The function of language as a tool of culture. The cultural background of a language

Lecture 1. The reflection of the nationally - cultural peculiarities in the lexical system of the English language

(language as a tool of culture; the background knowledge of the user; “cumulative function of the language”; the cultural background knowledge of the world; words without equivalents; cultural component of the word; additional shades of word meaning; culturally marked, territorially determined words, referring to the natural environment, food & drinks, etc [the Yorkshire Dales, the Yorkshire Moors, Lancashire cheese, Lancashire hotpot, Yorkshire pudding, high tea, haggis, alumnus, public school, Scottish bagpipe]).

Plan

1. The function of language as a tool of culture. The cultural background of a language

2. The linguistic study of the country

3. The cultural component of lexical units

a) territorially determined words, referring to the natural environment;

b) culturally marked words, referring to food & drinks ethnographic realia; words without (full) equivalents;

c) functional differences of words in the sphere of education;

d) denotative realia, words without (full) equivalents.

The function of language as a tool of culture. The cultural background of a language

The function of language as a tool of culture is extremely important for many reasons. Language accumulates and stores the culture of a nation, and passes it on from generation to generation, or, for that matter, from nation to nation (“cumulative function of the language” Veretshagin E.M, Kostomarov V.G.).

The use of language largely depends on the background knowledge of the user, which is why cultural studies are indispensable in foreign language learning and teaching. Without the cultural background knowledge of the world where it is naturally used the language turns into a dead language.

Culture in the broad, anthropological meaning of the word (as opposed to its more narrow meaning of “arts”) may be defined as the way the people of a community see the world around them, their way of thinking, behaving, reacting to the world and to other people. Culture is manifested by intellectual, moral and physical attributes.

The word of reality, the real world, so many times referred to, is given to people by both their physical experience and their sociocultural experience. That is how the ‘culture’ life of the society comes in. Sociocultural structures underline linguistic structures. Language reflects sociocultural structures and relations, because it refers to objects through concepts.

That is why the cultural background of a language is so important and a language cannot be presented or studied, or taught, as the case may be, just as a list of meanings of separate words and the rules of grammar. Each speech community lives in a somewhat different world from that of others, and (that) these differences are both realized in parts in parts of their languages.

Language is part of culture (and culture is part of language) and it is impossible to use it as a means of communication (i.e. for the now so popular communicative purposes) without solid cultural background knowledge.

The sociocultural component of language is far from being confined to kilts*, tartan* and Scottish bagpipe* (words - realia).

Scottish bagpipe* was probably introduced by the Romans. It was popular all over the country in the Middle Ages. In Scotland the bagpipe is first recorded in the XV century during the reign of James I, who was a very good player. The sound of the bagpipe is very stirring. The old Highland clans and later the Highland regiments used to go into battle to the sound of the bagpipes. Bagpipe(s)* – шотландская волынка. Народный духовой, музыкальный инструмент, состоящий из меха- мешка из кожи или пузыря животного с вставленными в него трубками. Kilt* – a skirt with many pressed folds at the back and sides, and usually of a tartan pattern, worn esp. by Scotsmen. Tartan* - a special pattern on the cloth worn by a particular Scottish clan, and known by the clan’s name: the Macdonald tartan.

It is far from being restricted to words denoting exclusively some national things that have no equivalents in other languages. They are just different at the level of reality, they are specific objects, and therefore specific concepts, specific words.

If language were a photograph, it would be possible to divide it into squares and the squares would be interchangeable. The life of foreign language teachers, interpreters, translators would be much easier. But we have pictures, not photographs, as every nation’s vision of the world is determined by so many factors peculiar to that particular nation: its history, geography, culture, mode of life, mentality, etc. Even every family has its own phrases which are understood only by the members of the family. And to understand them one needs comments, explanations, etc.