(精品)Chapter 7 Language, Culture, and Society.ppt

Chapter SevenLanguage,Culture,&Society7.1 Language and Culture7.1.1 How does language relate to culture?What is culture?Broadly speaking:It means the total way of life of a people,including the patterns of belief,customs,objects,institutions,techniques,and language.In a narrow sense:It refers to local or specific practice,beliefs or customs.The heritage concerning the study of language and culture:At the start of the 20th century,AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ORIENTATION in the study of language was developed both in England and in North America.England:Malinowskis study马林诺夫斯基的研究:the word wood on the Trobriand Islands off eastern New GuineaSpeech community 言语社区Firths study 弗斯的研究:Context of Situation情景语境情景语境Hallidays study韩礼德的研究:The study of language from a socially semiotic or interactional perspectiveNorth America:The relationship between language and cultureThe American Indian cultureThe reconstruction of American Native languagesBoas,Sapir,WhorfField work,first-hand evidenceThe ethnography of communication 交际民俗学The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis(萨丕尔沃尔夫假说)Our language helps mould our way of thinking and different languages may probably express our unique ways of understanding the world.Two points in his theory:1)Language may determine our thinking patterns;2)similarity between languages is relative,the greater their structural differentiation is,the more diverse their conceptualization of the world will be.Linguistic determinism(语言决定论):语言决定思维Linguistic relativity(语言相对论)：思维相对于语言，思维模式随着语言的不同而不同。The German ethnologist,Willaim von Humboldt 洪堡特Eugene Nida 奈达:a linguist and translation theoristAs translators,if we want to do a good job in CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION,we should always be aware of some types of sub-culture.Sapir：真实世界在很大程度上是建筑在社会集团的语言习惯之上，并且是无意识的，不同社会生活的世界是不同的世界，甚至相对比较简单的感知事实也在很大程度上受到不同社会模式的支配。Whorf：实际上，思维神秘莫测，而迄今为止我们对此所具有的最大理解是通过研究语言获得的。研究表明，人的思维是受到模式无情的法则控制的，这些模式就是人自己语言种种复杂的系统化，并且是人未感知到的。人的世界观是由语言控制的人的世界观是由语言控制的。一种语言有一种语言独特的系统，因而思维也是独特的。7.1.2 More about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesisThe strong version(强式说):Emphasizes the decisive role of language as the shaper of our thinking patternsThe weak version(弱式说):Suggest that there is a correlation between language,culture,and thought,the cross-cultural differences produced in our ways of thinking are relative,rather than categorical.A lively controversy about the hypothesis:Two examples to show the complexity and controversy of the theory:One is quoted from Hopi,an American native language spoken in Arizona;the other is taken from a language spoken in the central highlands of Irian Jaya(伊里安岛，太平洋).The first example serves to show how languages may differ from each other.The second example serves to challenge the hypothesis.He gave man speech,and speech created thought,Which is the measure of the universe Prometheus Unbound,ShelleyIn Hopi,there is something very special about its grammar.One of the features that separate it from other languages is that it does not use the same means to express time,and hence is called as a“timeless language”(没有时间的语言).Do not recognize time as a linear dimension.Hopi verbs do not have tenses of time and no concept of speed.印欧语言：严式语言-严式思维轨迹-构造分析-逻辑演绎-智性精神汉语：宽式语言-宽式思维轨迹-整体领悟-类比联想-悟性精神Two American scholars conducted a large cross-linguistic investigation of basic color vocabulary.The finding is that color word systems in different languages are not like what has been assumed by the Sapir and Whorf hypothesis,being culturally determined and hence absolutely different from one another.Different languages might well undergo a universal evolutionary process of development which made the basic color system in one language different from that in another only in terms of the stages of their evolution.See the basic evolutionary stages of basic color words on Page 165.According to this evolutionary theory,English has all the eleven basic color words so it reaches the last stage of evolution.This theory correctly captures a kind of generalization in color words cross-culturally.This evolutionary theory finds a good example in the second example of the Irian language,a language which has become well known for its very restricted system of basic color words.There are only two basic color words in this language:modla for light,bright,hence,white,and mili for dark,dull,hence,black.What will native Irian language speaker do if he/she wants to designate colors other than black and white?Or do white and black always mean white and black cross-linguistically?The investigation revealed that native speakers of this culture use this White versus Black contrast to convey more messages about their color perception.They use modla as a general color term to include all warm colors such as red and yellow and use mili as another umbrella color word to cover all the cold colors.Therefore,the contrast between modla and mili in fact is a contrast between“whitewarmness”versus“blackcoldness”.The color word system in the Irian language is still in its first stage of evolution and by means of using this whitewarmness and blackcoldness contrast and other types of color words derived from object names,animals,plants and so on,the speakers from this culture can successfully express any colors labelled by distinct color words in another culture.语言具有普遍性的理论。认知科学强调人类认知的共性，这跟语言相对论恰好针锋相对。强调人类认知的基础是人的遗传天赋。常举的一个例子是颜色词的研究。从表面上看各种语言的颜色词各不相同，但Berlin和Kay的研究（1969）发现它们有共性。任何语言至少都有两个颜色词（白和黑），新几内亚高地语只有“白”和“黑”两个颜色词。英语有11个颜色词。有右边的颜色词，就必有其左边的颜色词。这就是语言的共性，并且认知语言学家认为这种共性是有生理基础的，那就是白色跟黑色具有最强的聚焦性，因为眼睛对这两种光频最敏感。杨永林，色彩语码研究杨永林，色彩语码研究-进化论与相对论进化论与相对论之争，之争，外语教学与研究2000年第3期，第190-195页。1.萨皮尔-沃尔夫假说的基本内容是什么？你对其作何评价？2.试论语言与文化的相互影响3.从中西文化比较看沃尔夫对霍皮语言和欧洲语言的比较4、怎样看待中西文化对话中的民族文化立场?7.1.3 Case studiesThe interplay of language and culture may range from textual structure to phonological variation.Kaplan(1966):The structural organization of a text tends to be culturally specific.线性与螺旋型Nida(1998):Words are sometimes“idiomatically-governed”and“culturally-specific”.杨永林(1993)made several case studies through his personal exposure to the American culture.1)When you get your hands dirty,it does not necessarily mean in the American culture that youve done some manual work and need to wash your hand.(practice something,be engaged in doing something)2)When you have enough dumbbells(哑铃),it does not necessarily mean that you keep pairs of this instrument for regular physical practices.(have lots of stupid guys)英汉习俗差异是多方面的，最典型的莫过于在对狗这种动物的态度上。狗在汉语中是一种卑微的动物。汉语中与狗有关的习语大都含有贬意：“狐朋狗党”、“狗急跳墙”、“狼心狗肺”、“狗腿子”等，尽管近些年来养庞物狗的人数大大增加，狗的“地位”似乎有所改变，但狗的贬义形象却深深地留在汉语言文化中。而在西方英语国家，狗被认为是人类最忠诚的朋友。英语中有关狗的习语除了一部分因受其他语言的影响而含有贬义外，大部分都没有贬义。在英语习语中，常以狗的形象来比喻人的行为。如You are a lucky dog（你是一个幸运儿），Every dog has his day（凡人皆有得意日），Old dog will mot learn mew tricks（老人学不了新东西）等等。形容人“病得厉害”用sick as a dog，“累极了”是dog-tired。与此相反，中国人十分喜爱猫，用“馋猫”比喻人贪嘴，常有亲呢的成份，而在西方文化中，“猫”被用来比喻“包藏祸心的女人”。龙在中国人民的心目中占有崇高的位置，有关龙的成语非常多，且含有褒义。如“龙跃凤鸣”、“龙骧虎步”等。在外国语言中，赞扬龙的词语非常之少，且含有贬义。如“dragon”指凶暴的人，严厉的人，凶恶严格的监护人，凶恶的老妇人（尤指很少给在其看管下姑娘自由的老妇人）等。以dragon组成的词组也多含贬义。如dragons teeth：相互争斗的根源；排列或多层的楔形反坦克混克混凝土障碍物。the old Dragon：魔鬼。7.1.4 To Which Extent Do We Need Culture in Our Linguistic Study?A study of linguistic issues in a cultural setting can greatly promote our understanding of MOTIVATION and DIRECTIONALITY in language change.有助于对语言变化的动因和方向性进行理解。The Watergate example:The watergate:美国华盛顿特区一综合大厦，1972年6月17日夜间共和党争取总统连任委员会有关人员潜入大厦内民主党全国委员会总部而被捕，暴露了共和党政府在总统竞选中的非法活动，导致美国历史上首次的总统辞职(尼克松)。水门事件式丑闻，丑闻This suffix enjoys a rich productivity in American English.Words derived from this source inevitably take on a culturally pejorative implication to refer to“the disclosures of misconduct in highplaces”(被揭发出来的高层丑闻).7.1.5 Culture in language teaching classroomThe relationship between culture and language teachingThree objectives for us to teach culture in our language class:1)To get students familiar with cultural differences;2)To help students transcend their own culture and see things as the members of the target culture will;3)To emphasize the inseparability of understanding language and understanding culture through various classroom practices.7.2 Language and society7.2.1 How does language relate to society?Linguistics as a MONISTIC or AUTONOMOUS PURSUIT of an independent science 一元性或自治性 Chomskyan linguisticsLinguistics as a DUALISTIC inquiry 二元性 SociolinguisticsThe sub-field of linguistics that studies the relation between L and society,between the uses of L and the social structures in which the users of language live.7.2.2 A situationally and socially variationist perspectiveAn appropriate language use in any social interaction not only has something to do with structural rules,but also involves some socially institutionalized norms in usage.The choice of one form over another is both stylistically and socially governed.A maxim in sociolinguistics:“You are what you say.”(尔即尔所言)Some social factors that influence our language behaviour in a social context:1)class2)gender3)age4)ethnic identity5)education background6)occupation7)religious beliefWilliam Labovs study:William Labov(拉波夫):a famous American sociolinguistHe conducted a survey at several departments in the City of New York in the middle of 1960s.The objective of his survey was to examine the relationship between speakers social status and their phonological VARIATIONS.The Social Stratification of English in New York City(1966)纽约英语的社会阶层性Labov explicitly delineated the patterns of stratification by class and style and successfully introduced class as an indispensable sociolinguistic variable.著名的“纽约百货商场-R”的调查案例 调查纽约市内不同阶层的人说英语时使用元音后的r音的情况（保留还是脱落）。元音后r 音的保留被认为是社会中上层人士说话的标志。William Labov(born December 4,1927)is a professor in the linguistics department of the University of Pennsylvania.He is widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of quantitative sociolinguistics and pursues research in sociolinguistics and dialectology.Gender differences in speechDifferences between women and men have always been a topic of interest to the human species and supposed linguistic differences are often enshrined in proverbs:A womans tongue wags like a lambs tail.(England)Foxes are all tail and women are all tongue.The North Sea will sooner be found wanting in water than a woman at a loss for a word.There exists a WOMEN REGISTER.Its features include:1)Women use more“fancy”color terms mauve,beige,aquamarine,lavender,magenta Imagine a man and a woman both looking at the same wall,painted a pinkish shade of purple.The woman may say:The wall is mauve.If the man should say the above sentence,one might well conclude he was imitating a woman sarcastically,or was a homosexual,or an interior decorator.2)Women use less powerful curse words 少用God damn it!Damn!Shit!Fuck you!常用Oh,dear!Goodness me!a.Oh dear,youve put the peanut butter in the refrigerator again.b.Shit,youve put the peanut butter in the refrigerator again.3)Women use more intensifiersterrible,awful,so good,such fun,exquisite,lovely,divine,precious,adorable,darling,fantastic.In Chapter III in Jane Austens novel,Pride and Prejudice,Mrs Bennet,excited after participating in a party,talked to her husband about Mr.Bingley as follows:Oh!My dear Mr.Bennet,we have had a most excellent ball.Jane was so admired.Every body said how well she looked.Mr.Bingley thought her quite beautiful,I was so vexed to see him stand up with her.I am quite delighted with him.He is so excessively handsome!Mr.Darcy is a most disagreeable,horrid man.So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him!He walked here,and he walked there,fancying himself so very great!Not handsome enough to dance with.4)Women use more tag questions John is here,isnt it?5)Women use more statement questions Dinner will be ready at seven oclock?6)Womens linguistic behaviour is more indirect and more polite than mensThese differences in language use are brought about by nothing less than womens place in society.LINGUISTIC SEXISM 语言性别歧视现象许多职业名称如doctor,professor,engineer等，人们习惯于把它们跟男性联系在一起，若要指称女性，往往要加上woman一词，如woman doctor。还有一些名称含有男性的语素-man，如chairman,congressman,spokesman,salesman等，也用来指女性。Man 作为mankind的同义词指人类，男女性都包括在内。与之相呼应，英语的人称代词中，he(他)有时也可包括she(她)，例如：A professor usually sees his students during office hours.What is linguistic sexism?According to Ruth King(1991:2-3),We can assume an act of linguistic discrimination against women has occurred if:1.there is a difference in the way men and women are treated;2.this differing treatment is less favourable to women;and 3.the basis for the difference is gender related.King,Ruth.1991.Talking Gender;A Guide to Nonsexist Communication.Toronto:Copp Clark Pitman Ltd.Types of linguistic sexism(from King 1991)1.male-as-norm(women invisible)Each candidate should include three copies of his rsum with the application.2.irrelevant reference to gender That woman dentist is really excellent.3.irrelevant reference to physical appearance or domestic relationships Susan Dixon,a beautiful,green-eyed blonde,has just entered her first year of medical school.4.inappropriate forms of address Hey honey!Whats wrong?7.2.3 What should we know more about sociolinguistics?A sociolinguistic study of society(macrosociolinguistics)A sociolinguistic study of language (microsociolinguistics):If we want to know more about a given society or community by examining the linguistic behaviour of its members,we are doing a sociolinguistic study of society.That is,we are doing sociolinguistics at a macro level of investigation.Topics of study may include bilingualism or multilingualism,language attitudes,language choice,language maintenance and shift,language planning and standardization,vernacular language education.If we want to know more about some linguistic variations in language use by turning to potential sociocultural factors for a description and explanation,we are doing a sociolinguistic study of language.We are interested in examining micro linguistic phenomena such as structural variants,address forms(称呼语),gender differences,discourse analysis,pidgin(皮钦语)and creole(克里奥尔语)languages and other more language-related issues.皮钦语皮钦语是在殖民时期诞生的。当欧洲的商人、水手、传教士涉足亚洲、非洲、美洲、大洋州的口岸与当地人打交道时，由于彼此语言不通，就把两种语言的成分混合在一起使用，以达到沟通的目的。皮钦语大多以英语、法语、葡语等某一欧洲语言为基础，把语法规则大大地简化，没有性、数、格等变化和曲折、派生等词形。说话人借助于有限的词语和简单的词序来指称事物或传递指令。皮钦语的生长过程与社会变迁息息相关，它们的命运取决于交际环境的需要。有些皮钦语如17世纪至19世纪在我国南方沿海地区流行的“洋泾浜”英语逐渐消失了。有些皮钦语则稳定了下来，词汇和语法手段丰富了起来，扩大了使用范围和表达功能。皮钦语可成为人们的第二语言，也可发展成为克里奥尔语克里奥尔语。当某一地区的人们把皮钦语传授给后代，变为他们的母语时，皮钦语就实现了克里奥尔化。7.2.4 What implications can we get from sociolinguistics?(1)In language classrooms Grammarians or active language usersTwo different views of philosophy in language teaching:a process of acquiring knowledge,a process of acquiring communicative competence(2)In law courtsThe analysis of language data gathered as evidenceThe preparation of some legal documentsEnrich our understanding of the relationship between the concept of power and language use.(3)In clinic settingsThe analysis of the dialogue between doctors and patientsHow the concept of power is encoded and decoded through language use in a hierarchical society?The im