语言与文化的关系

LanguageandCultureMajorresearchesonlanguageandculture

Interactionoflanguageandculture1MajorresearchesTheconnectionbetweencultureandlanguagehasbeennotedasfarbackastheclassicalperiodandprobablylongbefore.TheancientGreeks,forexample,distinguishedbetweencivilizedpeoplesandbárbaros"thosewhobabble“;TheGermanromanticistsofthe19thcenturysuchasHerder,WundtandHumbolt,oftensawlanguagenotjustasoneculturaltraitamongmanybutratherasthedirectexpressionofapeople'snationalcharacter,andassuchascultureinakindofcondensedform.Herderforexamplesuggests,“Sinceeverypeopleisapeople,ithasitsownnationalcultureexpressedthroughitsownlanguage”.2Languageinculture:Boasiantradition.FranzBoas1858-1942EstablishedmodernAmericananthropologyHandbookofAmericanIndianLanguages,1911Anthropologicalorientation3FranzBoas,likehisGermanforerunners,maintainedthatthesharedlanguageofacommunityisthemostessentialcarrieroftheircommonculture.Boaswasthefirstanthropologistwhoconsidereditunimaginabletostudythecultureofaforeignpeoplewithoutalsobecomingacquaintedwiththeirlanguage.thefactthattheintellectualcultureofapeoplewaslargelyconstructed,sharedandmaintainedthroughtheuseoflanguage,meantthatunderstandingthelanguageofaculturalgroupwasthekeytounderstandingitsculture.45Wecanlearnfromthecitation:Languageisthemostimportantbranchofethnology.Ethnologyisthescientificstudyandcomparisonofculturesofdifferentracesofpeople(NewcollegiateDictionary).Languageisacomponentpartofculture.6Culturalrelativism

Whiletranscribingnativetextsandtranslatingthem,Boasbecamefascinatedbythedifferentwaysinwhichdifferentlanguageclassifytheworldandthehumanexperience.Heproposedculturalrelativism—theviewthateachcultureshouldbeunderstoodinitsowntermsratherthanaspartofanintellectuallyormorallyscaledmasterplan,inwhichtheEuropeansorthoseofEuropeandescenttendedtobeatthetop.(Duranti,195255)7CulturalrelativismBoasusedhisknowledgeofAmericanIndianlanguagestoshowthatthewaylanguagesclassifytheworldisarbitrary.Eachlanguagehasitsownwayofbuildingupavocabularythatdividesuptheworldandestablishescategoriesofexperience.ItwaslatermodifiedbySapirandWhorfwhoarguedthatifalanguageencodesaparticularexperienceoftheworld,itsusemightpredisposeitsspeakerstoseetheworldaccordingtotheexperienceencodedinit.8大家有疑问的，可以询问和交流可以互相讨论下，但要小声点9Sapir-WhorfHypothesis萨丕尔－沃尔夫假说EdwardSapir(1884-1939)andBenjaminLeeWhorf(1897-1941)Ourlanguagehelpsmouldourwayofthinkingand,consequently,differentlanguagesmayprobablyexpressspeakers’uniquewaysofunderstandingtheworld.

Sapir-WhorfHypothesis104.2Sapir-WhorfHypothesisHumanbeingsdonotliveintheobjectiveworldalone,noraloneintheworldofsocialactivityasordinarilyunderstood,butareverymuchatthemercyoftheparticularlanguagewhichhasbecomethemediumofexpressionfortheirsociety.…Therealworldistoalargeextentunconsciouslybuiltuponthelanguagehabitsofthegroup.Notwolanguagesareeversufficientlysimilartobeconsideredasrepresentingthesamesocialreality.(Sapir,1931)114.2Sapir-WhorfHypothesis…thatthelinguisticsystem(inotherwords,thegrammar)ofeachlanguageisnotmerelyareproducinginstrumentforvoicingideasbutratherisitselftheshaperofideas,theprogramandguidefortheindividual’smentalactivity,forhisanalysisofimpression,forhissynthesisofhismentalstockintrade…(Whorf,1952)12Sapir-WhorfHypothesisTheprincipleoflinguisticrelativityholdsthatthestructureofalanguageaffectsthewaysinwhichitsspeakersareabletoconceptualizetheirworld,i.e.theirworldview.Sapir–Whorfhypothesis,orWhorfianism,isgenerallyunderstoodashavingtwodifferentversions:(i)thestrongversionthatlanguagedeterminesthoughtandthatlinguisticcategorieslimitanddeterminecognitivecategories;(ii)theweakversionthatlinguisticcategoriesandusageinfluencethoughtandcertainkindsofnon-linguisticbehavior.13AnthropologicalstudyoflinguisticsinEnglandMalinowski,BronislawKaspar(1884～1942)Englishanthropologist,pioneerofFunctionalSchoolIn1920s,hedidhisfieldworkontheTrobriandIslands.Heobservedthatintheprimitiveculturethemeaningofawordgreatlydependeduponitsoccurrenceinagivencontext.14“initsprimitiveuses,languagefunctionsasalinkinconcertedhumanactivity…itisamodeofactionandnotaninstrumentofreflection”(1932:312)TheworkbyMalinowskipavedthewayforacultural,rather,acontextualstudyoflanguageuseinBritain,whichinspiredFirth,evenHalliday.15Interactionbetweenlanguageandculture161.Languageisacomponentpartofculture;

AccordingtomanydefinitionsofculturesuchasthatgivenbyMicrosoftEncartaEncyclopedia,apeople'scultureincludestheirbeliefs,rulesofbehavior,language,ritual,art,technology,styleofdress,waysofproducingandcookingfood,religion,andpoliticalandeconomicsystems.Wecandrawaconclus