Language is central in creating a social connection with culture (Leveridge, 2008). By analysing the family Discourse of an evening meal, the fundamental concepts of this relationship can be shown to be complexly interlinked. The elemental theories of modern studies on the subject will initially be converged to synthesise a detailed understanding of the relationship between culture and language. Subsequently, the usage of language during meal times in a multicultural Australian family will be examined, and finally the relationship between the language used and the culture of this Discourse will be evaluated in relation to these theoretical studies.
Language is dynamic (Alford, 2011). Integral to this is culturally linked meaning which allows for communication within various social Discourses (Kramsch, 2006) (Emmitt & Pollock, 2003). As defined by linguist James Gee (YEAR), a post-modernist view of these ‘capital D Discourses’ is that they are “ways of using language, of thinking, feeling, believing, valuing and acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or ‘social network’” (Kramsch, 2006). These exist within all cultures – language cultures, urban and rural, popular, cyber and others - and essentially link together culture and language (Kramsch, 2006). The purpose of the language within these Discourses determines which of two forms of language is used - transactional or interactional (Emmitt & Pollock, 2003) (Corbett, 2003). While both are highly goal orientated, interactional talk is bound closer in every respect to culture, by the language’s use of phonemes and morphemes to create culturally meaningful sentences, and through its use of paralinguistics and voice to convey further mea...
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Emmitt, M., & Pollock, J. (2003). An overview of language and learning. Language and learning: An introduction for teaching. 3rd edn., pp. 2-19. Oxford: OUP. Retrieved March 2012
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Lisa Delpit’s book, “The Skin We Speak”, talked about language and culture, and how it relates to the classroom. How we speak gives people hits as to where we are from and what culture we are a part of. Unfortunately there are also negative stereotypes that come with certain language variations. There is an “unfounded belief that the language of low income groups in rural or urban industrial areas is somehow structurally “impoverished” or “simpler” than Standard English” (Delpit 71). The United States is made of people from various cultures and speak many different variations of languages. As teachers we must be aware of some of the prejudices we may have about language and culture.
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
‘Language is considered one of the most important means of initiating, synthesising and reinforcing ways of thinking, feeling and behaviour which are functionally related to the social group.’ (Bernstein, 1959). Hence, language plays a crucial role in life and society. This essay focuses on analysing a case study of Oliver from the BBC1 documentary 7 up to 2000. The key aspect examined in this article will be the subject’s language, accent and the range of his vocabulary.
In this paper, James Paul Gee states his opinion on the definition of literacy. He begins by redefining the word “discourse” and uses it frequently throughout the paper. Gee defines discourse as a group that you are socially linked to through your actions and thoughts. This group defines who you are in society. He then uses the beginning of his paper to continue explaining “discourses”. The main points he covers are that discourses are defined by history and culture and therefore, change through time. Also, he explains that one is involved in many different discourses. This might cause one to break rules or understandings of one discourse to align with a dissimilar one.
Jones Diaz, C. (2007). Literacy as social practice. In L. Makin, C. Jones Diaz & L. McLachlan (Eds.), Literacies in childhood: Changing views, challenging practice. (pp. 203-216).Marrickville, NSW: Elsevier.
In the publication Language and social identity by John J. Gumperz, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, Gumperez discusses communicative characteristics of modern society and the way in which they correspond to societal and ethical elements of identity by accumulating research on interactive communication between ethnographically differing groups. He states, “The study of language as interactional discourse demonstrates that these parameters are not constants that can be taken for granted but are communicatively produced. Therefore to understand issues of identity and how they affect and are affected by social , political, and ethnic divisions we need to gain insights into the communicative processes by which they arise,” (Gumperz 1). Language is the voice in which identity is spoken. Without it, the separations of identity he discusses in this publication would be unclear and disconnected as language is the element that guides them all together in a palpable
Literacy in the 21st century is multidimensional with Giroux arguing “Teaching and learning the culture of the book is no longer the staple of what it means to be literate” (Arthur, 2001, p.183).
Another difficulty cultures deal with is language and the way people speak. In some cases, people struggle to belong by making changes in the way they speak the English language just to be assimilated. They attempt to use words and letters, as well as body language that fit in the norm; all in an attempt to denounce their original intonation and style of pronunciation. One ...
Language primarily is a system of communication (Fellowes and Oakley, 2014. p. 16). It is a “socially shared code” meaning it is custom to a certain group of humans and the language is understood by all in the group (Suri, n.d.). At all stages of life, language is an expressive tool that humans’ use as a vehicle to express ones’ self, ideas and thoughts (Kilgour, 1999). When language is learnt, certain notions about what is appropriate depending on different context is learnt (Emmitt, Zbaracki, Komesaroff & Pollock, 2010. p. 73). These notions are reflective of M. Halliday’s language register, language is diverse and is representative of context of interaction, who the communication is between and the communitive purpose as well as the mode of communication [oral or written] (Fellowes and Oakley, 2014. p. 19 & 20). Variety of vernacular is a diverse language barrier that may affect a person at any stage of life; refers to our everyday language and slang that is different to another group or region (Casano, n.d.). An example would be, this language would be appropriate for friends and close family but a different variety of vernacular would be used amoung work
Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., & McDaniel, E. R. (2009). Culture and Communication. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Swarbrick, A. (2013) Aspects of Teaching Secondary Modern Foreign Languages: Perspectives on Practice. London: Routledge Falmer.
—. Language: Readings in Language and Culture. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print.
To have a clear understanding of how cultures differ, consider one of the major aspects of culture, language. Language is means of conveying information or com...
The book An Intorduction of Sociolinguistics is an outstanding introductary book in the field of sociolinguistics. It encompasses a wide range of language issues. In chapter 13, Wardhaugh provides a good insight to the relationship between language and gender. He explains gender differences of language-in-use with concise examples. Wardhaugh riases questions about sexist language and guides readers to look closer at how people use language differently because of their own gender in daily life. According to the Whorfian hypothesis, which indicates that the way people use language reflects their thoughts, different genders adapt different communication strategies.
Language is typically viewed as the verbal communication between people; words used with convention and within structure. This definition is frequently extended to the expression of external features and communication of thoughts developed both independently of their verbalizations and accompanying them. One often overlooked aspect of language, however, is culture. The ways in which one’s native language personally relates to the rest of their role and position within a community, as well as how it relates to sub-groups within that community, changes how the language is perceived.