Language,Culture and Thought.ppt

1、Language,Culture and Thought,What is the nature of language?,Behaviorism: Say what I say(L IS A ACT) Innatism (or the Nativist Approach): Its all in your mind(L IS COMPETENCE) The Interactionist Position: A little help from my friends(L IS INTERACTION) Semiotics:siginifier and signified(L IS A SIGN)

2、,10.1 What is culture?,culture,Total way of life of a people,10.1 What is culture?,culture,Local or specific practice, beliefs or customs,culture,Language and Culture,Culture: The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work an

3、d thought. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population.,Language and culture are closely intertwined, with language as the major carrier of culture. The study of the relationships between language and culture is called lin

4、guistic anthropology or anthropological linguistics. It studies the traditions, beliefs, rituals, family structures in a community.,Language is the part of culture, the mirror of culture, the visible part of culture and reflects culture. Language is the archives of culture. It plays a significant ro

5、le in culture. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture. Culture determines ones behavior and the way one speaks. Culture teaches us what to speak, how to speak in different situations. H.D.Brown stated precisely: “Culture is really an integral part of the interactions between

6、 language and thought. Culture patterns, customs, and ways of life are expressed in language; Cultural-specific world views are reflected in language.”(1994),What is thought?,加工成分：concept and proposition（language,image,music.） 加工机器：computational system 加工厂址：brain 加工方法：Analysis, synthesis, comparison

7、, classification, abstraction, generalization, conceptualization Thought and cognition?,Different views on the relations between language and thought,Language and thought are different terms for the same thing: thought is silent language, while language is voiced thought Language determines thought

8、(Linguistic determinism) Thought determines language Language and thought are independent from each other Language and thought come from different origins but combine with each other later,Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis,Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis,Human being do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone i

9、n the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is

10、merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection.,Language not only transmits but also shapes our thinking, beliefs, and attitudes. In other words, language is a guide to culture. Language is the medium of expression for human society, and it conditions our thinking about social problems and processes. Language habits unconsciously form the “real w