Language and Culture_精品.pptVIP

* * * * * * * * Love me, love my dog. Lucky dog Let the sleeping dog lie. Every dog has its day. You can’t teach old dog new tricks. Let the cat out of the bag. Put the cat among the pigeons. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Language and Culture * The Importance of Language “By words the mind winged” — Aristophanes We use words as a way to unite with the ourside world. We use word to relate to the past. We use words to exercise some control over the present. We also use words to form images of the future. * Language and Culture Definition of language: language is a set of symbols and the rules for combining those symbols that are used and understood by a large community of people. When we study another language, we soon discover that not only are the symbols (words) and sounds for those symbols different, but so are the rules (phonology, grammar, syntax, and intonation) for using those symbols and sounds. * A Fly in a Beer If in the dinning hall, a fly was seen in a glass of beer, An Englishman, “May I have another, please?” A Frenchman, pour the beer out. A Spanish man, put the money on the table and leave without a word. * A Fly in a Beer A Japanese, summon the manager and criticize, “Do you do all your business like this?” An Arab, give the beer to the waiter and say, “I’ll buy you a drink.” An American, “Please serve the fly and beer separately. If the customer likes the fly, he could put it into his beer himself.” * Comment The case above shows that social interactions may vary greatly owing to different cultural backgrounds. In this case, people’s different reactions reveal not only their individual personality but also the orientation of their nation’s mainstream culture, e.g. the English’s seriousness, the French’s arrogance, the Spanish’s generosity, the Japanese’s critical approach, the Arab’s sarcasm and the American’s humor. * Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Language is not simply a means of reporting experience, but, more importa