Culture, language and communication

Culture:-

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing

language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.

Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage,
music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we
behave with loved ones, and a million other things.

Constant change in culture:-

 No matter what culture a people are a part of, one thing is for certain, it will change.
 "Culture appears to have become key in our interconnected world, which is made up of so
many ethnically diverse societies, but also riddled by conflicts associated with religion,
ethnicity, ethical beliefs, and, essentially, the elements which make up culture,"
 De Rossi said. "But culture is no longer fixed, if it ever was. It is essentially fluid and
constantly in motion." This makes it so that it is difficult to define any culture in only one
way.
 While change is inevitable, the past should also be respected and preserved.

Language:-

Language is a system that consists of the development, acquisition, maintenance and use of
complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so; a language is any
specific example of such a system.
The scientific study of language is called linguistics.
Different Language styles:-
 Direct and Indirect Styles

Cultures such as the United States or Western Europe value self-expression and verbal precision.
We are encouraged to be direct and to speak our mind. On the other hand Asian cultures use an
indirect style of communication. Words such as “perhaps" and “maybe" are used much more
frequently than “yes", “no" or “for sure". In Japanese culture precise articulation is appreciated
much less than speaking between the lines or being understood without words; therefore the
language is used quite differently.

 Personal and Contextual Styles

The United States, which is an individualistic culture, uses a personal style of communication.
Two of the most frequently used words in our culture are “I" and “you". Linguists point out that
it is impossible for Americans to hold a conversation without using these pronouns. Compared to
other cultures, American culture is not very formal, so it is appropriate to say “you" to your boss,
to the President, to a stranger, to your spouse or to your child. In Thai language there are twelve
forms of the pronoun “you", which depend of factors such as status or level of intimacy.
Contextual style of communication is used in collectivistic cultures (such as Asian.) The style of
language is focused on speaker and depends on someone’s status and identity.

Why Is Language Important to Culture?

 Language is an important part of our lives. It is a uniquely human gift which lets us
communicate and differentiates us from primates.
 But language is much more than just a means of communication. It is also an inseparable part
of our culture.
 The particular language influences people’s thought process or it is indeed people’s culture
that influences the language, there is no doubt that language and culture are closely
connected.
 Noam Chomsky, one of the most well known linguists in the world, argues that all languages
are dialects of one language, which is the human language. He says that even though they
appear very different, they are in fact very similar. Nevertheless, different cultures have a
predominant fashion in which they use their language and they have differences which
cannot be underestimated.
 Risager (2006) analyses the relationship between language and culture from three different
perspectives:
1. sociological,
2. psychological
3. linguistic.

In the first perspective, language and culture can be separable, since it is possible for a
language to express or create, as Kramsch (2009) would say, different realities or
cultures. In the psychological perspective these two are inseparable, since an individual
carries all the linguistic and cultural experience within oneself. The third perspective is
valid only in the practice of linguistics where language is analysed outside of its cultural
context.

 According to Kramsch, language expresses, embodies and symbolizes cultural reality.

Communication:-

Communication (from Latin communicare, meaning "to share")[1] is the act of

conveying meanings from one entity or group to another through the use of mutually
understood signs, symbols, and semiotic rules.
Types of communication:-

1. Non verbal communication

2. Verbal communication

Non verbal communication:-

Nonverbal communication describes the processes of conveying a type of information in the

form of non-linguistic representations.

 Examples of nonverbal communication include haptic communication, chronemic

communication, gestures, body language, facial expressions, eye contact etc.
 Nonverbal communication also relates to the intent of a message. Examples of intent are
voluntary, intentional movements like shaking a hand or winking, as well as involuntary,
such as sweating.
 Speech also contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage,
e.g. rhythm, intonation, tempo, and stress. It affects communication most at the
subconscious level and establishes trust.
 written texts include nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, the spatial
arrangement of words and the use of emoticons to convey emotion.

Verbal communication:-

Verbal communication is the spoken or written conveyance of a message. Human language can
be defined as a system of symbols (sometimes known as lexemes) and the grammars (rules) by
which the symbols are manipulated.

The Relationship Between Communication and Culture:-

The relationship between communication and culture is a very complex and intimate one.

 First, cultures are created through communication; that is, communication is the means of
human interaction through which cultural characteristics— whether customs, roles, rules,
rituals, laws, or other patterns—are created and shared. It is not so much that individuals
set out to create a culture when they interact in relationships, groups, organizations, or
societies, but rather that cultures are a natural by-product of social interaction. In a sense,
cultures are the "residue" of social communication.

 Without communication and communication media, it would be impossible to preserve

and pass along cultural characteristics from one place and time to another. One can say,
therefore, that culture is created, shaped, transmitted, and learned through
 communication. The reverse is also the case; that is, communication practices are largely
created, shaped, and transmitted by culture.

 communication shapes culture, and culture shapes communication.