The Relationship Between Language and Culture - Term Paper Example

?Running Head: LANGUAGE AND CULTURE Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 26th March, Language and Culture Every society has its own language, culture, dressing and institutions which make up its social structure and cultural values. Among all these factors, language plays a vital role indeed. The role of media, technology, and other elements of the society impact the prevalence of the language largely. The use and application of language to culture is known as experience. This paper discusses the relationship between the other societal factors and language in an elaborated manner. Language A precise definition of language states that ‘language’ may pertain either to the particular capacity of human beings for the acquiring and usage of an intricate interface of communication. It may also refer to a scientific study of language which is termed as linguistics. Besides being a basis for understanding, thinking and communicating, language also plays a role as a basic feature of building up identity and culture. Language has also been classified into natural and artificial languages. Effects of Language on Culture Language does not only serve the purpose of communication, but is only very effective on our culture and thinking process. I have experienced that culture is a learned element. It is taught through language and practice, behaviors, and the human emotions, expressions and feelings. Language has enough influence on culture to create a separate identity for a particular area or region. I have noticed various grammatical constructs and new words appearing in the everyday language. My personal opinion suggests this change to be an outcome of technology and modernization. For example, the word ‘dashboard’ was previously thought of as boards which served the purpose of saving its occupants from snow which would be kicked up by the horses dashing along the way. However, the technology of internet has made this word a part of every language virtually. Another influence of language on culture can be experienced in our day-to-day life. When a child starts growing up and speaking, the words like ‘sorry’, ‘please’, and ‘thank you’ teaches precious skills of the society and culture. This elaborates upon the fact that speech is one of the primary ways of teaching culture to the young generation. Thus, the identities of the culture are created by the type of language or the accents and dialects that are spoken by its people. Effects of Culture on Language The effects of culture and language and its relationship with each other is as old as mankind itself. Through my observation, I have seen that, media and modern technology has made the culture and language undergo many changes. Due to the extreme transition of culture, the language spoken by people has also seen stages of evolutions into the advanced phase. Over time, different cultures borrowed sounds, dialects, accents, vocabulary, and grammar from one another. For example, trousers in English and Pants in Britain have the same connotation; however, they are used interchangeably now. Moreover, English has borrowed many words from French and Spanish culture. The culture which updates itself with the modernization and advancements is said to be a rich culture. The following section look as at the various factors that influence language and culture in a society: Media’s Influence on Language and Culture Media is described as a channel which assists communication at individual, national and global levels. It is a tool which is used to convey data and information from one place to another. Be it electronic media or print, it makes a significant use of language in the data transfer methods. It has given rise to the concepts such as gender bias and extreme use of slangs in the language (Perkins, n.d.). The mainstream sociolinguistics resisted a lot that the introduction of mass media may not impact changes in the core grammar of the language, however, the latest results from Glasgow compelled them to deny the fact. With the usage of internet and cellular technology, I have noticed the changing tone in the language and speaking style in me as well as the people around me. I receive text messages and emails with entirely wrong grammar and spellings. Moreover, the media, presently, has focused on the stylistic variation which has been found across and within speakers. The exchange of such variations over media has resulted into an inclination of the use of innovative phonetic variants which has been constantly enhancing in the wordlist (Stuart-Smith, 2008). The trans-national media has been known to influence the western ideas into the non-western cultures. The borderless world and globalized media, according to the common people, is threatening the nationalism and cultural values by integrating the customs and traditions from other cultures into their own. The advertisements and various other shows on the television have introduced foreign languages, cultural values and an attraction for foreign products in the countries. The negative influence of using harmful products such as cigars and fizzy drinks have also prevailed amongst the teenagers of the modern society impacting the traditions and culture of the heritage Influence of Science and Technology on Language and Culture In the current era, the modern technology and science has also contributed largely to the influencing of language, resulting into the dominance of one language (e.g. English) and declining of the usage of others (e.g. Urdu, Chinese). The young people today believe that English is the language of technology, without realizing the fact, that it is the leadership and ruling power of the language that has been made to prevail by the modern media. Every technology and scientific instructions are in foreign. Not only this, but the increasing migration in the globalized world has increased the introduction of English technology all over the world, thus, influencing the use of language and culture amongst the people. New technical terms and standards have been introduced and are taught to the people in all the schools as a part of textbook. Moreover, technology like computer, mobile phones, televisions and other advancements are all instructed in English language and are used in the entire world. This has contributed extensively to the usage of foreign language. Expansion and Limitation of Vocabulary Due to the increased usage of technology and the growing advancements, the vocabulary of various languages seems to be expanding. I have observed the dictionaries getting thicker and new words being added to it. I have even come across such words which are not a part of English language, but, they have been added to it mainly because they are connected to some scientific technology. For instance, the verb 'to google' is a standard word. 'Googling' has been created and accepted in common usage to describe using a search engine to look for information on the internet. Changes in meaning of language Even the meanings of the words spoken or written in language are subject to change. It is the usage of the words in a particular context that changes their meanings. For example, many people would not have come across any words as Hoover until the earlier part of 20th century. The company, Hoover, which manufactures vacuum cleaners gained such a success in Britain that Hoover has become the part of British idiom for vacuuming or cleaning. The idiomatic structures of language have also faced a huge impact due to the influences of media and technology. Impact of advertising on language Our society is surrounded and constantly attacked by the language used in advertisements in such a manner that it has filtered our cultural values and norms, and seeped into an average speaker’s language. It has given rise to new words, references and phrases. The phrase and words used in advertisements enter the language at maximum velocity, start being used with higher propensity, and abruptly vanish with the introduction of some new product’s advertisement and punch line. I remember the slogans of various successful brands like Nike and Nokia; they have entered the language used by our teenagers and modern youth, and play an important part in their language today. The use of these advanced products has even changed the cultural values. For example, previously, various natural and herbal drinks were used to serve the guests. Now, Coca Cola and Pepsi have replaced all those eastern teas thus, changing the cultural and traditional values of the society. Many a times, the advertisements forget the ethical demands which most of the cultures follow. The makeover, language and celebrities in the advertisements are sufficiently influencing for the kids and young generation to get attracted to, and replace their cultural values. Moreover, misspelled words, grammatical errors and wrong grammar make the language of advertisement, which has now penetrated in the everyday language of the social structure. The double meaning words, alliterations and quotations with new connotations make up the context of the language and advanced culture. Conclusion Thus, we see that the modern world poses different challenging features for the survival of cultures and languages in originality. It tends to change them through the influences of media, and science and technology. Moreover, since the variables of culture and language are interrelated, when one changes the other adopts changes too and vice versa. REFERENCES Perkins Carl D., n.d., ‘Media Influences’, Web, Retrieved on March 25 Stuart-Smith Jane, 2008, ‘Understanding media influence on language: insights from stylistic variation’, Web, Sociolinguistics Symposium Read More