Many years ago a young friend asked another, “why don’t you learn Mandarin Chinese with me?” They responded “I don’t think that’s a good fit, because I’m not interested in the culture.” “What does that have to do with anything?” the friend responded in a perplexed way. “Culture has everything to do with it,” she replied. Now, which friend was in the right?
Do culture and language connect? First we must define culture. Culture can be defined as “shared beliefs, values and behaviors of a social group”. Oxford University Press’ Oxford Languages defines language as “a system of communication used by a particular country or community”. So language is a tool used to express those shared beliefs, values and perceptions of the culture. Language and culture are intertwined and have a very intimate and complex relationship.
We must start off with cultural awareness. Learners of a second language need to understand cultural differences, to recognize openly that everyone in the world does not think and operate exactly the same way that we do. Every culture has its own cultural norms for communication and these norms differ from one culture to another. Some of the norms can be completely different and may conflict with our cultural norms. As a result, communication problems may arise among speakers who do not know or share the norms of other cultures. Not just acknowledging differences, but actually learning about the foreign culture along with language learning should help us avoid such conflicts and help us to use words and expressions more skillfully and authentically.
In our modern society, technology provides innovative learning platforms and offers many new ways to encounter other cultures and languages. Many look to the use of applications and websites, however, even when using technology we still need that holistic side of things. Culture involves people. The multi-cultural interactions and conversations are what will help us get to true language acquisition.
Remember, learning a language does not just mean learning the alphabet, the grammar rules and the arrangement of words, but it is also learning the behavior and cultural customs from which the language comes. Language cannot be separated completely from the culture in which it is deeply embedded. When we interact with the language we are also interacting with the culture. Now can one technically learn a foreign alphabet, vocabulary, syntax and the likes without delving into the culture? Technically, yes. However, being able to use and master a foreign linguistic system, acquiring full fluency and acquiring the language is tightly linked with culture. If we want to excel and have meaningful dialog in our target language, we also have to put in the work to learn about the people, their customs and their norms. The amazing thing is that cultures, while they are quite complex, they’re also extremely enchanting and beautiful. Immersing yourself in a foreign culture is a quite fun and enriching experience. You will acquire the language along with so much more! Language Consulting Services Coming Soon....
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