Language as a reflection of cultural aspects

1. Introduction
2. Formation of linguistic culture
3. Language as a bridge in intercultural dialogue
4. Characteristics of the language
5. Theories of communication
6. Types of communication
6.1 Verbal
6.2 Non-verbal
7. Reflections on intercultural communication
7.1 Intercultural communication
7.2 Characteristics of intercultural communication
8. Intercultural communication barriers
9. Bibliography
 1. Introduction

The sociological aspects of culture have made it possible to grasp the importance that the
symbolic aspect exerts for its integration, its maintenance and its change, and more specifically,
language itself, as the representative par excellence of the symbolic world. Sociologists and
linguists, both classical and contemporary, have seen the foundation and expression of culture in
language, considered in its totalizing dimension, which covers both articulate and gestural
language, artistic and, in general, language. In general, to all those that correspond to the central
zone: the designative symbolic of which linguists speak and which is opposed and
complemented by the existence of the peripheral zone in which the expressive and exclamatory
forms are located, which are also part of cultural codes.
It is from the works of Humboldt that the conceptualization of language begins as a
human activity in its double characteristic of activity and product of the spirit, giving Vico its
cultural connotation, Jespersen that of being an intentional activity, Hermann Paul and the
Neogrammarians conceived it as a psychic activity and it was Whitney who initiated the social
approach for its further formalization by Meilíet, who, supported by Durkheim's theses, came to
place language among social phenomena. Sommerfelt picks up this placement and says:
"Language is a system of sign that acts as a collective model independently of the particular
individual. . . it is an external code to the individual, whose rules have to be observed by him'*.
This is how it is established that language, based on linguistic signs, according to Granai does
not copy the thing, but rather suggests or indicates it, that is, symbolizes it, and in doing so,
recreates it: it gives it a new existence and therefore, the symbolic function submits
communication to arbitrariness or conventionalism: it makes it depend on a sign that is taken for
what it is not. It is necessary to take linguistic signs for what they are not, but with the essential
condition that the arbitrary relationship that unites the vocal emission to the concept that it
signifies, is admitted by the interlocutors; that there is a common universe of discourse and with
it that they belong to the same culture, that they share similar cultural patterns and that they have,
through them, a vision of the world “for us”. It is a world for those of us who speak a particular
language, and consequently, a world different from that of others, from those who speak another
language. This is how language marks different cultural patterns and becomes a sediment of
culture. Each language belongs to the culture to which it belongs in the past, but in the present,
they also contribute to shaping it and laying the foundations for future cultural development. The
relationship between language and culture is revealed when Jakobson himself makes the human
rest on a tripod, one of whose legs is language, but it is already about that language that will
make communication possible between members of the same cultural group and that within that
group shows itself in its double aspect, in its capacity to be simultaneously activity and product.
It is a social activity and it is a cultural product and this affirmation leads us to consider the close
relationship between the social (activity) and the cultural (product) that departs slightly from the
affirmations of Humboldt and Vico and accepted that "language is essentially alive in speech
(activity) and exists (although it is crystallized) and is active in the language (product)". It is a
social activity and it is a cultural product and this affirmation leads us to consider the close
relationship between the social (activity) and the cultural (product) that departs slightly from the
affirmations of Humboldt and Vico and accepted that "language is essentially alive in speech
(activity) and exists (although it is crystallized) and is active in the language (product)”. It is a
social activity and it is a cultural product and this affirmation leads us to consider the close
relationship between the social (activity) and the cultural (product) that departs slightly from the
affirmations of Humboldt and Vico and accepted that "language is essentially alive in speech
(activity) and exists (although it is crystallized) and is active in the language (product)".
The relationship between both situations, the social and the cultural, is understood by
considering language as a complete social activity, an activity that carries within itself the
dialectical relationship between the regulator, limiter and coercer and whoever submits to or
violates the rules. controllers of each culture. In every cultural system, its practices, patterns and
codes are subject to a short or large number of principles that are expressed through language,
which simultaneously exerts coercion on the ideas, practices and patterns of each culture. It is in
this dialectical relationship that language reflects and shapes the world, although to date there is
no clear notion of how it shapes it and discerning this phenomenon constitutes a philosophical
challenge. Despite this conceptual limitation, it is evident that there is a close relationship
between language and the expression of the world that surrounds us and that linguistic facts
reveal, along with other cultural aspects, not only the structural and objective aspects of society
but also those of an abstract nature that constitute the world division in each of the stages of its
historical and cultural development in which it is possible to discover, through linguistic
analysis, the equilibrium positions between the external form of language and the internal form
of culture.
Concerning this theme, we consider necessary the presentation and interpretation of those
approaches by Michel Foucault that, due to their profound approach to what language is in its
cultural aspect, constitute a theoretical basis of substantial interest to the approach that the
project on cultural identity is based on what corresponds to the importance of language in
determining cultural aspects, especially those related to scientific knowledge.
"The fundamental codes of culture—those that govern its language, its perceptual
schemes, its changes, its techniques, its values, the hierarchy of their practices—fix in advance
for each man the empirical orders with which he will have something to do and within which he
will recognize himself. (Foucault, M., 1978).
Foucault seeks to discover the fundamental codes of culture but conceived in its broadest
expression that constitutes the representation of the sum of particular cultures of the Western
world. In his search for what is characteristic of each cultural stage, the author indicates one of
the characteristics of culture: its dynamic and changing character, the possibility of transforming
its codes. But this dynamic character must be understood in very broad temporalities, through
which complete transformations take place, which are barely perceptible in the generational
limits, although in certain crucial moments of historical development, the changes are abrupt
from one generation to the next. the other.
It is these codes that will allow men to recognize and identify themselves, be it through
their knowledge or their experience; but mainly it will be through the forms of representation of
that knowledge and that experience.
From Foucault's work, we must extract the importance of the relationship given to
language concerning things and that it will be precisely this relationship that will determine the
codes of the corresponding culture and society at a given stage.
It has been the forms of representation through the place that language occupies, which
have marked the great changes in knowledge and with it in cultural codes. Western culture has
suffered two great changes or two great discontinuities in knowledge: the one that is located in
the middle of the 17th century, and that corresponds to the first great scientific revolution, and
the one that at the beginning of the XIX century initiates modernity. According to Foucault,
during these two crucial points in the Western epistemological field, a fundamental shift
occurred in the way of ordering and its representation and of course, in the use of language.
The change brought about by the overturn in the epistemological system of the Western
world had a significant impact on cultural codes, with which it seemed possible to establish a
cause-and-effect relationship between episteme and culture, or more specifically, between
knowledge and codes or cultural expressions.
Foucault's thesis, which among other objectives advocates a humanism that is
increasingly committed to being able to authentically decipher the human being, stands out for
the student of science and allows him to see precisely the great influence of scientific knowledge
on the behaviour of the society in which it occurs and how this society, through the characteristic
forms of representation, makes each epistemological transformation palpable and determines an
attitude. The change in the use of representations, not only those of linguistic order but also those
that are paralinguistic and in general those that make up the sociological field, is evident in the
two cultural moments that the author analyzes extensively and that serve as a starting point. for
this attempt to search for a relationship between science and cultural analysis.
The two turning points in the Western episteme have been amply exposed by Foucault
and there would seem to be no doubt about the characteristics of cultural change that such
moments brought about. Coupled with its theoretical conception, the hypothesis could be
ventured that the appearance of a third turnaround should be contemplated from what another
author has called the second great scientific revolution that began with the great transformations
that have been experienced since the third decade of the present century.
We are not in a position to demonstrate how this great epistemological advance has had
an impact on the forms of representation; however, there will be no doubt about the
technological and cultural changes that current scientific development has produced in different
social systems. In some societies, especially the highly technological ones, the impact has been
much more visible and manifest and has led to a cultural change with social consequences not
yet fully envisioned, but with decisive effects on behaviour and forms of expression. Societies in
transition to industrialism, via the introduction of advanced technology, are still in a stage —as
far as cultural changes are concerned— of preserving their basic codes. But at the same time,
This third turning point in the Western episteme leads —if we accept Foucault's
hypothesis— to a new relationship between representations and things in which the human being
either acquires a greater dimension or is diluted in advance. scientific and technological, he is
dragged by it and loses himself in an exhausting struggle to occupy a place in each specific
society and group. The impact of scientific and technological progress simultaneously presents
its two facets: on the one hand, the positive one that contributes to greater human well-being, and
on the other, the negative face that brings with it the possible dissolution of the human being,
which Foucault already insinuates. in his text, when affirming: "man has to return to that serene
non-existence in which he was kept in another time by the imperious unity of discourse". But,
Until this happens —if it happens like this— man passes, is he passing? through a stage of loss
of his identity, of changing cultural codes, of searching for his place in the new dimension that
presents the changing aspect of its society, the one that fails to digest the accumulation of
scientific and technological innovations, which, without a doubt, have introduced fundamental
transformations in each one of the cultural codes and with this have placed the social system in a
situation that already makes it impossible for him to maintain the symbolic balance. This failure
causes, more frequently than desired, a deficiency in the use of symbols that translates into a
fundamental deficiency in the processes of social interaction. by a stage of loss of their identity,
of changing cultural codes, of searching for their place in the new dimension presented to them
by the changing aspect of their society, which is unable to digest the accumulation of scientific
and technological innovations, which, without a doubt, have introduced fundamental
transformations in each of the cultural codes and with this have placed the social system in a
situation that makes it impossible for it to maintain symbolic balance. This failure causes, more
frequently than desired, a deficiency in the use of symbols that translates into a fundamental
deficiency in the processes of social interaction. by a stage of loss of their identity, of changing
cultural codes, of searching for their place in the new dimension presented to them by the
changing aspect of their society, which is unable to digest the accumulation of scientific and
technological innovations, which, without a doubt, have introduced fundamental transformations
in each of the cultural codes and with this have placed the social system in a situation that makes
it impossible for it to maintain symbolic balance. This failure causes, more frequently than
desired, a deficiency in the use of symbols that translates into a fundamental deficiency in the
processes of social interaction. the one that fails to digest the accumulation of scientific and
technological innovations, which, without a doubt, have introduced fundamental transformations
in each one of the cultural codes and with this have placed the social system in a situation that
makes it impossible for it to keep symbolic balance. This failure causes, more frequently than
desired, a deficiency in the use of symbols that translates into a fundamental deficiency in the
processes of social interaction. the one that fails to digest the accumulation of scientific and
technological innovations, which, without a doubt, have introduced fundamental transformations
in each one of the cultural codes and with this have placed the social system in a situation that
makes it impossible for it to keep symbolic balance. This failure causes, more frequently than
desired, a deficiency in the use of symbols that translates into a fundamental deficiency in the
processes of social interaction.
Returning to linguistics and relating it to the social, we find that both Foucault and
Terracini, consider that the internal form of language is connected to that of the culture it
expresses, and this is how we can arrive at specific the need for sociolinguistic analysis in any
project that seeks to know and determine cultural patterns and social identity. It is precisely in
social identity, in-group identification, in which language plays a very important role and from
which a tentative working hypothesis can be deduced to be confirmed or ruled out in the research
being carried out, which will be stated as follows: To the degree that the same language and the
same sociolect are shared, to that degree it is possible to speak of a similar cultural identity; O
well: Within every speaking community we must recognize a process of increasing
standardization that arises throughout the cultural development of each community or global
society. The linguistic learning process entails, in its social aspect, the acquisition of language,
which is individual: each individual learns their idiolect, but they have to learn it in social
interaction with other speakers and it is through this communication that a new interaction, with
the one established between the idiolects; when
These constitute a set of features that are common to them and become part of the
sociolect that functions within a homogeneous speaking community. "That sociolect is made up
entirely of those traits that speakers recognize as identifying affiliation with a different speaking
community. The sociolect is made up of the traits that are the same in the idiolects. . . it is based
on the observation that, within a tightly knit group, although speakers notice speech deviations,
they regard them only as idiosyncratic and not as group markers. Only when these deviations are
such that they identify the speaker as a member belonging to a different group can we speak of a
new sociolect" (Haugen, E., 1974)?
 Sociolects are the linguistic expression that society uses to indicate its diversification and
stratification and, through their analysis, it is possible to capture the Mun divisions of each social
stratum and point out the common cultural traits and the differential traits, which will allow us to
talk about the degree of identity prevailing in the society under study.
Interpreting Haugen, we can point out that the problem in determining sociolect
similarities and differences lies fundamentally in the fact that there are many kinds of sociolects
and that none is homogeneous, for which it is essential to determine units and criteria that allow
distinguishing one sociolect from another and "degrees of similarity that allow objectively
combining different sociolects within the same class" (Haugen, E., 1974) and in each
characteristic and already established sociolect we must consider, in turn, the presence of
different registers, or subdialects. It is these units that are most closely linked to the social, but
they are also the ones that in the field of identity can lead us to such diversification that it makes
it difficult to locate the levels sought.
Both the use of sociolects and registers implies belonging to a specific group and
performance within that group of social roles; In general, the use of subdialects and registers,
rather than identifying the speaker's social group, links him to the context in which he is
speaking and therefore, interacting, "the register corresponds to the roles of speaker and
interlocutor, to the environment, to the topic and the medium". Sociolinguists point out that the
appropriate use of registers is part of learning one's language" (Haugen, E., 1974). Sociologists
must add that it is also part of the socialization process that indicates to each speaker which
registers to use according to the context in which they perform and according to the role that they
are to play in that context and situation.
The multiplicity of codes is part of the sociolinguistic system of a community, which, as
we have already seen, can also vary through its cultural development. The use of different codes,
be they sociolects, be they register, or extend, is already outside the limits. of a language, to the
phenomenon of bilingualism and borrowing from other languages.
It will be these two forms of linguistic behaviour that we give special attention to in the
study of cultural identity in a border area, since they denote, in particular, the sociocultural
interaction along the borders between communities of different origins. linguistics.
Bilingualism, for it to have social significance, should be studied, as Fishman proposes,
concerning context and by distinguishing various domains in which certain behaviour is
appropriate and among which may be considered—for the specific purposes of the study. project
—the family environment, the work environment and the business transaction environment; in
them, it is necessary to share the fact that "social relations must be seen in terms of
communication networks within which individuals play various roles in various situations"
(Haugen, E., 1974. In the case of border communities, bilingualism has a special social and
cultural connotation and is implying the existence of what is known as "plural social loyalty of
the bilingual" which reflects a broader loyalty; the one that is given to the group and its culture,
and which becomes conscious only when the group is threatened (as is the case with European -
speaking groups based in Anglo-Saxon communities). Among the individuals who live in the
border area, the analysis of their bilingualism should be considered in a broad definition, such as
the one proposed by Haugen, and that "would include virtually everyone who would have to
learn and obtain even a varnish of a second language (Haugen, E., 1974), English in this case,
whose learning and use will vary to a degree according to the social role or roles that individuals
play in that society in the different social domains. It is very probable that the housewife, in
general, uses the foreign language rudimentarily or extensively in the domain of commercial
transactions that take place in North American stores located in the areas closest to the border. It
is also likely that the service provider, the merchant and the professional make use of partial or
total bilingualism in their labour and commercial relations with tourists who visit Mexican towns
in search of services or the acquisition of material goods; Something similar would happen with
those who go to work in North American communities where the use of English will be
determined by the type of work performed and will vary, from rudimentary employment -in
domestic service activities- to total mastery in the exercise of a profession or a skilled trade.
These various nuances of -bilingualism are closely linked to the natural face-to-face
interaction that living along the borders between different linguistic communities implies, and
while it has its cultural importance, this is manifested in the use of the foreign language in the
interaction with the members of the social group that share the common language, in our case,
European. Here we are facing the other modality of the multiplicity of codes or registers, the one
we have called: borrowing from other languages.
 The phenomenon that implies the inclusion of linguistic loans and foreign registers, with
or without a phonetic and graphic adaptation, would seem to be indicating the degree of cultural
penetration and the propensity to move away from cultural identity.
Borrowings from other languages constitute one of the innovative elements of languages
and as such, they tend to modify linguistic use and with them some of the cultural patterns
according to the incidence of these borrowings. According to Ottalengo and Paulín, these
loanwords are incorporated without altering the form they had in the source language or may
undergo one of the following types of adaptation:
1) the original forms adapt both to the phonetic system and to the graphic of the language
that receives the loan;
2) the original form is only adapted graphically; and
3) the original form is only phonetically adapted.
The phonetic and graphic distortions of the borrowings introduce into the language that
adopts different meanings and different contents from the originals, and this makes -later-
difficult the exchange between the two societies and the two cultures. Over time, this exchange
becomes even more difficult, because the evolution of borrowed terms does not follow parallel
paths in the borrowing languages to those of their evolution in the lending languages.
The sociolinguistic factors that favour the lesser or greater inclusion of the loans and give
each one its modalities are a) the difference and contact of the societies in which the respective
languages are spoken; b) the technical superiority of the lending company over the receiving
company; c) the diversity of linguistic resources of each language; d) the ability of users to
linguistically manage these resources; and, e) the decision or lack of decision of those speakers
to use to the maximum the linguistic resources of their language. Many of the loans, especially
those that are incorporated without any modification, are precisely explained by a psychosocial
attitude of the individuals that denotes a situation of the cultural predominance of the society
from which the terms come and their tacit acceptance, for comfort and laziness to search for the
right term in the language itself. In this introduction of loans, sociocultural policy factors have
special importance, because they will be the ones who facilitate the entry route or the ones who
can stop their indiscriminate incorporation. The most accessible avenues for loans are those
offered by the broadcasters: press, radio, and television; which, with the acceptance and use of
foreign terms favour their use by readers, radio listeners and viewers. The success of these
channels in the introduction of loans will depend on the cultural policy that the State develops
and the control that exists so that this policy is fulfilled, in the supposed case that it was a
protectionist policy of the national culture and that, within From the conception of culture,
special attention should be given to the conservation and safeguarding of the national or official
language.
In general terms, we can say that the imposition of one language over another, the shift
from one language to another, and the acceptance of loans from a foreign language occur when
one or more languages are given in the foreign language. of the following characteristics: "when
its speakers are either numerous or powerful or numerous and powerful; when they mix freely
with the speakers of the other language; when their language bears a prestigious culture and
advanced technology; when it serves as a vehicle for superior forms of administration and is used
by those who wish to incorporate a certain population within the jurisdictional limits of their
State, or when those who speak it try to propagate, through their means, among the alien
population, certain religious beliefs and practices". And we would add, when the policy of the
State is of an imperialist tendency and through the language it seeks to influence cultural and
economic patterns.
The imposition, displacement and introduction of loans are not achieved when one or
several physical, social or cultural conditions exist, such as: when the speaking group can isolate
itself in peripheral or marginal areas of difficult access; when one's language is linked to a
cultural or civilizational form that is considered preferable even over that of the administrators or
of the speakers who belong to the economically dominant group; when the cultural policy of the
State promotes a strong national identity that is based, among other factors, on the conservation
of language as the institution that provides the members of a society with the strongest sense of
their identity, and around the which all other national identification symbols are configured.
When there are no favourable conditions for a total or partial merger, situations of more
or less intense bilingualism occur, depending on the number of favourable characteristics for
displacement, taxation or acceptance of loans. This bilingualism, to the extent that it occurs, can,
however, become the starting point for linguistic-cultural assimilation in the medium or long
term, depending also on the existence of a smaller or larger number of favourable factors.
According to what we have specified throughout this presentation about the relationship
between language and culture, for the sociological project on cultural identity in the border area,
we can summarize the main approaches in which the sociolinguistic aspect should be taken into
consideration. We will start from the affirmation that there is a close relationship between the
two concepts, but that this relationship is one of the many that exist between social facts and
culture and that, although language reflects it, it is only one of the Necessary manifestations to
get to obtain a world division. The cultural identity of a community or group of them will be
feasible only in the consideration of the different cultural sectors and the relationship between
them,
According to the triple axis of coordinates (border culture, cultural identity and scientific
knowledge) that constitutes the guiding thread for the development of the research in one of its
sociological subprojects1, we will dedicate special attention to the aspect of linguistic use by the
occupational nucleus of those who engage in scientific activity, specifically in their relationship
to scientific terminology and the capture of foreign sources, their acceptance or rejection of such
foreign terminology and the influence that the probable use of foreign scientific terms exerts on
their everyday language. In this sense, we can consider the following as a working hypothesis:
Scientists, due to the nature of their activity, are more prone to use a greater number of foreign
terms in the exercise of their activity; This fact will influence greater flexibility for the more
frequent use of a sociolect, as well as for the acceptance of growing bilingualism in the
remaining social spheres, and, consequently, towards a more open attitude of acceptance of non-
traditional and cultural patterns. in a growing loss of national identity.
In addition to the study on the use of sociolects, bilingualism and foreign loans among the
members of the group of men of science, an attempt will be made, in a second stage of the
sociological project, or in the first if financial resources allow it, the carrying out an exploratory
analysis of the language used in the broadcasts of macro-broadcasters. It will seek to locate the
degree of use of foreign loans and terms, particularly in the broadcasts of local radio and
television stations. This possible part of the investigation does not intend a deep analysis, simply
a first approach to the problem.
To conclude the treatment of language as a cultural element, it is necessary to insist on
the fact that culture is made up of different sectors of which language is only one of them, and
that all of them together form part of the symbolic world of society under study. However, for
the operational purposes of the research, each sector must be considered as a unit in itself, whose
1
The other sociological subproject is the one that refers to: ''Minors with antisocial behaviour and their cultural
identity in the Baja California border area".
study will be predominantly sociolinguistic or sociological according to its particular
characteristics; but in any case, they must be apprehended basically through the empirical
approach. In the case of sectors in which social symbols are the predominant units of analysis,
The use of sociological analysis will constitute a methodological challenge since it confronts the
researcher with a disciplinary field that is still being cleared up in which empirical work and the
elaboration of exploratory techniques constitute hard stages or nulls experienced in the cultural
field, both at the national as well as international. Hence, the inclusion of symbolic sectors that
allow an approach to the determination or classification of levels and cultural identity, represents
a possibility of theoretical and methodological contribution for the advancement of one of the
fields of study in which two sciences of the human: sociology and semiology, the one in total do
minimization of its field of study, the other in clearing up its possibilities.

2. Formation of linguistic culture

There are innumerable works and debates about the relationship between culture and
language; specifically, about which of these phenomena is determining or causing the other
(Bazarova, 2007: 72). Some maintain that language is related to culture as part of the whole,
while others consider that language is a form through which culture finds its expression, and a
third group assumes that language is neither an element nor the form. of culture. According to
Sapir, "culture defines 'what' a given society does and thinks and language is 'how' it thinks"
(Sapir, 1993: 193). The human mind and its perception of the world are made in such a way that
we tend to look for sharp outlines in figures, and avoid or misunderstand objects of confusing
shapes. The same happens when we try to delimit a phenomenon for its study and explanation. In
our case, it is a question of defining the areas of influence between the natural and the cultural,
the cultural and the linguistic, assuming that the body, culture and language are indivisible
aspects of the total existence of the human being. For example, the opposition of the thumb to
the other fingers of the palm in the human species turned out to be decisive in the ability to
master objects and make work tools.
Elocution through language would be impossible without the existence of the laryngeal
apparatus that humans possess: the absence of it in animals prevents expressing sounds as we do.
The entire structure of the human brain is made so that we can see, hear and express ourselves.
Phenomena of the cultural domain such as chronic unemployment, problems and pressures at
work influence the human body's defences and, vice versa, a healthy diet, sufficient rest and the
satisfaction of basic needs make it possible for the human being to create culturally valued
objects.
As is evident from the examples mentioned, it is not possible to draw a clear dividing line
between natural, cultural and linguistic processes: they are complementary, overlapping and
interdependent with each other. Therefore, the analysis of linguistic and cultural interaction in
this work will be carried out from the relativistic point of view, that is, considering natural,
cultural and linguistic phenomena as interrelated phenomena.
As the etymological origin of this term indicates (from Latin: cognoscere, 'to know'),
'cognitivism' refers to a body of sciences that study general principles that govern human thought
and the basic processes that accompany it: perception, attention, memory, language and
reasoning, which together constitute the learning mechanisms. The cognitivism movement—
known as the 'cognitivist revolution'—appeared in the 1950s and 1960s (Neisser, 1967; Miller,
1979) not as a scientific innovation, but rather as a reaction against the paradigm of cognitivism.
dominant behaviourism up to that time. According to the latter, there is no point in studying
something that cannot be subjected to observation and measurement; therefore, the internal
psychic processes of humans and animals constitute 'the black box' and its study is only plausible
from the observation of behaviour and the manipulation of environmental conditions. In the last
fifty years, the cognitive sciences have formed a solid interdisciplinary block of theories
organized into a set of systematic studies and methodologies elaborated to understand different
processes that are related to abstract concepts such as 'mind', 'perception', 'reasoning',
'intelligence', 'learning', which are considered an inseparable part of human cognition.
The disciplines that deal with these studies are psychology, philosophy, artificial
intelligence, neurosciences, neuropsychology, speech therapy and linguistics, among others. In
turn, in the last thirty years, we have witnessed the advent of cognitive linguistics, emphasizing
language as a means of access to cognitive processes. In this way, any study of psychic processes
is not possible without first going through the linguistic prism; that is, there is no other way to
study human cognition than through language.
It is in the language where the cognitive mechanism (attention, perception, memory and
learning) is fixed: through signs that encode and transmit in a specific way all the information
from the internal and external environment to the human being. Therefore, cognitive linguistics
is a discipline whose main object of study is language as a general cognitive mechanism
(Demiankov, 1994: 17).
The theory of modern cognitive linguistics currently consists of several individual study
programs created by a group of scientists (among them Fauconnier, 1994, 1997; Fillmore, 1988;
Lakoff, 1976; Langacker, 1999; Rosch, 1983; Talmy, 2000, and others). Unlike the rest of the
disciplines labelled 'cognitive', the object of interest of cognitive linguistics lies in those
cognitive structures and processes that are typical of humans as homo loquens. In other words, it
places the description and explanation of the functioning of learning mechanisms and the
production of human language as a system and its structuring principles in the foreground. Hence
the following questions arise (Felix, Kanngiesser and Rickheit, 1990b: 1-3):
1. Is it possible to limit mental representation to a single representation or do language
learning mechanisms work from different representations? How do these mechanisms interact?
What is their internal structure?
2. Are language production and perception based on the same system units or do they
have different mechanisms?
3. Do these processes occur linearly or in parallel? What substructures (syntactic,
semantic and conceptual, etc.)
participate in linguistic production and how are they constructed?
4. What is the nature of the processes that build and regulate perception and linguistic
comprehension? what knowledge is activated through these processes? what is the organization
of semantic memory? what is the role of semantic memory in perception in general and the
perception of language?
The central objective of cognitive linguistics is the description and explanation of the
internal cognitive structure and dynamics of the speaker (Felix, Kanngiesser and Rickheit,
1990a: 5). The speaker-listener is seen as an information processing system consisting of a finite
number of individual components (modules) and that elaborates linguistic information at
different levels. Therefore, the goal of cognitive linguistics is the study of that system and its
most outstanding principles and not only the systematic reflection of the linguistic phenomena. A
cognitivist needs to understand what is the representation of linguistic knowledge and how said
knowledge is processed and elaborated; that is, what is the reality cognitive ability of a speaker-
listener?
Generativist linguists consider that the linguistic system represents a special module as opposed
to the mechanisms of general cognitions (Lakoff, 1982a: 141). But usually, Linguistic activity is
considered as one of the modules of cognition, being the top of an iceberg, whose base is
constituted by cognitive abilities that are not merely linguistic, but they participate in linguistic
processes as their elementary parts. Among these capacities are: the construction of images and
the logical conclusions made from them, obtaining new knowledge from previous knowledge, as
well as the
planning and carrying out actions.
Cognitive linguistics comprises three general areas of study: cognitive phonology,
cognitive grammar and cognitive semantics. Let's take a closer look at the latter.
The principles that serve as a theoretical basis for studies within cognitive semantics are
as follows:
 Grammar is a formation of concepts.
 The conceptual structure is subject to the discourse and is motivated by it.
 The possibility of using the language is based on resources, and global cognitive skills
and does not constitute a separate module.
Being part of cognitive linguistics, cognitive semantics rejects the traditional division of
linguistics into phonology, syntax, pragmatics etc., and prioritizes the role of language as the
construction of meaning and the expression of knowledge.
In classical semantic theories, following the traditions of Tarski (1935) and Davidson (1990), the
meaning of a given sentence is understandable if the information it contains refers to the
conditions corresponding to reality. For example, the expression 'the crow black fly' is correct if
crows really are black and they can also fly. Lexical units can convey the felt immediately
through the phenomena or objects of which that is (the extension of that word) or from the point
of view of the properties of those objects (their intention). The intention conveys to the speaker
those necessary and sufficient conditions with which the object enters the extension of a lexical
unit. This way,
propositional functions appear as those constructs of abstract words that help the speaker to
assign necessary values in a free sentence and get the correct information from the sentence like
everything. Meanwhile, the cornerstone of theories in
Cognitive semantics rests on the argument that lexical sense is conceptual. That is, the meaning
does not necessarily refer to an object or relationship existing in the real or potential world. The
sense is correlative with the ideas found in consciousness and arises from the personal and
subjective understanding of each individual.
The principles of cognitive semantics can be summarized in a few postulates that raise the role of
semantics concerning language, the human being and the world.
 The reason is not a transcendental abstract substance but arises from the nature of our
brain, body and experience bodily. It is evolutionary from the experiences of the human
being with the world through the senses and its sensory-motor apparatus: its biophysical
constitution is essential in the perception of the world and in this sense resembles that of
animals. reason does not separate us from animals, but rather situates us on a continuum
with them.
 The reason is not universal, nor is it part of the structure of the universe, but is a quality
shared by all beings’ humans as a species. The mind is not a mere mirror of nature, but
rather has internal representations of external reality that are transmitted through
language, and expressed in concepts.
 The reason is not a dispassionate entity; has a certain emotional charge from which it
assigns certain values to objects and concepts.
 Meaning is not a thing but derives from the experience of human beings with the world
through their organs of perception sensory. These experiences are translated into concepts
that are valued according to subjective values (subjective nature of the meaning).
The meaning is primarily a metaphor and metonymy: there is no direct correspondence
between the phenomena or objects and words. The meaning varies from person to person, from
one linguistic community to another; It is negotiable and agreed upon socially.
 There is no other access to knowledge of the world except through the meaning. Truth
and reality through understanding concepts are inaccessible to human beings. Knowledge
It does not constitute direct access to truth and reality; is a way peculiar to human beings
to contact the universe. The distinctive feature of cognitive semantics lies in the interest in
refuting the idea that meaning is something permanent and immutable: varies from age to age,
across generations, from subject to subject, and from one society to another. Meaning is a
construction or abstract reconstruction of objects and phenomena that are established in a given
language community. The objective of cognitive semantics is to show the arbitrary nature of
concepts, overcoming Thus, the classical theories that focus their interest on the structure form of
sentences through propositions that require real and necessary conditions. Theories that ascribe
to semantics
cognitive reject the correspondence of concepts with reality immediately and focus their studies
on the conceptual structure.
The hypothesis that meaning is culturally determined is ancient data and has its
expression in the works of Humboldt, who considered that each town had its thought and even its
soul. Later, this supposition found support in the hypothesis formulated by Whorf, who received
the idea from his predecessor Sapir (1949) and is now known as 'the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis'.
It is also known as 'the linguistic relativism hypothesis'. and continues to be criticized by
some opponents of the idea that languages have their adherence to meanings, which vary in each
linguistic community. Most of the criticism falls on the strong version of the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis, which postulates that each language forms a network of its meanings different from
other languages and, therefore, each linguistic group thinks differently from the rest. The weak
version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis falls short of that extreme, limiting himself to postulating
the difference in styles in which the meaning is dealt with in each linguistic field. That is, the
reality is common to all peoples, but the latter consider it from a different perspective. This is
because each linguistic group has its own history and cultural experience, habits, traditions,
shared values different from those of other people.
Contrasting with the hypothesis of linguistic relativism is the 'hypothesis of linguistic
universalism. It also has a long tradition of science and its pioneer was Leibniz, who introduced
the idea of the "alphabet of human thoughts." Essentially, this hypothesis posits the opposite of
the hypothesis of linguistic relativism; that is to say, all linguistic groups share the same
meanings
regardless of culture and language. How it will look like Then, both hypotheses in their extreme
form are based on assumptions erroneous, finding their maximum expression in nationalism
(relativism linguistic) and ethnocide which is very often confused with the phenomenon of
cultural globalization (linguistic universalism).
As already mentioned, one of the arguments that gave rise to cognitive linguistics is that
language would not be possible without the participation of basic cognitive processes and rather
constitutes the effect and not the cause of these. Although this statement may seem too risky, the
existence and development of language are due to a greater extent to cognitive processes such as
perception, attention, memory, sensory-motor activity of the central nervous system, etc.
Therefore, when one leans in favour of one of the hypotheses (linguistic relativism or linguistic
universalism) omits the fact that language and tongue are not the same as reasoning
or thought, although the latter can operate through units informative as symbols. Logic and
reasoning operate by the deductive, inductive, and abductive methods and by analogy, which is
proper for the cognitive system of the human species. all human beings and adults use one or
another type of reasoning depending on the circumstances and prior knowledge acquired.
The organism of human beings adapts to the conditions of the environment. in which they
live: the colour of their skin, hair, degree of body hair, physical constitution and peculiarities of
physiological functioning appeared as a reaction to the climatic conditions where it is up to a
certain ethnic group to live. The same goes for your system. cognitive: it is designed by nature to
be able to function in the environment and make use of it for their survival: the perception
of three-dimensional space, visual, auditory, tactile and other organs of perception, bipedalism,
the opposite thumb of the palm, make it possible for the human being to develop in between
successfully. Like animals - which have a way of gregarious life - the human being is a species
fundamentally social since group life makes existence much easier. But unlike these, the human
being advanced and evolved much more in the semiotic system. Human language allows rapid
transmission and snapshot of huge packages of information that enables great energy savings and
greater scope in handling the medium. Likewise, language makes possible the transmission of
knowledge from generation to generation without each individual having to learn everything
again throughout its life cycle.
The innate versus the acquired is a forced and insoluble problem and, as mentioned
above, there is no sharp border between the natural and the learned. The latter is understood if
we introduce the concepts of 'ontogenesis' (the development that an individual undergoes
throughout its life cycle) and phylogenesis (the development of a species throughout its historical
cycle). For example, representatives of the Bushmen ethnic groups that inhabit the Kalahari
desert have a slender constitution: long arms and legs that facilitate activities like running and
throwing projectiles, lungs well developed - equally conducive to running - and light bones that
allow traversing long distances holding little body weight.
Everything in his physical constitution indicates a predisposition to activity. hunting and
this body type is the product of the intense practice of that activity that was repeated throughout
the life of each individual who made up the tribe (ontogenetic development) over the generations
(phylogenetic development). This type of body will have a clear advantage to cross great
distances in a short time, in front of a rough physique and robust from a farmer from the Iberian
Peninsula. Conversely, you will have problems doing heavy physical work such as staying all
day in the inclined position and lifting weights, since the waist of the bushman does not bear the
same load as the peasant's waist.
The previous example can be transposed to the domain of language. Being a man was not
born a skilful orator or teacher of letters: the generations of the towns preceded them —some
already disappeared— that shaped the modern speaker. And this permanent practice of linguistic
functions over the millennia developed areas specialized areas of the brain such as Broca's area
and Wernicke's area.
All individuals with favourable pre-and postnatal development possess those areas in
perfect condition and if the person will be a professor of English literature or will he limit
himself to being a modern adolescent who manages with a vocabulary of two hundred words is a
matter
of teaching and individual education. Therefore, the problem of natural versus cultural must be
viewed from the passive versus the dynamic. The natural is given as a sum or a final result, it is
passive, works automatically, and is subject to regression and decay. Culture is an active and
dynamic process, it is the product of deliberate effort and development and is capable of
progress.
Despite the universality of language in the human species, there is a very wide range of styles
and forms in which it manifests itself in each individual and each language group. Just as the
physical constitution varies depending on the race, the climatic environment in which they live
and the physical activities in which a given social group engages, there is also a wide difference
in habits, customs, traditions and ethical values and morals that together form a cultural block.
Cultures are born, persist through generations, change and disappear by analogy with animal
species. Cultures can have bases similar, divergent or opposite. They can coexist, compete with
each other yes or come into conflicts such as occurs, for example, between the North American
culture and the rest of the world (coexistence), between American and Chinese culture
(competition), and Jewish and Islamic cultures (conflict). At the base of every culture is a set of
ideologies, values and ideals that constitute its cornerstone (values religions, political ideals such
as monarchy, democracy, etc.). All these phenomena are recorded in language and are expressed
through him. In this way, it is possible to construct and transmit concepts as complex as 'God',
'nation', 'democracy' or 'justice'. Since the language is arbitrary and there is no direct link
between the
object (referent), the word and the meaning, the universe is not perceived in the same way by
human beings, but is interpreted according to the previous knowledge that each subject
possesses, according to his 'personality linguistics' “…a set of capacities and characteristics of
the person, those that condition the creation and perception of their productions and linguistic
competence, which is characterized by the degree of depth and precision of the reflection of
reality and the degree of the complexity of its linguistic structure” (Maslova, 2004: 112).
In addition to the linguistic personality that constitutes each subject speaker, there is also
the 'linguistic national personality' that is the accumulation of the most important conceptual
characteristics of the spiritual and material life of his people. The national peculiarity of
personality consists of the unique and unrepeatable constellation of the interpretation of the
phenomena and elements that are common to a whole town. It is his peculiar way of seeing the
world through the meanings it ascribes to it. The divergence in interpretations of the world is not
only due to physical conditions and objects, and materials that are used in each culture and
people but also to their conceptual frameworks with values and norms. So, the word 'God' is
present in all the languages of the world; nevertheless, each culture interprets it in its way, a fact
that gave rise to conflicts
millennials among the people.

3. Language as a bridge in intercultural dialogue

 The end of the last century was characterized by the fall of the Berlin Wall, globalization,
diversity and interculturality, seeing the world more as a mosaic with differences in colours and
shapes or pieces forming a positive whole. The few years that we have been in the 21st century
have been characterized by political and social events that have been dividing us culturally and
linguistically. Many historians will say that modern history is divided into a before and after
September 11, 2001. The distrust of any dark-eyed person who speaks Arabic, the false
information to justify a war in Iraq that has polarized the entire world, the rising separatist
attitude of some European autonomous communities,
This communication will examine how culture and language have been used as political tools
to exclude instead of include. First, this thesis will be illustrated using two examples, one in the
United States and another in Europe. In both cases, that of Mohamed Amry and that of Fatima
Eldrisi, their culture/religion created barriers within the societies in which they lived. Instead of
seeing cultural differences as a rich manifestation of a multicultural society, many people feel
isolated rather than included. Secondly, it will be shown how the lack of knowledge and dialogue
about this prejudice manifested in some exclusion within society itself creates even more
problems. Third, it will analyze how linguistic identity can divide people politically and socially.
And finally, solutions and didactic proposals will be discussed to open the dialogue and begin to
respond to the problem. Unfortunately, what is often found after 9/11 is a continuing widespread
suspicion of anyone with Arab features that manifests itself in various ways.
Let's look at the case of a model Algerian immigrant in the United States, Mohamed Amry, who
found himself in a real nightmare. He came to the United States to live in 1993. As early as
December 2002 when the FBI entered his suburban Boston home, he had his American life set
up and on his way to a realized American dream. He had a family, wife and son, a good job at a
sports club earning $60,000 a year, and also had the long-awaited Green Card that legalizes his
residence. He said, "he was so integrated into North American society, he considered me a model
immigrant, that I did not imagine that they would reproach me." Amry was accused by another
Algerian, Meskini, who was at risk of being sentenced to 105 years in prison for planning an
attack on the Los Angeles airport. According to Amry, Meski "should have accused all the Arabs
he knew to please the prosecutor." Amry was luckier than many. He had a guardian angel, his
wife Marie and her family, and a lawyer
that he could choose Well-known New York attorney Somerstein, familiar with the politically
charged, hysterical atmosphere after 9/11, advised his client to plead guilty to a fairly light
sentence. This is what he did, he got 15 months and he was luckier than many Muslim prisoners.
According to him, "his lawyers were ex officio, they did not speak English well and they were
lost in an American judicial system packed after 11-S." He says they shared the feeling of being
the scapegoats a traumatized society had sought for itself. "We were imprisoned because of our
origins and not because of what we had done." Also, the prestigious newspaper The New York
Times in an editorial titled "Too many terrorists are unfortunate innocents" concludes that "it
does not increase with the propaganda made about arrests without relevance or the violation of
the rights of people whose only crime appears to be their religious faith» (Cembrero, 2004d).
Amry's case is one example of many in which, in a culture of fear, discrimination is made based
on origin (the Arab world) or religion, discrimination that is contrary to the values of the North
American Constitution. In a survey of Muslims in the United States that appeared in The Los
Angeles Times in August 2004, in response to the question, "What do you consider to be the
most important issue for the Muslim/American community today?", 21%, the highest percentage,
said: «the stereotypes, prejudice, racism» (King, 2004: A12/?). When asked if any individual,
religious organization, or business had experienced discrimination after 9/11, 52% said yes
(King, 2004: A12/?).
In Europe, there are also several cases of discrimination and prejudice. One of the cases
that drew the most attention was about the right to wear the hijab, a symbol of another
culture/religion. We all remember the girl Fátima Eldrisi rejected from two subsidized schools
for wearing the hijab. According to José María Guelbenzu, little Fatima is Fatima with her
handkerchief. If the scarf displays a belief or a conviction, it does not display it more than a punk
with her crest, a priest with her tonsure, a Jew with his kippah or a Real Madrid fan with his
insignia and her scarf. What's more, this display expresses a conviction, pride, and affiliation, but
in principle, it does not imply aggression or contempt towards others, and, above all, it does not
annul the personality of the bearer of it: rather it manifests it. Guelbenzu affirms that everyone's
beliefs are respected as long as their exercise does not violate human rights. He goes on to say
that "a permanent and positively conflictive contribution to the sum of differences and
similarities that characterizes us as living together in a free and secular country must emerge
healthily from the encounter between people belonging to different cultures or cultural origins.
That is why it is important to differentiate and appraise before issuing demagogic opinions.
Identity theft is the worst crime against the human being» (Guelbenzu, 2002/?). He goes on to
say that "a permanent and positively conflictive contribution to the sum of differences and
similarities that characterizes us as cohabitants in a free and secular country must emerge
healthily from the encounter between people belonging to different cultures or cultural origins.
That is why it is important to differentiate and appraise before issuing demagogic opinions.
Identity theft is the worst crime against the human being» (Guelbenzu, 2002/?). He goes on to
say that "a permanent and positively conflictive contribution to the sum of differences and
similarities that characterizes us as cohabitants in a free and secular country must emerge
healthily from the encounter between people belonging to different cultures or cultural origins.
That is why it is important to differentiate and appraise before issuing demagogic opinions.
Identity theft is the worst crime against a human being».
The question of identity and the consequent exclusion or inclusion for reasons of being
part of this identity not only has to do with visible symbols but also with language.
Chip F. Peterson of the University of Minnesota describes three models of experiential
education to prepare students for a world of social justice. These studies have explicitly social
objectives to promote international peace, help the poor, and improve community, and
intercultural education. The three models are from the Augsburg College Center for Global
Education (CGE), The Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA), and the
University of Minnesota's Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID). All three
also have a focus on class differences, power, and social justice. They are interdisciplinary
studies and students use social theory to understand the problems of today's globalized world.
These programs are very strong abroad. Students explore how the world works and their place in
this world. The student begins to examine their worldview and learns that there are thousands of
ways to understand reality in different societies. The teacher/student relationship is based on
cognitive equality, that is, participants in the education process are participants in social
conversation; teachers and students are partners in the project. Other things that the three
programs have in common are that there is always a limited number (30 students) and they have
a common curriculum. All three programs insist that students listen to multiple voices, in
multiple locations. So, they can learn the nuances of the issues they investigate. The three
organizations include practices to facilitate contact with the social realities of the country where
they study. They try to avoid middle-class-type offices and prefer to place students in a rural
environment or a poor urban neighbourhood. There are short-term and long-term stays (one
academic year) and it is evident that students who stay the whole year have a high level of social
commitment. Many applicants to the programs have a "save the world" mentality and for this
reason analysis in an academic context is very important. An Aboriginal woman in Australia said
"if you have come to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your
liberation joins with mine, we will walk together" (Peterson, 2003: 31). These three university
study programs are designed to raise social awareness by learning within the current reality,
outside of traditional classrooms. The experience requires that they understand the importance of
being able to tolerate ambiguity, that they can critically analyze problems that arise, They can
make decisions when nothing is certain. Preparing students for this is long and hard, but it is
imperative to fulfilling the mission of liberal education.
Another who has a vision for improving intercultural communication is Daniel
Barenboom. He has created an orchestra of 150 musicians from Israel and the West Bank with
the idea of learning to live together while playing music. It is called "East meets West", a
meeting between the west and the east. He recently played Verdi's La Fuerza del Destino rum
recalling a father's protest over a bi-faith marriage and the tragic death that followed (National
Public Radio, 2005). There are pedagogical lessons in music, in coexistence, in the Judeo-
Islamic dialogue that offer solutions to be able to build a bridge.
Bernard Stasi advocates teaching the history of religions as a pedagogical solution to the
lack of understanding between religions and cultures. In Seville in November 2004, he defended
the advisability of public school students studying the history of all religions, "because they are
part of history and culture," and stated that secular societies "should not ignore religions." It is a
more traditional solution than what Chip Peterson presented or what Daniel Barenboom is doing,
but it also has many possibilities for better intercultural understanding.
Some Euro officials are committed to recovering Esperanto, a neutral and transnational
language that was born in 1887, as a way out of this linguistic labyrinth and to improve
intercultural communication. They say that it can be learned 10% of the time required to study
any other language. It would be a complicated linguistic solution that fails to take into account
the reality of the fierce loyalties to the various cultures represented by the different languages of
the Union.
To implement all these solutions and solve the problems mentioned above, a truly multicultural
society must be created. According to an editorial in El País in 2002, «the multicultural society
can only develop harmoniously if it is based on the loyal and unrestricted recognition by the
elements that compose it of common rules of behaviour, inspired by constitutional principles and
values. in force in the country. One of these principles and values is the duty of parents to
educate their children, which the European State guarantees by law up to the age of 16 and which
is financed by taxes. Another is the non-denominational nature of the public school, which does
not impose any religious ideas, but respects the particular beliefs of the students,
Be it Europe or the United States, as language and culture teachers we cannot allow an
atmosphere of fear and suspicion of a different neighbour to dominate us. We have seen Amry's
and Fatima's examples of discrimination, and language communication problems, and we have
also seen some didactic solutions to begin to improve what is a major problem at the beginning
of the 21st century. We do not want it to be too late as Bertold Brecht would say:
"Now they take me but it's late".