语言与文化论文范本.docx

1、语言与文化论文范本IntroductionThe relationship between language and culture has intrigued people of different disciplines, such as philosophers, anthropologists and linguists. What should be made clear before unfolding the topic is that culture in this paper is in the same sense as in Goodenoughs definition.

2、 A societys culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members, and to do so in any role that they accept for any one of themselves. It is obvious that language and culture are closely interrelated. In this paper, the author focuse

3、s much of the attention on the influence of culture on language that to some extent serves as a mirror of culture, though not a passive one.Physical environment, in which a society lives, and the social environment can be reflected in language. Besides, the values of society can also have an effect

4、on its language. One of the most fascinating phenomena is linguistic taboo. The word taboo first came to light with Cooks voyages to the Hawaiian Islands in the 17 th century. Cook found that the speakers of Tongan, a Polynesian language, have many taboos under which certain things, places and perso

5、ns are set apart or prohibited as sacred, unclean, or cursed. The Websters Third New International Dictionary offers a comprehensive definition of taboo. Taboo is a prohibition instituted for the protection of a cultural group or as a safeguard against supernatural reprisal; a prohibition imposed by

6、 social usage or as protective measure. As language use is contextualized in particular social settings, from social taboo originates linguistic taboo. The avoidance of using taboo language mirrors social attitudes, emotions and value judgements and actually has no linguistic basis. In the following

7、 part of the paper, the attention will be drawn on the origin of taboo, taboo subjects and the influence of taboo on language and society.Chapter One The Origin of TabooAlthough the word taboo was borrowed in the 17 th century, the concept is indeed old. Scholars have raised several hypotheses about

8、 the origin of linguistic taboo, among which the following three are the most reasonable.In the primitive society, due to the low productivity, people did not enjoy the ability of understand natural phenomenon and natural power, which was too mysterious for them to interpret. They were totally at a

9、loss at the unexpected disaster of plague. People therefore showed great awe to nature and offered kinds of explanation to it. One is that language used by people might be in close relation with natural phenomenon and could bring happiness and disaster to the people concerned. In this sense, languag

10、e was attached supernatural power. It is believed that by casting spells and incantations, they could punish their enemies and bless their friends. In this way, linguistic taboos concerned with religion and supernatural power came into existence, which has finally led to word fetishism. People tried

11、 to avoid the use of linguistic taboo, for instance, they dare not mention the name of the dead person, which is believed to bring about ill fate. In short, it is generally assumed that taboos originated from the primitive societya world of terrors and power, because of their low productivity and lo

12、w cognitive ability.Another hypothesis is that linguistic taboos also bear certain relationship with social attitudes and morality of people. “According to Gardner, attitude has cognitive, affective and cognitive components (i.e., it involves beliefs, emotion reactions, and behavioral tendencies rel

13、ated to the object of the attitude) and consists, in broad terms, of an underlying psychological predisposition to act or to evaluate behavior in certain way.” (Mckay, P, 5) Linguistic taboo, in this sense, serves as a mirror to reflect social attitude, value system and morality of a certain speech

14、community. No language can be immune from the influence of social norms. In almost all the countries in the world, language concerned with sex and excretion, etc is heavily tabooed. The very use of it is believed to be harmful to its members in that it would cause them embarrassment of public shame.

15、 Consequently, things about sex and excretion can only be referred to in certain circumstances, by certain people, through certain deliberate circumlocutions. In China, for example, people are extremely reluctant to use the terms referring to sex in public, which is considered to be immoral. We tend

16、 to identify a person who frequently uses these terms as an uneducated or even a dirty guy. Even in books, the publisher substitutes these taboo words with XXX.To sum up, this type of words that is tabooed in a particular language is resulted from at least part of the system of values and beliefs of

17、 the society in question. Thirdly, some scholars, among whom Haas is a distinguished one, have pointed out certain language taboos seem to arise from bilingual situations. Bilingualism is a worldwide practice because of immigrants, marriage and historical reasons. The term bilingualism and multiling

18、ualism have been used interchangeably in the literature to refer to the knowledge of use of more than one language by an individual of a community. An examination of how the languages of bilingual and multilingual community are used reveals a highly sophisticated and efficient pattern. Since bilingu

19、als have a good command of two languages, they made constant comparison between the two not only pragmatically but also phonetically. An illustrating example is about Thai students learning English in English-speaking countries. They avoid Thai words like fag (sheath) in the presence of anglophone b

20、ecause of the phonetic resemblance of the word to taboo English word fuck. Thai speakers also find it difficult to say the English words yet and key because they sound very much like the Thai words jed (a vulgar word for to have intercourse), and khii (excrement). In short, because of the bilingual

21、situation, the taboos in one culture many result in other taboos in other cultures in different linguistic frameworks.Whats more, other scholars infer that some taboos are derived from sex differentiation. The above three reasons accepted by most of the scholars. However, taboo is an extremely compl

22、icated phenomenon, and many other factors may have also contributed to its formulation.Chapter Two Taboo SubjectTaboo subjects cover a wide range of our social life. They may include sex, excretion, death, religion, politics, etc. It must be mentioned here that there is no universal religion or soci

23、al structure. Cultural systems and societies in the larger sense may possess similarities but a variety of factors (environment, size, etc) ensure that there are significant differences, hence different taboo subjects. However, taboo subjects on religion, bodily functions and wastes, and death are g

24、enerally regarded as the most common taboo subjects. They express a societys concern for itself and act as a forward line of defense.Firstly, taboos concerning religious affairs can be traced back to the primitive society, though not relegated solely to it. In some communities, word-magic plays an i

25、mportant role in religion, and certain words regarded as powerful will be used in spells and incantations. These words have been gradually made taboos. In this way, ritual, magic and taboo operate well in religion. In England, the word bloody is a taboo that originally referred to the blood of Chris

26、t. Some respectable people consider bloody a horrible word on a par with obscene or profane language. Shows use of bloody in Pygmalion arouses widespread public comment. In Australia, people firmly believe that they would physically sicken and die when a taboo is pronounced. This can also find expre

27、ssion in Japan. In Shinto ceremonies, Buddhist terms such as hotoke (Buddha) and so (Buddhist monk) are generally avoided, for Buddhism is being associated with funerals in Japanese concepts.However, as old societies withered and died, religion has undergone significant modification. Religion is no

28、longer the backbone of a society. Religious word taboos, therefore, have lost much of their original force.Secondly, it is not uncommon for people to fear death. It is an unknown world after death and the dead person who knows it never return. Death is in constant companion with the pain of the dyin

29、g ones and the grief of the living ones. Due to the above reasons, the very mentioning of the dead persons name and even the very word die become taboos. We Chinese are always conscious of the avoidance of the character die. The word carries too strong flavor for us to bear. Instead, we apply the eu

30、phemism to moderate the unpleasantness. Therefore, the expressions, such as to be no more, to go to the glory, to go to heaven, to see Marx, etc, came into existence. In Japan, after nightfall, instead of saying shio for salt, speakers say nami no hama. Shio and shi (death) sound so similar and it i

31、snt considered good to be mentioning death when it is dark. Whats more, words related with funeral and body are also used in an indirect manner. In short, death is almost an international taboo subject and has already been deeply seated in the emotions of human beings as a whole. Failure to adhere t

32、o the rules governing the use of death taboo may result in a communication failure.Thirdly, however, not lastly, sex is also a distinct kind of taboo subjects. This is a reflection of the great emphasis traditionally placed on sexual morality in most of the cultures. Sex taboos receive legal as well

33、 as social reinforcement. Another taboo subject concerned with bodily functions is bodily excretion. Many of the words relating to sex and excretion have been stigmatized as bad language, foul language or Four-letter words, which have been in effect banned in polite conversation and in printing. Four-letter word is a word of about four