- Code
- ELL 251
- Name
- Language and Culture
- Semester
- 0
- Lecture hours
- 3.00
- Seminar hours
- 0.00
- Laborator hours
- 0.00
- Credits
- 3.00
- ECTS
- 5.00
- Description
-
"Language and Culture" is a dynamic and comprehensive course that delves into the intricate interplay between language and culture and their profound impact on communication. This course is designed to provide students with a nuanced understanding of how language serves as a primary tool for social interaction and is deeply entwined with cultural contexts. By exploring key aspects over seven interconnected chapters, students will gain insights into the ways language shapes social dynamics, creates cultural meaning, and influences personal and collective identities. This course provides a platform for students to explore the richness and complexity of linguistic and cultural diversity, fostering an appreciation for the ways in which language shapes our social world and influences our understanding of self and others.
- Objectives
-
1. Understanding Foundational Connections: Gaining a solid understanding of the foundational relationship between language and culture, exploring how language both expresses and shapes cultural realities. 2. Analyzing Meaning in Language: Exploring the dual nature of meaning in language – both as encoded signs and as actions within specific contexts – and its implications for cultural representation. 3. Examining Cultural Meaning Construction: Investigating how cultural meaning is actively constructed through verbal actions and interactions, drawing inspiration from literary and philosophical perspectives. 4. Comparing Oral and Written Mediums: Examining the differences between spoken and written language, delving into how each medium contributes to the construction of social structures and cultural narratives. 5. Exploring the Impact of Print Technology: Investigating the transformative impact of writing and print technology on language use, cultural perspectives, and the broader dynamics of power and representation. 6. Understanding the Complex Link between Language and Identity: Exploring the complex relationship between language and cultural identity, examining how language serves as a symbolic representation of self and community. 7. Engaging in Current Debates: Critically engaging with contemporary debates surrounding language and culture in language studies, addressing issues related to the native speaker, cultural authenticity, and multicultural communication.
- Java
- Tema
- 1
- The relationship of language and culture The relationship between language and culture is intricate and multi-faceted. Language serves as the primary tool for social interaction, intimately connected with culture in various ways. Furthermore, communities and social groups not only express their experiences through language but also actively create meaning. Language, being a system of signs, holds cultural value as a symbol of social identity. Individuals identify themselves and others through language, viewing it as a representation of their cultural belonging. The three key aspects of the relationship between language and culture involve expressing shared experiences, actively creating meaning through communication, and recognizing language as a symbolic representation of social identity. These aspects will be explored further in the context of the book, emphasizing the need to clarify the concept of culture. (Pages 4-14)
- 2
- Meaning as sign (Part 1) Language can mean in two fundamental ways, both of which are intimately linked to culture: through what it says or what it refers to as an encoded sign (semantics), and through what it does as an action in context (pragmatics). We consider in this chapter how language means as an encoded sign. (Pages 15-24)
- 3
- Meaning as sign (Part 2) Language can mean in two fundamental ways, both of which are intimately linked to culture: through what it says or what it refers to as an encoded sign (semantics), and through what it does as an action in context (pragmatics). We consider in this chapter how language means as an encoded sign. (Pages 15-24)
- 4
- Meaning as action (Part 1) After years of searching in vain for the meaning of life in philosophy, law, and theology, Goethe’s Dr. Faust decides that meaning is not in words, but in actions. The famous statement in the Bible ‘In the beginning was the Word’ needs to be replaced, he says, by a statement more appropriate to modern times. ‘In the beginning was Action!’ he exclaims, and he sells his soul to the Devil. If he does get saved in the end, it is for having accepted that all action is contingent upon the time and place in which it unfolds. 'Meaning is never achieved once and for all, it must be conquered anew in_every utterance through the verbal actions and interactions of speakers and hearers, writers, and readers, In this chapter we consider the way in which cultural meaning is created through the actions and interactions of speakers in social contexts. (Pages 25-36)
- 5
- Meaning as action (Part 2) After years of searching in vain for the meaning of life in philosophy, law, and theology, Goethe’s Dr. Faust decides that meaning is not in words, but in actions. The famous statement in the Bible ‘In the beginning was the Word’ needs to be replaced, he says, by a statement more appropriate to modern times. ‘In the beginning was Action!’ he exclaims, and he sells his soul to the Devil. If he does get saved in the end, it is for having accepted that all action is contingent upon the time and place in which it unfolds. 'Meaning is never achieved once and for all, it must be conquered anew in_every utterance through the verbal actions and interactions of speakers and hearers, writers, and readers, In this chapter we consider the way in which cultural meaning is created through the actions and interactions of speakers in social contexts. (Pages 25-36)
- 6
- Spoken language, oral culture (Part 1) In this chapter and the next we explore further how social structure is con- structed through the two very different media of speech and writing. The spoken medium is directly linked to the time of its enunciation and to the perception by those present of the transient dimensions of the verbal event. By contrast, the technology of writing, as a spatial extension of the mind and the hand, has been able to overcome the ephemeral, auditory nature of spoken language by translating it into more permanent, visible signs on a page. We first discuss the differences between the two media. (Pages 37-52)
- 7
- Spoken language, oral culture (Part 2) In this chapter and the next we explore further how social structure is con- structed through the two very different media of speech and writing. The spoken medium is directly linked to the time of its enunciation and to the perception by those present of the transient dimensions of the verbal event. By contrast, the technology of writing, as a spatial extension of the mind and the hand, has been able to overcome the ephemeral, auditory nature of spoken language by translating it into more permanent, visible signs on a page. We first discuss the differences between the two media. (Pages 37-52)
- 8
- Mid-term exam
- 9
- Print language, literate culture (Part 1) The technology of writing and print technology have over time not only changed the medium of language use, but irrevocably changed our way of thinking and talking about culture. This chapter will deal with issues of text, power, and the cultural politics of literacy. (Pages 53-64)
- 10
- Print language, literate culture (Part 2) The technology of writing and print technology have over time not only changed the medium of language use, but irrevocably changed our way of thinking and talking about culture. This chapter will deal with issues of text, power, and the cultural politics of literacy. (Pages 53-64)
- 11
- Language and cultural identity (Part 1) This chapter will help us bring together several notions that have emerged in the previous chapters; the motivated, non-arbitrary nature of the linguistic sign, the link between a language and its legitimate discourse community, the symbolic capital associated with the use of a particular language or of a literate form of that language, in short, the association of language with a person’s sense of self. We explore in this chapter the complex relationship between language and what is currently called ‘cultural identity’. (Pages 65-78)
- 12
- Language and cultural identity (Part 2) This chapter will help us bring together several notions that have emerged in the previous chapters; the motivated, non-arbitrary nature of the linguistic sign, the link between a language and its legitimate discourse community, the symbolic capital associated with the use of a particular language or of a literate form of that language, in short, the association of language with a person’s sense of self. We explore in this chapter the complex relationship between language and what is currently called ‘cultural identity’. (Pages 65-78)
- 13
- Current issues (Part 1) The relationship of language and culture in language study is one of the most hotly debated issues at the present time. Because language is closely related to the way we think, and to the way we behave and influence the behaviour of others, the notion that our sense of social reality may be but a construction of language or ‘language game’ is disturbing. The notion that a person’s social and cultural identity may not be the immutable monolithic entity it is usually taken for, but a kaleidoscope of various presentations and representations of self through language, is unsettling. These uncertainties explain in part the current debates surrounding the role of the native speaker, the concept of cultural authenticity, the notions of cross-, inter-, and multicultural communication and what has become known as the politics of recognition (Pages 79-84)
- 14
- Current issues (Part 2) The relationship of language and culture in language study is one of the most hotly debated issues at the present time. Because language is closely related to the way we think, and to the way we behave and influence the behaviour of others, the notion that our sense of social reality may be but a construction of language or ‘language game’ is disturbing. The notion that a person’s social and cultural identity may not be the immutable monolithic entity it is usually taken for, but a kaleidoscope of various presentations and representations of self through language, is unsettling. These uncertainties explain in part the current debates surrounding the role of the native speaker, the concept of cultural authenticity, the notions of cross-, inter-, and multicultural communication and what has become known as the politics of recognition (Pages 79-84)
- 15
- Review
- 16
- Final Exam
- 1
- Comprehensive Understanding: Developing a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between language and culture.
- 2
- Communication Competence: Acquiring competence in recognizing and navigating the impact of language and culture on communication dynamics.
- 3
- Critical Analysis: Enhancing critical thinking skills to analyze the construction of meaning in language, considering both encoded signs and actions within cultural contexts.
- 4
- Medium Proficiency: Differentiating between oral and written language, understanding their respective roles in constructing social structures.
- 5
- Technology Awareness: Gaining awareness of the transformative impact of print technology on language use, cultural perspectives, and power dynamics.
- 6
- Cultural Identity Awareness: Developing an awareness of the complex relationship between language and cultural identity, recognizing language as a symbolic representation of self and community.
- 7
- Engagement in Debates: Actively engaging in and contributing to contemporary debates surrounding language and culture in language studies.
- 8
- Appreciation for Diversity: Cultivating an appreciation for the richness and complexity of linguistic and cultural diversity, acknowledging the ways language shapes the social world.
- 9
- Semantics and Pragmatics Mastery: Mastering the concepts of semantics (meaning as encoded signs) and pragmatics (meaning as action in context) in language.
- 10
- Meaning Construction Skills: Developing skills in understanding how cultural meaning is actively constructed through verbal actions and interactions in social contexts.
- 11
- Literacy and Cultural Politics Understanding: Understanding the cultural and political implications of literacy, particularly the cultural politics associated with writing technology.
- 12
- Identity Complexity Recognition: Recognizing and navigating the complexity of social and cultural identity, understanding that it is not a static entity but a dynamic interplay of various presentations through language.
- Quantity Percentage Total percent
- Midterms
- 1 50% 50%
- Quizzes
- 0 0% 0%
- Projects
- 0 0% 0%
- Term projects
- 0 0% 0%
- Laboratories
- 0 0% 0%
- Class participation
- 0 0% 0%
- Total term evaluation percent
- 50%
- Final exam percent
- 50%
- Total percent
- 100%
- Quantity Duration (hours) Total (hours)
- Course duration (including exam weeks)
- 16 3 48
- Off class study hours
- 14 4 56
- Duties
- 0 0 0
- Midterms
- 1 3 3
- Final exam
- 1 3 3
- Other
- 1 3 3
- Total workLoad
- 113
- Total workload / 25 (hours)
- 4.52
- ECTS
- 5.00