Language and Culture: A Thorough Analysis - Essay Example

Language and Culture: A Thorough Analysis Language’s Arbitrariness Language is a very vital tool in the contextand condition of a culture in a particular society. Despite of this vitality present in language, there is a need to fully scrutinize the intricacies that surround it, especially its arbitrariness. Before proceeding in doing so, a general understanding of language in a very general sense is important. Language, in my opinion, is a tool needed for communication. However, language is not confined to the verbal and written ones but also encapsulates the use of gestures and other actions which also play a very pivotal role in the condition of the language. Language could be set of meanings for particular things and conditions present in a culture and society. Arbitrary or not, is language really important? The very thing that must be understood is that language is indeed important and it is arbitrary. There are three conditions why it is important and arbitrary. First is that language gives an individual to express his or her thoughts accordingly. Second, language is the way to identify the meanings of things present around us. Third is that language is an identifier of cultural roots and traditions. How do these three conditions affect and relates to the arbitrariness of the language? Language is arbitrary since it is a means for expression and a tool for communication. Even if language has a systematic approach, it is still cannot be denied that there are limitations about this systematic condition of the language which makes it arbitrary. The set of language used by people as a means of expression may be systematic in terms of the verbal representation due to the inherent meanings present in it like anger, love, happiness and the like. However, the already embedded systematic meaning in these words used in a language becomes subjective since there are other factors of language as a communicative tool like the non-verbal forms that can change or distort the meaning associated with a word in a particular language. Therefore, the arbitrariness or the subjectivity of the language is present in the way it is used on the individual level. Second is that language is used to identify the meaning of things present around us. This is actually related to semiotics wherein there are present meanings in the way something is visually presented. In semiotics, language is indeed associated especially in the arts since there is a different language conveyed in different works of art especially in film and photography. At the same time, the meaning in a language is not just confined to the word being used to describe something in relation to semiotics; rather, the meaning is indeed very subjective since semiotics spans different interpretations across different individuals and cultures. Therefore, the meaning in language, especially in terms of representation of things, becomes highly arbitrary. Third is that language is an identifier of cultural roots and traditions. This shows that language becomes a highly distinctive factor in determining the attitudes and actions of certain groups of people as it is associated with the language. Language, in this case, becomes subjective since there is an inherent responsiveness on the part of the language to the culture it belongs. This has become possible since the body languages, being another form of language, acts as an arbiter in determining the meaning that surrounds and act. For example, a wink may be flirtatious or friendly depending on the cultural context. A hug between a man and a woman may be controversial in Islamic culture but may be relatively normal in a Western culture. Despite being external to the verbal and written form of language, there are meanings still associated to it. Synthetically, these three factors or conditions I have mentioned are interrelated and evokes the very complex relations between language and culture in a very general perspective. Ultimately, language is a systematic and an arbitrary tool that which is a signifier of the complexities present in a culture and mastery of the use and of reading the language is very vital to understand a culture different from the conventional ones that an individual has been subscribed to. Given the case about the language, how would this provide a deeper understanding of culture and their relation with each other? This paper will mostly ground on assertions based on how I have understood the lectures in class and the texts involved throughout the course. First condition is that language is part of culture and vice versa. What made this possible? Inherently, the development of values, norms, knowledge and other substantial elements of culture happened due to constant human interaction having constant communication which led to development of complex societies present nowadays even if there is particularity attributed to origin, race, and gender in relatively most cases. Language allows humans to communicate what they want and feel, to express themselves, and represent what they do. Language provides an avenue, not just in making a culture but also making it distinct from other cultures. Even if there is a need to distinguish one culture from the other, it is still important to understand that there is still similarity between the diverse cultures present in the world especially on pre-existing concepts (Coursepack 14). How would this be possible? One thing that could best exemplify this notion is the intrinsic humanistic emotions present in an individual. However, where is the pre-existing part rests? Before language is formulated or created to represent one kind of human act, emotions have been existent before the terms associated with these emotions are formulated. Basically, the emotions, being translated in to words by language, are already shared by all people across cultures even if there are varied representations. This provides that language becomes a shared trait by almost everyone. Culture is a signifier the same way as language. In the 1978 film Wild Child, the doctor has been so inspired to make the child that they have encountered in the forest to speak. This child has been called a savaged one due to his incapacity to talk comparable to that of an animal. In this case, the doctor’s efforts to educate the child have paid off. Eventually, the child learned to use the language. This shows that language can also be taught, learned and acquired. This is where arbitrariness occurs. The manner of acquiring the language in this case will be culturally-dependent; having its foundations from the culture of the doctor who has instructed the child. Language, in this case, has played a crucial role for development. When related to the situation of the notion by Saussure that there is equivalency in terms of representation by people when it comes to languages, there is still a grey line that it does not do so (Coursepack 14). The manner of carrying the use of language, despite of the commonality present already manifests that language is indeed arbitrary and culturally dependent. For example, the term love may mean to feel the emotion or may be sex for some. This shows that even if people generally understood the meaning of the words and represented these in their languages, the manner of carrying the act associated with it differs since culture plays a very vital in determining the nature of the act that surrounds the said terminology. If this will be related to the Hush, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, things will start to be so different. In this case, language was taken away. How was it possible to understand each other if language does not exist? As I have pointed out, non-verbal language is also another form of language. This only shows that not all communication methods are dependent to the use of the language. There are still cases that the non-verbal signs play a crucial role for understanding things around us. The voice that was taken away did not hinder the process of communication and understanding since the characters share what we might assume to be culturally dependent symbols which makes things easier for them. Most of the time, we have learned to associate certain gestures to certain language to make someone understand what it is that we are really trying to say. In this case, language cannot be focused on one paradigm only of the verbal but language’s arbitrariness encompasses whole. The culturally shared signs and symbols, the commonality of subject matter like emotions and the means of communication are all related to the language’s arbitrariness that allows us to understand that language is a very powerful tool. Language has the capacity to distort our understanding of other cultures and has the capacity of undermining other cultures which can give way for an imposition of one language and one culture to the other can give rise to conflict. To sum it all up, language and culture are innate factors present in a society that constitutes identity. In the world now, there is a need to still at least recognize the inherent characteristics of each language and culture as a manifestation of heritage, prestige and honour. Even if these things are complex in nature, there is a need to understand and recognize that these intricacies are important to understand the field of cultural studies. WORKS CITED Cultural Studies 1000Y Course Reader, 2011-2012. Read More