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EFFECTS OF CULTURE ON LANGUAGE.
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Discusses language and speech as presymbolic in nature.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses language and speech as presymbolic in nature. Uses and functions of language. Relationship of patterns of linguistic behaviors to specific cultures. System of ideas & language patterns. Code of speaking. Language variations in the U.S. Various theories of language and communication. Communication strategies of subgroups. Annotated Bibliography.

Paper Introduction:
Culture and Spoken Discourse All cultural and all linguistic behaviors are patterned, manifesting these patterns through distinctions made in a medium (Hoijer, 1954). S.I. Hayakawa (1972) has commented that verbal discourse and communication are instrumental in character and that the informative connotations of words and phrases are their socially agreed-upon "impersonal meanings." Language is, in the view of Hayakawa (1972), positioned firmly within the context of culture and is representative of that culture, its beliefs and value systems, its norms, and forms of expression. Informative uses of language are intimately fused with older and deeper functions of language and often represent a force for social cohesion. This report will consider the effects of culture on spoken discourse, arguing, as does Hayakawa (1978), that what we

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LAMR/Laws and the main chance. While he does believe that there arespeech-communities which contain a set of rules for language variation, heconsiders the definition of such entities to be problematical in theextreme. (1982). (1965) Aspects of a Theory of Syntax. Language universals in this view, are summary statements aboutcharacteristics or tendencies shared by all human speakers. Cultural ways of speaking providedistinctive answers to three questions: 1) what is a person; 2) what issociety? Function of speech event and nature of medium . Chomsky (1965) may well oversimplify grammatical competenceand tends to ignore the vast range of personal and social factors whichcreate cultural variations in spoken discourse. Leonard R. andCommunication. Thus, the language of the United States is not a singlecultural phenomenon, but rather a multitude of such phenomena. Palmer (1972, p. Across disparate languages, thearticulatory habits of speakers involved in the production of the phonemesconsists of varied combinations of certain basic habits employed in theproduction of the features. International Review ofApplied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 34 (1), 49 -62. S.I.Hayakawa (1972) has commented that verbal discourse and communication areinstrumental in character and that the informative connotations of wordsand phrases are their socially agreed-upon "impersonal meanings." Languageis, in the view of Hayakawa (1972), positioned firmly within the context ofculture and is representative of that culture, its beliefs and valuesystems, its norms, and forms of expression. Philipsen (1992) identifies a cultural code of speaking whichconsists of a socially constructed and historically transmitted system ofsymbols and meanings pertaining to communication and rules for usingspeech. Herecognizes a "deep structure" embedded within any given language but alsosees universal categories of such structures at work in virtually alllanguages. Pederson (1996),for example, studied Wyoming folk speech and found that an inventory ofphonemes and a register of regional and social markers could beconstructed which demonstrated that within the spoken patterns of Wyomingfolk speech, there are both universals and unique structures. These networks arenecessitated by and expressive of cultural patterns of a multiplicity ofnon-linguistic kinds. 16) summarizes therelationship between culture and verbal discourse by stating that "it alsomarks off a universe of meaning and supplies a system of interpretiveresources with which interlocutors can make sense with each other." Roger Fowler (1974) refers to "speech-communities" or culturalsubgroups and notes that the study of such groups enables linguisticethnographers to examine the cultural overview which leads to thepatterning of varieties in discourse. The second study, by Abdesslem (1996), considered a model ofcommunication strategies proposed by Fearch and Kasper in which it istheorized that there are identifiable global and local goals in acommunication event and that second language learners experiencedifficulties in spoken discourse in their second language. A few examplesof language universals that point the way toward the similarities seenbetween language systems are offered by Greenberg (1971). Stanford: Stanford University Press. Speech is embedded in the world of the speaker. It is useful as a framework for the study of linguistics andalso serves as an overview of the theory of how culture impacts upon andshapes spoken discourse. In the domain of phonology, it appears that there are sets ofpressures that bear on any phonetic system and cause it to maintain someoptimal efficiency value. It is his thesis that even within a particular culture witha shared language, verbal discourse is dramatically shaped by thesubcultural or group value and belief systems. Pederson, L. However, as a structural linguist,Chomsky also argues forcefully that there are certain "language universals"and aspects of language that are invariant and not associated withindividual or social idiosyncracies. This collection of studies focused on the linguistic diversity ofspoken American English explores the impact of various cultures (Westernand Eastern European, Hispanic, Asian, etc.) on the development of apolyglot "American Standard English." It examines the cultural forces thathave facilitated or inhibited full linguist assimilation of disparatecultural groups. Language, Culture. Topic of discourse . The text is useful in identifying how spoken discourse reflectsthe ways in which people draw from and express, as well as shape andfashion, understandings of self, society and strategic action. (1972). He compared the language patterns of urban working classChicagoans in a community known as "Teamsterville," and college educatedAmericans living in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest. Cognitive maps become less specific and more nearlyuniversalized as contact between different cultures increases. In essence, this particular researcher and others that have been discussedherein argue that it is necessary to recognize that culture itself ishighly instrumental in shaping both the content of spoken discourse and itsmode of presentation. Language in Thought and Action. Interestingly, though Hoijer's text was createdin the mid-195 s, reference is made to the fact that "globalization" andcultural contacts between disparate groups was creating even then, asituation in which certain cultural discourse variants were being reducedif not entirely eliminated. A series of papers presented by linguists attempts toarticulate the problems raised by the attempt to interrelate language andother aspects of culture with respect to the hypothesis raised by BenjaminWhorf. Albany: State Universityof New York Press. Thetext is useful in identifying "language universals" and differentials asthey impact upon spoken discourse. This early classic study of the synergistic relationship betweenlanguage and culture positions language as an exposition of a unique viewof the world. It is also based on the assumption that humans dissectnature along lines laid down by their native languages. Ferguson, C.A., and Health, B. Hayakawa, S.I. Speaking Culturally. All languages, for example, contain vowels andhave phonemes and may be resolved into distinctive features.Simultaneously, there are tendencies to approach statistical limits andsymmetry of sound systems across languages. Linguists gatherthe meaning of utterances from their use in social situations, usingobservable behavior and recorded vocal discourse to determine therelationship between culture and language. Informative uses of languageare intimately fused with older and deeper functions of language and oftenrepresent a force for social cohesion. Spoken discourse provides an excellent opportunity toexamine the ways in which language has an impact on habitual ways ofthinking and perceiving. (1972). Journal ofEnglish Linguistics, 24(3), 234 - 25 . The author attempted to create a linguistic atlas of the MiddleRockies in the U.S., theorizing that an inventory of phonemes and aregister of social and regional markers can be useful in identifying thedegree to which a specific language (i.e., American Standard English) ismodified, reframed, and specified with respect to artifacts and aspects ofculture. The assumptive foundation of his theory is that speaking isstructured, distinctive, and social. Chomsky (1965) does recognize that all languages contain a syntacticcomponent with a base comprised of a system of rules that generate a highlyrestricted and perhaps even finite set of basic strings, each with anassociated structural description called a base Phrase-maker. R. There is a very real kinship among the transplantedvarieties of American Standard English which is related to the historical,cultural, and linguistic variables which have shaped these forms ofdiscourse. and 3) how are persons and societies linked through communication? The text is useful in examiningvariables other than culture which shape verbal discourse andcommunication. Whilethere are global goals which can be attributed to all speakers, there arespecific discourse problems associated with the transformation of spokendiscourse into a second language. Culture and Spoken Discourse All cultural and all linguistic behaviors are patterned, manifestingthese patterns through distinctions made in a medium (Hoijer, 1954). The textoffers further insight into the effects of dialectical variations, embeddedin culture, on spoken language.----------------------- 1 Two studies of communication strategies employed by subgroups andsecond language learners illustrate these considerations. Palmer(1972) has argued that symbols which originate in culture form the rungs ofa ladder by which thought gradually ascends from the concrete impression tothe most abstract juggling with pure ideas. It demonstrates that culture persists inshaping oral communication/discourse in a second language and examines thespecific mechanisms associated with this phenomena. Useful for understanding the theory of culture and its effect ondiscourse. NewYork: Crane, Russak & Company, Inc. Palmer, L.R. (1996). (1954). Annotated Bibliography: Culture and Spoken Discourse Abdesslem, H. Physical setting (Fowler, 1974). Abdesslem(1996) contends that this theory is too rigid and proposes that culture isextremely persistent in shaping both communication ends and means. Number of participants . NewYork: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Chicago: University ofChicago Press. There is atendency toward symmetry in the sound system of languages which haspsycholinguistic implications. Descriptive and Comparative Linguistics. The authors refer to communal languages which exist within themainstream population and which reflect variations in grammar, syntax,meaning, and structure related to ethnic or cultural variations and norms.The greatest American linguistic investment, according to Ferguson andHeath (1981), is the Anglification of millions of immigrant and indigenousspeakers of other languages. Greenberg, J.H. Speech and linguistic patterns may represent"cognitive maps" that are characteristic of the thought-world of anindividual speaker within which he perceives and thinks and operatescognitively. The importance of language has been stressed by two Americanscholars, Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, who proposed what has becomeknown as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. London: Routledge & KeganPaul. 22 ) says that "the relationshipbetween sociolinguistic and cultural structure is integral, reciprocal, andvital." Within each speech-community it is possible to identify a seriesof factors which influence the choice of variety in communicative events.These factors: . Language in the USA.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nature of participants and their relationship . This series of professionals papers addresses issues related toethnography and communication, the measurement of linguist diversity acrossand within cultures, effects of evolution and migration on spoken language,and culturally-centered examinations of culture and spoken discourse. Words andphrases as well as sentence structure and syntax may well "migrate" fromone culture to another as contact increases. Hoijer, H. Greenberg (1971) also believes that underlying the endlessidiosyncracies of the world's languages are uniformities of universalscope. The text isuseful in identification the ways in which language, as a medium for socialexpression and behavior control, reflects and is embedded in culture. Cambridge: MITUniversity Press. Languages aretransactional at all times, but the kinds of transactions that areconsidered acceptable within a culture invariably influence the definitionof appropriate transactions. 382) states"every language embodies a certain system of ideas that involves aparticular articulation and structure of the world." The resulting worldview is not static, but is constantly developing as humans in society cometo grips with their changing environment. Hayakawa addresses the goals of linguistics from the perspective ofmodern semantics, arguing that it is possible to obtain enhancedunderstanding of the function of language in discourse and human life byexamining the biological and cultural bases of language itself. This study is useful in identifying dialectical variations in asingle language that are related, at least in part, to culture. (1971). Ferguson and Heath (1981), editors of an extensive collection ofprofessional papers on language variations in the United States, havecommented that in this country, several disparate "transplanted languages"can be identified. Particularly useful was a chapter titled "Language andCulture," in which the author uses historical as well as contemporary caseexamples to describe how language is embedded in culture. Hecalled this latter group "the Nacirema," and noted that this group appearsto make a greater effort to facilitate the expression of unique feelingsand thoughts. Using Malinowski's "context of situation," Fowler (1974) suggeststhat even these situational variables or routines are culturally centeredin what is known as contact language or Phatic communion. Genre of discourse . (ed.). This phenomenon is evident inthe examination of changing patterns of vocal discourse and the continualemergence of new words or phrases to connotate new attitudes and behaviors. Chomsky, N. The study reviews French and Kaspar's model of communicationstrategies, arguing that the model is inadequate when considered in lightof spoken communication strategies employed by learners attempting tomaster a second language. Language seems to provide thegrooves of thought in much the same way that cultural patterns constitutethe molds or models for more general modes of behavior. Gerry Philipsen (1992) has discussed the ethnography of communicationat some length. This report will consider theeffects of culture on spoken discourse, arguing, as does Hayakawa (1978),that what we call social conversation or discourse is largely presymbolicin character. Palmer discusses both descriptive and comparative (diachronic)linguistics. Fowler. Two cultures - Chicago's "Teamsterville" which consistsof a working class urban community, and the Nacirema culture of middleclass Californians - are analyzed via fieldwork conducted over a period of2 years. (1992). Philipsen, G. Role of participants . A code of speaking therefore provides a system of rules andpremises that is a rhetorical resource or a resource that is used inappealing to others to act. Language in Culture. Hoijer (1954) contends that one of the tasks of the linguist is toconsider the competing effects of symbolic behavior, conceptualization, andcommunication. Joseph H. Philipsen's text provides an introduction to the ethnography ofcommunications via the presentation of case studies and commentariespertaining to speaking, one of the principal media in which communicationsis accomplished. The world becomesa flux of impressions which has to be organized in the mind, a processundertaken by the linguistic systems which culture preserves and transmits(Palmer, 1972). (1996). Understanding Language. The study positions the new language learningprocess within the interrelation between language, culture, and personalitywith respect to verbal behavior. (1974). Such studiessuggest that when the mainstream language of a given culture - such as thatof the United States - is considered, some fairly significant variationscan be observed when phonetic environments are compared. A somewhat different position is advanced by Noam Chomsky (1965) whomaintains that linguistic theory is associated primarily with an idealspeaker-listener in a completely homogeneous speech-community who knows itslanguage perfectly and is unaffected by grammatically irrelevant conditions(e.g., memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest,and errors). Philipsen (1992) goes on to argue that society or culture isexistentially and morally prior to the person and communication is aprocess in which psychological similarities and social differences aremanifested so as to link individuals in relations of solidarity andhierarchy. In comparing theTeamsterville and Nacirema populations, Philipsen (1992) suggested that theNacirema emphasize that each person is unique and the verbal speechpatterns of the group not only reflect that belief but also serve to makeit true. This hypothesis says that "the realworld" is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habitsof the group. Philipsen (1992, p. Fowler (1974, p. Communication strategies or discoursestrategies in a foreign language performance? Such communities are composed of bodies of people who subscribeto and employ distinctive networks of verbal discourse. Speech is a significant vocal sound which can only be studied withconstant attention to its social setting (Palmer, 1972). This class text by Noam Chomsky identifies the role of syntax inshaping discourse and gives attention to the importance of culture as anormative influence over syntax itself. This introductory text describes "transformational-generative"linguists. However, over time, efforts to recognize andincorporate variations in cultural spoken discourse have resulted in thecreation of socially acceptable linguistic and dialectic variations andbilingualism. Additionally, Fowler (1974) argues that thereare observable degrees of linguistic capability within any culture whichcorrelate closely with influential factors such as social class,educational history, and openness of community. (eds). Communication strategies include notonly functional competencies, but also such extra-linguistic matters asinterpersonal relationships, gesture, facial expression, use of space, etc.

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