LESSON 3: THEORIES IN LANGUAGE AND
CULTURE [WEEK 11]
DISCUSSION
The Interconnected between Culture and Language
We can view the interrelatedness between culture and language in these
three opposing aspects:
1) Language and culture are inseparable since language is closely related
to culture.
2) Language and culture are independent because speech is a means
of exchanging information which can be used in aspects that are not
connected to culture.
3) Culture and language are partly interconnected.
Kramsch (1998) pointed three ways by which language and culture are
related.
∙ Ways of doing things and perceptions can be manifested through the use
and arrangement of words. Considering this, people in society convey culture.
∙ People postulate meaning in their daily activities and experiences
through language, and thus, language personifies cultural reality.
∙ The context of communication where language is used embodies cultural reality
and speakers distinguish themselves using their language as their identity.
Therefore, language is a tool for people to express themselves and put
significance in their social and cultural experiences and reality with others.
Culture as part of Language
(Sapir, 1921).
"Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating
ideas, emotions and desire by means of voluntarily produced symbols" (Sapir,
1921).
Risgar (2006)
claims that language is a part of culture and a part of epidermal behavior. It is
predominantly held that the task of language is to put thoughts into words, to
communicate pieces of information and to express feelings. Language fulfills
many other functions as maintaining a friendly societal relationship between
people such as greeting people, expressing needs, etc. In this area of study,
Kramsch (1962) phrased the main functions of language in three aspects:
∙ Language is the primary vehicle of communication.
∙ Language reflects both the personality of the individual and the culture of
history. In turn, it helps in shaping both personality and culture.
∙ Language makes possible the growth and transmission of culture, the
continuity of societies and the effective functioning and control of social
group.
If we endeavor to learn a foreign language, we need to be acquainted with
the cultural realities embedded in this foreign language. There must be a distinct
way of requesting or expressing gratitude and other appropriate ways of
transacting.
Language, Thought and Culture
Benjamin Lee Whorf
shared his theory on the significance of language in organizing our thoughts.
He espoused that our ways of looking at the world depend on the type of
language that we use. His example is on the word "snow". The word may mean
differently to and English person and an Eskimo person who may have 50
ways to describe the snow.
The same holds truth for Sinugbuanong Binisaya or the Cebuano language,
there are more than one word to mean "eat". There is "painit". "pamahaw". "hab
hab", "sima sima", "timo", etc. Language therefore is very cultural. The Cebuano
words for eat basically tells that culturally, Cebuanos have different ways and
practices for eating as represented by the hue of meaning of these words: (painu,
pamahaw, hab hab, sima
sima, timo)
Culture and its Elements
It is undeniable that we learn culture through interaction with people. Culture
is not inborn but rather learned as it is a social product. Words are the best tools
of cultural symbols, such as epics, myths, and stories. This helps connect people.
Aside from words or language, rituals, beliefs and values are essential in the
formation of culture. Generally, the elements of culture include the overall
patterns of behavior, literature and language, arts, prototypes and other products
of human work and thought
Vygotsky's theory
Lev Vygotsky, a psychologist, believed that social interactions between and
among people are a key element in acquiring knowledge, just like how a child
watches and learns from adults. The more experiences a child has to imitate the
greater his intellectual skills and language development compared to those with
less experience and exposure. Moreover, for Vygotsky, language and culture are
intently interconnected. He believed that every culture has specific dynamics for
social transactions
Piaget's theory
Jean Piaget contends that when children are born they have an embedded
basic structure for cognition as well as for language. As they mature, their built-in
structure also adjusts to let them learn more about complex language and other
higher-order concepts. In his theory, Piaget stressed that children create
meaning from the verbal and nonverbal cues received from their environment
and these meanings change as children learn more because of maturity. Piaget
did not adhere to Vygotsky's idea of emphasizing culture in learning.
Chomsky's Theory
Noam Chomsky is known for his Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which is
a built-in box in the brain responsible for creating and learning the language. For
him, practice is not important as children never acquire language through it.
Furthermore, language structures can change, develop and evolve given cultural
interactions.
CHAPTER 5: LANGUAGE AND HISTORY
[WEEK 12-13]
INTRODUCTION
The history of language relied so much on the hands of the great linguists
from the time it started up to the 20h Century. Language literally and constantly
evolves with time and its development follows a timeline. In each stage that
language passes through are footprints of accomplishments of the great
contributors from Ancient philosophers to modern linguists. From the time
language was first studied and structured, the transformation of language
artifacts just kept coming. The changes applied to language miraculously suit to
the generation of its users. With the numerous language experts the world has,
there are just a few noteworthy linguists whose contributions are widely adopted
and scrutinized by modern linguists.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this Chapter, the students are expected to:
a. Identify the noteworthy linguists and their contributions to the language that it
is today;
b. trace the development of language in a historical; perspective from Anglo-
Saxon to global periods;
c. recognize the language family of English and differentiate the three Englishes
according to the period from Old, Middles, and Modern through in-depth
historical analysis case.
DISCUSSION
LESSON 1: HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF NOTEWORTHY
LINGUISTS Noteworthy Linguists
Linguistics started to make a mark after Panini composed his Sanskrit
grammar in India in 400B.C. followed by the
remarkable linguists of Greece in the 5th Century onwards namely,
Socrates
, Plato, and
Aristotle.
The lineages of linguists that history records are all noteworthy. However, in
the field of language and history, the following linguists below are well
remembered.
1. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
In 384 B.C.E, Aristotle was born in Macedonia particularly in Stagira. His
father served as the physician of the Macedonian king, Amyntas. At 17,
Aristotle entered the academy which Plato established in Athens and stayed
there until Plato's death. As the successor of Plato, he departed Athens and
lived in Asia Minor and then
resided in Lesbos. Later between 343 B. C. - 342 B. C., he was invited by
Amynta's son, Philip II of Macedonia, to teach his 14- year old son,
Alexander. In 336B. C., Alexander took over the throne and conquered the
entire of Greece. So, Aristotle left and established his school of philosophy.
He taught there until 323 B.C. Alexander died at age 32. Uncertain of
Macedonian protection, he moved out of Athens and lived in the Cha lcis,
north of Athens. Later in 322, Aristotle died of a digestive disease.
Contribution to Linguistics
Aristotle's huge contribution to the
development of language started
when he demythologized language.
He looked at it as an object of rational
inquiry, a medium of communicating
and expressing thoughts about
anything under the sun. In Ogden and
Richards (1923:11), he explained that
the "semiotic triangle" refers to (a)
language is human's means of
expression of (b) thoughts that are
purposefully connected to (c)
elements present in this world. In
other words, he was establishing the
relation between language expressions including written words with the
mental meaning produced by these words. In his theory of truth, he provided
that the properties of either thoughts and sentences are truth and falsity. He
identified the primary parts of a sentence - the noun and verb, which
functioned as subject and verb in the sentence.
2. Robert Lowth (1710 - 1787)
He was born in Winchester on November
27, 1710 and was educated at Winchester
School and New College Oxford. In his
lifetime, he worked as a Professor of Poetry
at the University of Oxford. Lowth was a
clergyman after he served as archdeacon of
Winchester, rector of East Woodhay,
prebend of Durham, Bishop of Saint David's,
bishop of London, dean of the Chapel Royal
and privy councilor. His noble acts ended
after he died on November 3, 1787.
Contribution to Linguistics
In 1762, he published his book titled,
"Short Introduction to English Grammar"
which became a standard textbook. The
“Short Introduction to English Grammar" instantly gained fame over other
grammar books that it was reissued approximately 45 times form 1762-1800.
Lowth then earned a reputation as a prescriptivist and that period gave rise to
prescriptivism. The term prescriptivism refers to beliefs and practices where
one's language is thought to be superior and correct and should be
promoted. The explicit rules are laid down as the basis of the imposition on
the language users. He was one of the few grammarians to publish writing
about what is right and wrong in English grammar where he used footnotes
that contain essential information that explained why a particular grammatical
structure was right or wrong (Encyclopedia.com, 2019).
3. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)
In 1857, Ferdinand de Saussure was
born in Geneva, Switzerland. He was
interested in languages even at his very
early age. At 15, learned French, Greek,
English, and Latin and he also wrote
essays on languages at that age. Having
been influenced by a family of scientists,
he entered the University of Geneva and
studied natural sciences. He stayed at the
university, but he had convinced his
parents to permit him to study linguistics
in Leipzig in 1876 and luckily received his
doctorate.
Contribution to Linguistics
As a linguist, he was among the
pillars of linguistics in the 20th Century and known as a co-founder of
semiotics and structuralism. Structuralism theorizes that things could not be
understood without analyzing the context where they appear. Things might
look self-evident at first glance, but structuralism goes beyond what one sees
and insists that context contributes to the meaning- making process.
In summary, structuralism advocated three similar concepts: a) Saussure
maintained the difference between langue (a set of conventions and rules)
and parole (language as used in daily life). He claimed that the "sign" was a
combination of a "signified", the mental concept or idea, and a "signifier", the
physical existence including s ounds and image; b) There was no intrinsic
and particular reason why a sign was utilized to express a signifier. There
was no resemblance and direct connection between the language and the
thing that it represents, that's why, other languages call it using different
names; and c) The meaning of signs can be based on their relationships and
differences from other signs (Negi, 2020).
Example:
SIGN SIGNIFIER SIGNIFIED
rose Passion
rose The thing that gives The mental association or concept that
meaning including word or the sign
image represents
4. Noam Chomsky
His name, when written in full,
Avram Noam Chomsky. He was born
in Pennsylvania in 1928. He pursued
his interest in linguistics under Zellig
Harris, theprofessor who helped him
earn his doctorate at the University of
Pennsylvania. During his time, he was
also regarded as the Father of Modem
LInguistics, a philosopher, a social
critic, a cognitive scientist, and a
political activist.
At age 13, Ch omsky began
traveling to New. York by himself,
where he discovered interesting
reading materials for his extreme reading hobby and befriended some Jewish
intellectuals. He worked as a Laureate Professor at the University of Arizona
and as an Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and had authored some notable works such as The
Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory and Aspects of the Theory of Syntax,
Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies and Syntactic
Structures,
Contribution to Linguistics
As one of the linguistic intellectuals, he introduced the concept of
universal grammar and suggested that human has an ability to ability to learn
grammar because the brain has a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that
automatically works in language acquisition. Chomsky, who often focused on
the language learning of children, popularized this theory since the 1980s. He
was not convinced that exposure to language alone can fully develop the
child's faculty to acquire a language. Instead, he believed that basic language
structures are already wired into the human brain at birth. Besides, the
human language has universal components no matter what language it is.
For instance the English language has verbs and nouns, and so do other
languages even it the terms being used vary due to language differences.
The word "house in Enghsh is named as Bahay in the Filipino language.
These terms sound and spell the distinctly from each other, yet they belong
to one category, they are both nouns. Therefore, language shares the same
universal components of grammar.
