genres of popular culture, including poetry and song. Cognitive linguistics and linguistic anthropology help us understand these Japanese cultural phenomena. Data from fieldwork, media discourse, and historical research show that Japanese conceptualizations of the self can inextricable from natural entities, forming a ‘sloppy selfhood’. The data show intersections between cultural schemata for visual representations of animism, anthropomorphization, and linguistic schemata of wordplay and verbal beauty. Keywords: Animism, anthropomorphism, metaphor, metonomy, gender

Culture and language are strongly interconnected. The relationship between them is debatable and several questions pop up in your mind when you try to understand how the language and culture are linked.

Do you know whether culture came first or language? What is the difference between them? Can one of them exist without the other?

For a clear understanding of the relationship between language and culture, it is better to get familiar with their definitions first.

What is Culture?

Culture is defined as a blend of thought patterns and characteristics of a group of people.

The word culture is derived from the Latin term colere which means to grow something from the earth so when people interact with each other, they grow together which forms their culture.

Usually, the term culture is defined using external aspects such as language, traditions, religion, arts, and cuisine. But, culture is something deeper than these factors. It refers to the way we think and interacts with those around us. 

How You Perceive the Diverse Cultures Existing in the Society is known as Your Cultural Lens

Interestingly, people living in the same society having similar characteristics may have different cultural views and ideas which depend on several different factors. Thus, it is important to mention that different people living together can have their own ideas and their cultural lens may vary.

What is Language?

Language is the medium of communication using which we express our thoughts and ideas and interact with others.

Tidbit: Over 700 languages are spoken across the globe.

Some of the languages evolved from the others while many languages are traced back thousands of years.  However, the origin of the first-spoken human language is still unknown.

“Language is the Roadmap of a Culture”

 (Rita Mae Brown)

You might find it surprising to know that the same language spoken in different regions sound a bit different. Yes, dialectical differences exist for many popular languages because of the cultural impact.

For instance, the French spoken in France is different from Canadian French. Likewise, many languages have different regional dialects.

How Culture is Related to Language?

“Changes in Language Often Reflect the Changing Values of a Culture”

(Ravi Zacharias)

Language and culture are interlinked and you cannot learn one of these without having a clear understanding of the other. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,

language is linked to all the human-life aspects in society, and understanding of the surrounding culture plays an important role in learning a language. Moreover, language allows the organization and evolution of cultural values.

Language is Needed for Effective Expression and Transmission of Culture.

A renowned linguist Ken Hale shares his views on the culture-language relationship. He says that when a language is lost, a part of the culture gets lost as well as Culture is significantly encoded in language.

Culture impacts our core traditions, values, and the way we interact with others in society. On the other hand, language makes those interactions easy. Simply put, language facilitates social interactions while culture helps us to learn how to behave and interact with others.

Language or Culture-Which Came First?

Language is an integral part required for the establishment of culture.

Communication is a basic human need, right? From the start, human beings are communicating and interacting with each other in different ways. Thus, for obvious reasons, the language came first.

Language is the source as well as the essence of a culture.

With time, many languages evolved, and today, a large number of languages are spoken across the world. Do You Know?

Out of over 7000 languages, only 200 languages currently exist in both spoken and written forms while many of the languages are extinct now.

It won’t be wrong to say that language complexity increased over time and so did cultural diversity. The languages evolve, primarily because of their association with culture.

Evolution of Language and Culture

Do you know what is common between language and culture? Both are continuously changing!

For instance, the English language that we use today is way different from the old English. Similarly, you can identify several differences between the old western culture and the new one.

Without Culture, no language can exist.

Both language and culture experience drastic changes over time. Therefore, you cannot expect a 10-year-old chile and a 70-year-old man to share an identical culture and exact the same language even if they leave in the same locality.

How Do Language and Culture Influence Our Personal Identity?

Both language and culture play a significant role in shaping your personality.

Culture tells you how to interact with others and helps to shape values and ethics. Besides, it keeps you close to like-minded people and thus,  the sense of belonging strengthens your bond with society. 

On the other hand, language is like a tool using which you express your culture. In fact, cultural ideas and beliefs are transmitted ahead via language.

Furthermore, both the culture and language allow us to peek into the past and shape our ideas. How We think, speak and interact with others around us is determined by our cultural values. Likewise, language also impacts human thoughts.

As mentioned earlier, language and culture continue to evolve and so does our personality. As we meet people belonging to different cultures, we get to learn more and explore more, and interaction with them can impact your personality as well.

Want to Learn a Foreign Language? Learn about Culture First!

The understanding of a culture can greatly help in learning any foreign language. If you are interested in learning one or more foreign languages, you must study the culture of the respective regions.

It is rightly said that ‘Action Speaks Louder than Words. For effective communication with a foreign audience, you must be aware of their cultural nuances.

Thus, culture and language are intertwined and you cannot set them apart. If you want to improve your linguistic skills for a second language, you must tackle both the culture and language side by side.

The Last Word:

The more you know about the cultural background of a language, the faster you can learn that language.

If you aspire to learn any foreign language, remember that understanding culture is going to be an integral part of your learning journey.

For learning any language, it is essentially important to know about the culture of the people who speak that language.

In addition to having expertise in the language, you also need to consider socio-cultural aspects and learn how to properly address people in that foreign language. 

To cut a long story short, language and culture are inseparable.

Read More:

Impact of Cultural Differences in Global Businesses

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.

The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (opens in new tab) goes a step further, defining culture as shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that are learned by socialization. Thus, culture can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group. 

«Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones and a million other things,» Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London (opens in new tab), told Live Science.

Many countries, such as France, Italy, Germany, the US, India, Russia and China are noted for their rich cultures, the customs, traditions, music, art and food being a continual draw for tourists. 

The word «culture» derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin «colere,» which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture, according to Arthur Asa Berger (opens in new tab). «It shares its etymology with a number of other words related to actively fostering growth,» De Rossi said.

Western culture

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The term «Western culture» has come to define the culture of European countries as well as those that have been heavily influenced by European immigration, such as the United States, according to Khan University (opens in new tab). Western culture has its roots in the Classical Period of the Greco-Roman era (the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.) and the rise of Christianity in the 14th century. Other drivers of Western culture include Latin, Celtic, Germanic and Hellenic ethnic and linguistic groups. 

Any number of historical events have helped shape Western culture during the past 2,500 years. The fall of Rome, often pegged to A.D. 476, cleared the way for the establishment of a series of often-warring states in Europe, according to Stanford University (opens in new tab) historian Walter Scheidel, each with their own cultures. The Black Death of the 1300s cut the population of Europe by one-third to one-half, rapidly remaking society. As a result of the plague, writes Ohio State University (opens in new tab) historian John L. Brooke, Christianity became stronger in Europe, with more focus on apocalyptic themes. Survivors in the working class gained more power, as elites were forced to pay more for scarce labor. And the disruption of trade routes between East and West set off new exploration, and ultimately, the incursion of Europeans into North and South America. 

Today, the influences of Western culture can be seen in almost every country in the world.

Eastern culture

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Eastern culture generally refers to the societal norms of countries in Far East Asia (including China, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea and South Korea) and the Indian subcontinent. Like the West, Eastern culture was heavily influenced by religion during its early development, but it was also heavily influenced by the growth and harvesting of rice, according to a research article published in the journal Rice (opens in new tab) in 2012. In general, in Eastern culture there is less of a distinction between secular society and religious philosophy than there is in the West. 

However, this umbrella covers an enormous range of traditions and histories. For example, Buddhism originated in India, but it was largely overtaken by Hinduism after the 12th century, according to

Britannica

(opens in new tab).

As a result, Hinduism became a major driver of culture in India, while Buddhism continued to exert influence in China and Japan. The preexisting cultural ideas in these areas also influenced religion. For example, according to

Jiahe Liu and Dongfang Shao

(opens in new tab), Chinese Buddhism borrowed from the philosophy of Taoism, which emphasizes compassion, frugality and humility.

Centuries of interactions — both peaceful and aggressive — in this region also led to these cultures influencing each other. Japan, for example, controlled or occupied Korea in some form between 1876 and 1945. During this time, many Koreans were pressured or forced into giving up their names for Japanese surnames, according to History.com (opens in new tab). 

Latin culture

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 The geographic region encompassing «Latin culture» is widespread. Latin America is typically defined as those parts of Central America, South America and Mexico where Spanish or Portuguese are the dominant languages. These are all places that were colonized by or influenced by Spain or Portugal starting in the 1400s. It is thought that French geographers used the term «Latin America» to differentiate between Anglo and Romance (Latin-based) languages, though some historians, such as Michael Gobat, author of «The Invention of Latin America: A Transnational History of Anti-Imperialism, Democracy and Race» (opens in new tab) (American Historical Review, Voll 118, Issue 5, 2013), dispute this.

Latin cultures are thus incredibly diverse, and many blend Indigenous traditions with the Spanish language and Catholicism brought by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers. Many of these cultures were also influenced by African cultures due to enslaved Africans being brought to the Americas starting in the 1600s, according to the African American Registery (opens in new tab). These influences are particularly strong in Brazil and in Caribbean nations. 

Latin culture continues to evolve and spread. A good example is Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a holiday dedicated to remembering the departed that is celebrated on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. Day of the Dead dates back to before Christopher Columbus landed in North America, but was moved to its current celebration date by Spanish colonizers, who merged it with the Catholic All Saints Day. 

Mexican immigrants to the United States brought the holiday with them, and in the 1970s, artists and activities brought focus to Día de los Muertos as a way of celebrating their Chicano (Mexican-American) heritage, according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (opens in new tab). The holiday is now well-known in the United States. 

Middle Eastern culture

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Roughly speaking, the Middle East encompasses the Arabian peninsula as well as the eastern Mediterranean. The North African countries of Libya, Egypt and Sudan are also sometimes included, according to Britannica (opens in new tab). The term  «Middle Eastern culture» is another umbrella that encompasses a huge diversity of cultural practices, religious beliefs and daily habits. The region is the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and is home to dozens of languages, from Arabic to Hebrew to Turkish to Pashto. 

While there is significant religious diversity in the Middle East, the predominant religion by numbers is Islam, and Islam has played a large role in the cultural development of the region. Islam originated in what is today Saudi Arabia in the early seventh century. An influential moment for the culture and development of the Middle East came after the death of the religion’s founder, Muhammad, in 632, according to the Metropoliton Museum (opens in new tab). 

Some followers believed the next leader should be one of Muhammad’s friends and confidants; others believed leadership must be passed through Muhammad’s bloodline. This led to a schism between Shia Muslims, those who believed in the importance of the bloodline, and Sunni Muslims, who believed leadership should not pass through the family. Today, about 85% of Muslims are Sunni, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (opens in new tab). Their rituals and traditions vary somewhat, and divisions between the two groups often fuel conflict. 

Middle Eastern culture has also been shaped by the Ottoman Empire, which ruled a U-shaped ring around the eastern Mediterranean between the 14th and early 20th centuries, according to Britannica. Areas that were part of the Ottoman Empire are known for distinctive architecture drawn from Persian and Islamic influences.

African culture

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Africa has the longest history of human habitation of any continent: Humans originated there and began to migrate to other areas of the world around 400,000 years ago, according to the Natural History Museum (opens in new tab) in London. Tom White, who serves as the museum’s senior curator of non-insect invertebrates, and his team were able to discover this by studying Africa’s ancient lakes and the animals that lived in them. As of the time of this article, this research provides the oldest evidence for hominin species in the Arabian peninsula.

African culture varies not only between national boundaries, but within them. One of the key features of this culture is the large number of ethnic groups throughout the 54 countries on the continent. For example, Nigeria alone has more than 300 tribes, according to Culture Trip (opens in new tab). Africa has  imported and exported its culture for centuries; East African trading ports were a crucial link between East and West as early as the seventh century, according to The Field Museum (opens in new tab). This led to complex urban centers along the eastern coast, often connected by the movement of raw materials and goods from landlocked parts of the continent. 

It would be impossible to characterize all of African culture with one description. Northwest Africa has strong ties to the Middle East, while Sub-Saharan Africa shares historical, physical and social characteristics that are very different from North Africa, according to Britannica (opens in new tab) . 

Some traditional Sub-Saharan African cultures include the Maasai of Tanzania and Kenya, the Zulu of South Africa and the Batwa of Central Africa. The traditions of these cultures evolved in very different environments. The Batwa, for example, are one of a group of ethnicities that traditionally live a forager lifestyle in the rainforest. The Maasai, on the other hand, herd sheep and goats on the open range. 

What is cultural appropriation?

Oxford Reference (opens in new tab) describes cultural appropriation as: «A term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another.» 

An example might be a person who is not Native American wearing a Native American headdress as a fashion accessory. For example, Victoria’s Secret was heavily criticized in 2012 after putting a model in a headdress reminiscent of a Lakota war bonnet, according to USA Today (opens in new tab). These headdresses are laden with meaningful symbolism, and wearing one was a privilege earned by chieftains or warriors through acts of bravery, according to the Khan Academy (opens in new tab). The model also wore turquoise jewelry inspired by designs used by Zuni, Navajo and Hopi tribes in the desert Southwest, illustrating how cultural appropriation can lump together tribes with very different cultures and histories into one stereotyped image. 

More recently, in 2019, Gucci faced a similar backlash for selling an item named «the indy full turban» which caused considerable anger from the Sikh community, according to Esquire (opens in new tab). Harjinder Singh Kukreja, a Sikh restaurateur and influencer, wrote to Gucci on Twitter (opens in new tab), stating: «the Sikh Turban is not a hot new accessory for white models but an article of faith for practising Sikhs. Your models have used Turbans as ‘hats’ whereas practising Sikhs tie them neatly fold-by-fold. Using fake Sikhs/Turbans is worse than selling fake Gucci products.»

Constant change

No matter what a culture looks like, one thing is for certain: Cultures change. «Culture appears to have become key in our interconnected world, which is made up of so many ethnically diverse societies, but also riddled by conflicts associated with religion, ethnicity, ethical beliefs, and, essentially, the elements which make up culture,» De Rossi said. «But culture is no longer fixed, if it ever was. It is essentially fluid and constantly in motion.» 

This makes it difficult to define any culture in only one way. While change is inevitable, most people see value in respecting and preserving the past. The United Nations has created a group called The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (opens in new tab) (UNESCO) to identify cultural and natural heritage and to conserve and protect it. Monuments, buildings and sites are covered by the group’s protection, according to the international treaty, the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (opens in new tab). This treaty was adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

Additional reporting by Live Science Contributors Alina Bradford, Stephanie Pappas and Callum McKelvie.