 Language is not only a rule-governed system with its own internal rules and logic (learned by every

child in the community), but a system of tools for the constitution of social life and culture (Ager,
1993). (definition)
For anyone acquiring a new language and approaching a different culture, one of the first seemingly simple
lessons to be learned are greetings. However, there are complex skills required in properly using greetings,
when to say them, to whom to say them, and in what manner, since greetings do complex social “work,” and
they reflect and construct complex, multi-faceted relationships. (comment)

 Brown (2000:177):” a language is a part of culture, and a culture is a part of language, the two are
intricately in interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either
language or culture" (definition)
Language and culture have a complex, homologous relationship. Language is complexly intertwined with culture
(they have evolved together, influencing one another in the process, ultimately shaping what it means to be
human). In this context, A.L.Krober (1923) said, “culture, then, began when speech was present, and from then
on, the enrichment of either means the further development of the other.” (comment)

 Nida (1998: 29) holds the view that 'Language and culture are two symbolic systems. Everything we
say in language has meanings, designative or sociative, denotative or connotative. Every language
form we use has meanings, carries meanings that are not in the same sense because it is associated
with culture and culture is more extensive than language.' (definition)

People of different cultures can refer to different things while using the same language forms. For example, when one
says lunch, an Englishman may be referring to hamburger or pizza, but a Chinese man will most probably be referring to
steamed bread or rice. The word dog in English, and the character gou in Chinese, refer to the same kind of animal.
However, most English people associate dog with man's best friend, a good companion, being kept as a pet, together
with many commendatory idioms, such as lucky dog. Most Chinese people, by contrast, associate gou with watchdogs,
defending the household from thieves, a noisy animal (comment)

 Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral conventions, basic assumptions, and values
that are shared by a group of people and that influence each member’s behavior and each member’s
interpretations of the meanings of other people’s behavior. And language is the medium for
expressing and embodying other phenomena. It expresses the values, beliefs and meanings which
members of a given society share by virtue of their socialization into it. So, we can conclude that
language is a part of culture, and through it, we can express cultural beliefs and values, and that the
 specific usages of a given word are peculiar to a language and its relationship with culture.
(comment)
According to Buttjest, “Culture learning is actually a key factor in being able to use and master a foreign linguistic
system.” The Bellagio Declaration of the European Cultural Foundation and the International Council for Educational
Development states, “For effective international cooperation, knowledge of other countries and their cultures is as
important as proficiency in their languages and such knowledge is dependent on foreign language teaching.”
(definition)
 As stated by Sapir (1921), “language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions and desire by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (definition)
All human languages are symbolic systems that make use of symbols to convey meaning. A symbol is anything that
serves to refer to something else, but has a meaning that cannot be guessed because there is no obvious connection
between the symbol and its referent. This feature of human language is called arbitrariness. For example, many cultures
assign meanings to certain colors, but the meaning for a particular color may be completely different from one culture
to another. Western cultures like the United States use the color black to represent death, but in China it is the color
white that symbolizes death (comment)

 Bryam(1889:94) appends that: “the language holds the culture through the denotations and
connotations of its semantics”. (definition)
That is why it is paramount to teach a culture by its language, learning a language is therefore learning the behavior of a
given society and its cultural customs. Language is a product of the thought and behavior of a society. An individual
language speaker’s effectiveness in a foreign language is directly related to his/her understanding of the culture of that
language (Taylor, 1979), and it is possible to consider teaching culture through learners’ own languages, which can be
used in a specific way to interpret the other culture (Ager). (comment)