1. Unit 2 language and Culture Lecture 1 Language, thought and culture

2. The story of Tower of Babel
According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where they resolved to build a tower of Babel with its top in the heavens.
To stop human’s attempt to reach the heavens. God separate them by making them speak different languages.

3. Language: Some Questions?
What is language?
Are we born knowing it?
Are our brains wired for it?
Does it make us unique among animals?
animals communicate through biologically inherited means
humans too, but also use
symbols
learned systems
the difference?
animals: speech
humans: language
any patterned verbal behavior
patterns governed, organized, generated by complex rules (grammar)

4. “Fun” Facts about language
Languages with most native speakers?
Mandarin Chinese (874,000,000)
Hindi (366,000,000)
English (341,000,000)
Most widely distributed?
official in 52 countries, common in 104
90% Internet traffic
60% radio programs
Majority of languages are ____
90% of world’s languages dead/dying in 100 yrs
English
unwritten

5. How is language related to culture ? Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Benjamin Whorf
Edward Sapir
Language both: a) reflects cultural world view
and b) shape the world view

6. How language reflects culture
abundance or scarcity of certain concept words reflects a culture’s reality.
1. Language reflects the environment
most of Asia: rice and food are one word
Arabic: 3,000 words for camel
Most of Africa: dry season and rain season
the Hanunov tribe has 92 different terms for rice
a highly technological society will have a large numeric, mathematical, and scientific lexicon
In Japan, writing opens with specific references to the weather, so there are far more terms to describe the seasons, including dividing the 4 main seasons into 24 subseasons.

7. 2. Language reflects culture values aunt
阿姨，姑姑，姨妈，舅母，婶婶
aunt
叔叔，伯伯，舅舅，姨父，姑父
uncle
表兄弟，堂兄弟，表姐妹，堂姐妹
cousin
婆婆，公公，
岳母，岳父
Mom, dad
林黛玉的母亲是贾宝玉的姑母，贾宝玉的母亲是林黛玉
的舅母，又是薛宝钗的姨母。

8. Watchdog
Love me, love my dog
Every dog has his day
Be as faithful as a dog
Give a dog a bad name
and hang him.
I am too old a dog to
learn new tricks.
He is top dog in the
office.
狗仗人势，狗头军师，
狗崽子， 放狗屁，
狗嘴里吐不出象牙，
狗胆包天，狗咬狗
痛打落水狗

9. Group work – Perceptions of colors
Black – e.g. (in Chinese) evil, death…
Blue
Green
Pink
Red
White
Yellow

10. How Language shapes the world view?
one’s language determines his/her categories of thought
Color categories in three cultures
English
Shona of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia
Bassa of Liberia
purple
blue
green
yellow
orange
red
cipsuka
citema
cicena
hui
ziza

11. The labels which the language provides tend to shape the person’s overall cognitive organization of color and to cause varying degrees of color discrimination.
Eskimo: seven different words for snow to distinguish different types of snow (falling snow, snow on the ground, fluffy snow, wet snow, etc.). Eskimos are more capable of noticing difference in snow than people from hot area.
As white as snow – 像白鹭毛一样白

12. Straight
zigzag
Wavy
curvy
crooked
We perceive these lines as divisible and put them into different categories because our language has given us such choices.

13. Advertisements use language to shape, persuade and dissuade.
No small eggs

14. Euphemisms- “telling it like it isn’t”
Sanitary engineers
Restroom
Substandard dwellings
A video clip: Sapir – whorf Hypothesis

15. Cultural tips for today
How do you react when others say “ how are you?” or “how are you doing?”
Hello
おはよう 你好
Bonjour
안녕하세요
Hola

16. Social questions Vs. information questions
All languages have social questions and information questions. A social question, even though it comes in question form, does not ask for information. It is simply a lubricant to move the conversation forward.
“吃了吗”in Chinese is a social question. The same question is information question in many languages which may make people feel too intrusive when asked.

17. Thank you