Cultural Language
Introduction Evidently, there is a very deeply rooted relationship between culture and language. While language communicates culture and pass it from one generation to another, different ideologies arise from language uses. Language portrays culture and its cultural associations that are in existent in a given society.
Worldview refers to a structure made up of ideologies and beliefs through which humans make an interpretation of the world around them. The worldview also determines how the person relates to it. Worldview can be shaped by language that is common to all members of a given society. This is possible because speakers of a given language in a society use their language to pass across their culture thus expressing the worldview in that given society. Discussion The relationship between these two phenomena begins at one’s birth.
As children develop, they are exposed to their culture and automatically becomes a member of that culture. People he or she interacts with shape the environment in which the child develops. These interactions inevitably shape the child’s life, thought patterns, and language. People in a given society can never be alike. They differ from one other on the basis of their physical and psychological makeup and the level of interaction varies from one culture to another, person to another and from one place to another.
The patterns of behavior portrayed by these differing groups tend to vary and can either be accepted or rejected. The differing behavioral patterns and cultures form different worldviews for particular persons and their society. Basically, culture is made up of beliefs and values that are mutually recognized in a given society. These beliefs and values are used to manage people’s activities in a given societyand the members of this society use them to exhibit different world views. A person’s worldview is then inevitably dependent on the person’s culture, as this is what shapes them. An individual, therefore, describes their worldview by the use of the same language that has been shaped by their culture It then suffice to say that a people’s understanding of their culture is enhanced by the knowledge of their culture.
People’s worldview, however, can be different even in the event that they are put together in the same patterns of behavior as they speak different languages (Adler and Rodman, 1997). This, therefore, portrays that the language a person uses to express their worldview limits him to some extent. Various languages create some level of limitations, therefore, persons sharing a particular culture but speak differing languages tend to have differing worldviews. This fact depicts that language is shaped by the speaker’s culture, and their culture is exhibited by its language use. The general worldview of a given society heavily depends on commonly held beliefs in that society also the language spoken in that society.It is, therefore, important that a newborn is well taught the language of the society in which they are born as well as its ways of life.
This ensures that as they grow up they have ac clear and correct worldview of their society. Teaching, therefore, should involve the use of materials that portray the language and culture of the given society to help the children best understand their society’s culture and language (Adler and Rodman, 1997). Teaching a new born about their culture and language is primarily important so that they do not have a bad attitude toward them as they grow up. Language policy can be incorporated to make people aware of the inevitable variations in cultures and have an understanding of them. This assists a lot in helping peeople understand their language and culture, as well as other people’s culture and thus become multicultural persons (Adler and Rodman, 1997).
This also trains people on how to interpret situations as well as actions of other people. Conversations help people in a society to exhibit their culture through both verbal and non-verbal communication means. The language conceived by a particular culture used to express the worldview of that society. Components of a language differ from on culture to another. This explains why there is a great variation in worldviews held by different cultures. Thus, when one learns a new language, they broaden their worldview, as well.
Contact with persons of another culture gives one an opportunity to explore other people’s worldview as well as understand their ways of life and their spoken language. This intercultural interaction not only provides an opportunity to learn other people’s culture, and language but also question oneself in terms of their perception of their culture. Finally, the principle of linguistic relativity argues that language structure influences the way in which its speakers are able to conceptualize the world in which they live. Therefore, people’s views are dependent on their culture and language. Sapir- Whorf postulates that differences in people’s thoughts are brought about by their differing language use.
Conclusion In conclusion, it suffices to say that language and culture are necessarily interrelated and one leads to the other. However, there has been a controversy relating to which comes first between the two concepts. This controversy remains unsolved. However, the most obvious fact is that of their intertwined relationship. As one learns a new language; therefore, it is understood that learning the culture attached to that language is inevitable.
