ISL (WEEK1)

LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

Definition of Language
Sound organized into units of form and function with meaning, contextualized in
reality.
An abstraction resultant from the linguistic behaviour of its users.

A systematic study of language
We have to have the necessary medium to transfer this abstraction into concrete
terms.



Language and Culture
Language reflects a way of thinking / a verbal expression of culture.
Culture is transmitted(disampaikan) by language.
How language influences culture?
- Any language tends to emphasize the word that are considered to be
adaptively important in culture.
- E.g : Military metaphor in medicine.
The Relationship between Language and Culture
Wardhaugh (2002, pp. 219-220) :
- The structure of a language determines the way in which speakers of that
language view the world or, as a weaker view, the structure does not
Medium
(concrete realization)
Writing
(symbol & meaning)
Speech
(sound & meaning)
ISL (WEEK1)

determine the world-view but is still extremely inuential in predisposing
speakers of a language toward adopting their world-view.
- The culture of a people finds reflection in the language they employ: because
they value certain things and do them in a certain way, they come to use their
language in ways that reect what they value and what they do.















Source :
Loga Mahesan Baskaran. (2005). A Linguistic Primer for Malaysians. Kuala Lumpur:
University of Malaya Press.
Culture and Language. Retrieved January 3, 2014, from
https://www.udel.edu/anthro/budani/Culture%20and%20Language.pdf
David Elmes. (2013). The Relationship between Language and Culture. Retrieved
January 3, 2014, from http://www2.lib.nifs-k.ac.jp/HPBU/annals/an46/46-11.pdf
Emma. (4 January 2010). The Relationship between Language and Culture. Retrieved
January 3, 2014, from http://www.lexiophiles.com/uncategorized/the-relationship-
between-language-and-culture