Language is defined as a system of signs in which people use for interaction in terms of written

or spoken gestures (Clarke, 1971). Signs are the units that consist of forms and meanings that is
presence in language. Thus, to acquire the language without having to learn the content is
impossible due to the fact that the content of a language is constantly related to the culture.
(Doye,1996). Language cannot be in isolation because, language is centred on meanings and it
is shared in the culture of the certain group that practice it.

Culture is dynamic and can be defined as the way of living where most of the people agreed on.
They usually have reached the same interpretation on how do they see the world, how do they
behave and the interactions with one another (O’Sullivan, 1994). For many people, they do not
see the real values of culture as they would normally see what is visible to the eyes. The iceberg
model of culture (Schein, 1980) is a good example of how certain people view a culture. On the
surface of the iceberg is where most of the culture that can be seen with the naked eyes such
as food, music and dress while the real culture is hidden beneath the surface of the iceberg.

Furthermore, language is a part of culture (Emmitt, 2010) and it is inseparable (Risager, 2007) as
it reflects one another. Language can be said as one of the stems of the tree, which supports
the element of culture. Culture does determine language or at least part of it (Pinker, 1995).
Clearly, it can be said the indigenous people in Malaysia did not have the word for bersanding
and tepung tawar in their language because the Malay’s belief is not a part of their culture.

Having a meal together as a family is really exciting and enjoyable at the same time. My family
and I do not have meal times together every meal because of time constraints. However we
normally sit down and enjoy the meal together at night. Our talk at the dinner table is general
but some restrictions to what can be said and what the things are allowed and not allowed
during that time are part of our ‘meal culture’.

My younger brother, who is six and an active lad, loves to share his daily routines; playing in the
yard. He sometimes talks about things that are not appropriate during meal: mainly about him
being wounded and things that are too graphic. Dad will warn him about mentioning such
things at the dinner table. Normally, mom will support what dad is saying. Prayer is recited
before the dinner starts and it is necessary for all to be silence and those who are not, shall be
scolded. Dad will remind us to be quiet using a firm gesture.

Most of the time, all of us would participate in the talk and share things that we are currently
working on. Sometimes we, the children, are not allowed to talk so much during meal time
because it is rude to talk and eat at the same time. We have to control our voice and talk slowly
each time we have something to say so that everyone could get the meaning. Usually, mom
would remind us not to go too far with talking. The talk is one of the ways for us to strengthen
the bond between us as a family.
In Malay culture, it is inappropriate to talk about something that is too graphic at the dinner
table. According to Emmit et al. (2010), culture set the rules for certain human behaviour. Rules
are present at the dinner table and one must abide it in order to have an enjoyable meal. Thus,
the father usually will reprimand the others about appropriate talk during the meal.

“Ahmaaaad!”

A long stress on his name indicates the wrong doings during the meal time and eventually this
will make him aware of the situation and stops him from repeating the same mistake. O’Sullivan
(1945) asserts culture as the way people see, behave and interact with one another in the
world.

Being silence silent during a prayer before the meal starts is compulsory in Islam. It is a sign of
respect to show that we are grateful for the foods and the life that one have now but people
sometimes overlooked the situation. The elder again will warn the youngsters to stop talking
during the recital of prayers using hand gesture and affirms them to be in silence. “ During
prayers they cannot talk to anyone, they cannot walk or carry out any action that is not a part of the
prayer”. (AHN, 2011). Prayer is one of the deep cultures, in the iceberg model of culture(Schein,
1980), which people rarely see the unconscious rules although they have learned about the
language. They tend to continue talking because of their ignorance towards the other cultures.

Ok you are so close now... see all the highlighted ref in part 1...well you need to use some of
those to inform your part 3.... so try to fit in some of the names to critique your part 2

Part 1: summary and definitions

Part 2: mealtime descriptions

Part 3: part 1’s theories to analyse why the language and culture is used in part 2
REFERENCES

Steven Pinker

Publisher: Perennial (HarperCollins); First Edition, stated edition (February 1995)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060976519/o/