Language and Culture
My philosophy in teaching Japanese (and English) is to closely embed it in culture; to give it relevance and to use what I have learned from my experiences. I am still learning and this is something language teachers should not be afraid to admit to their students. Below is an extract from an essay I wrote on the relationship between language, culture and identity..
The relationship between language and culture is undeniably strong and influential. Culture is more than simply an accumulated body of knowledge of a particular society but a “framework in which people live their lives and communicate shared meanings with each other” (Scarino & Liddicoat, 2009, p.19).
Language is the vehicle for passing on this framework from generation to generation yet develops according to the particular needs of the people who live in a certain location at a certain period of time. According to Brown (1988), language is akin to a road map of a culture, explaining where its people have come from and where they are heading.
Because language is so closely entwined with culture, an understanding of a culture and its people can be enhanced by the knowledge of their language. Similarly, knowledge of their language can enhance the understanding of their culture. For example, a person travelling in Japan with knowledge of the Japanese language will be more attuned to the intricacies of politeness and less likely to offend someone than a person with no knowledge of the language.
The Japanese language and culture share a noticeable relationship, typified by the use of keigo honorific language. Though, there are some who do not restrict the term keigo to a set of spoken honorific patterns only, instead including the way a person behaves and knows one’s place with the interlocutor (Wetzel, 1994). Tamada (1997) states the origins of the various honorific and humbling patterns of the Japanese language derived from people of virtue, such as monks, who modeled how a person should behave. It has been said that a monk never praised himself, but always praised others and never directly denied other people’s opinions or thoughts (Tamada, 1997). Hence, people wanted to be like them and adopted their patterns of speech. This provides compelling evidence for the synergy between culture and language.
It therefore beseeches educators to instruct their students on the cultural background of language usage, otherwise they are learning empty symbols that may be used inappropriately or within the wrong cultural context. Furthermore, knowledge of a different language enables one to understand how the values of one culture differ from their own. Englebert (2004), states that it is important for students learning a foreign language to be sensitive to the fact that if they lived abroad, their neighbours will not share all of their cultural paradigms. It is therefore essential that awareness and understanding of cultural differences is embedded into learning of another language.
References
Brown, R.M. (1988). Starting from scratch: A different kind of writers' manual. New York, USA: Bantam Books.
Englebert , M. (2004). Character or Culture? Implications for the culturally diverse classroom. Asian EFL Journal, 6(1). Retrieved May 18, 2012 from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/04_me.php.
Scarino, A. & Liddicoat, A. J. (2009). Teaching and learning languages: A guide. Victoria: Curriculum Corporation.
Tamada, Y. (1997). Critical review of Leech’s (1983) proposal about politeness. Retrieved April 6, 2012, from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED403618.pdf.
Wetzel, P.J. (1994). Contemporary Japanese attitudes toward honorifics (keigo). Language Variation and Change, 6, 113-147. doi: 10.1017/S0954394500001617