Language  And  Cultural  Differences 

    What is the relationship between language and culture? In my point of view, language, as part of culture, is closely related with culture, and cultural differences are reflected in various subsystems of language, especially in vocabulary and syntax. In this essay, I will discuss language and cultural differences by comparing English and Chinese languages and cultures.   

    Language and culture are closely related with each other. F. de Saussure, the founding father of modern linguistics, defined language as a system of signs used for communication but did not include factors of culture. In fact, any system cannot be closed and independent. Instead, it is always related with other systems. Language, as a system, is no exception. Language is one of the elements constituting the culture system. It is a subsystem of the latter. That is to say, culture is not equal with language. It is larger than language. What is more, since language signs represent human experience and behaviors, the content of culture, the culture system cannot be independent of the language system and vice versa. We can see that the feature of language both as one element of culture and as the conveying tool of the other elements in the culture system determines that language and culture are closely related.

    Language and culture have close relationship with each other, and cultural differences are inevitably reflected in various subsystems of language, especially in vocabulary and syntax. We will get a better understanding of how cultural differences are reflected in language by first looking at vocabulary since of all the subsystems in language, vocabulary is the most active and most clearly reflects cultural differences.  I will take examples from words for titles, beasts and colors. Here I begin with the group of words for titles, which are good examples to show cultural differences in vocabulary. There are wide differences between Chinese and English titles. Chinese feudal system had a long history. In the feudal society, there was strict discrimination between the relative relations and this led to the complicated relative titles. In the cousin relation, Chinese clearly differentiate cousins on the mother's side or the father's side, male or female, elder or younger by using eight titles for cousins while in English, there is only one word for all these titles, "cousin". In addition, in Chinese feudal society, the family was regarded as the stem cell of the feudal system. This directly led to overgeneralization of kinship titles, that is, the extension of kinship titles to nonrelatives. The young address the people who are older than them but are not relatives " Grandpa ", " Grandma ", " Uncle ",  and "Sister" etc. to make the relationship closer. In contrast, English kinship titles should only be applied to relatives.

    Next, in words for beasts, we can also find numerous examples to show cultural differences reflected in vocabulary. I will take the words " lion " and "dragon " as examples. In western fairy tales, the lion is respected as the king of the jungle and the king of the beasts. In the eyes of the westerners, the lion is courageous, strong and powerful. So there are such phrases as " the Lion-Heart " (the courageous British King Richard I); the "British Lion" (Britain) and a " literary lion" (a famous person in the literary circle).  In contrast, the ordinary Chinese people are not familiar with the lion and do not regard it as the symbol of courage and power. Instead, the tiger is the king of beasts and the word " tiger" appears in a lot of Chinese idioms referring to courageous people.

    In words for beasts, the word " dragon" is another case in point. In western legends and myths, the dragon is a monster, a huge and terrible reptile. In the Bible, the evil Satan is called the great dragon. In the Middle Ages, the dragon was the symbol of evil and Christian Saints were proud of killing dragons. In Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, we can find the sentence as a good example," We were really frightened of the maths teacher. She was a real dragon." Here "dragon" refers to a fierce and unpleasant woman. However, the Chinese dragon is a kind of large imaginary beast with combined features of different beasts. In ancient Chinese legends the dragon was a magic beast, which could control clouds and rain. In feudal China, it was the representation of the emperor. So the Chinese dragon is the symbol of dignity and dominion. People with outstanding talents are referred to as "dragons" and the Chinese call themselves " descendants of the dragon".

    Apart from the above examples from words for titles and beasts, examples from words for colors can also be found. For instance, the word '' blue ". In English, blue is regarded as a holy color, representing sacredness, truth and loyalty. And as the color of Virgin Mother Mary's robe, blue is also a symbol of purity. In Chinese culture, however, blue is a symbol of calmness and plainness. It is the color for official clothes in Ming and Qing dynasties and the main color for clothes of ordinary people from the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949 to the year of 1979 when the implementation of reform and opening policy began. In English and Chinese phrases, the word " blue " has different associative meanings.  It means "prestigious " or  " having high social status " in English phrases like " blue-brick university ", " blue ribbon " and " blue stocking " and means " upset ", " sad " or " depressed " in  " feel blue " and " blue Monday ". " Blue " in Chinese phrases does not have such associative meanings and sometimes loses its original meaning concerning color. For example, " blue mansions " means brothels; " the blue sky " refers to the official who is very just and upright and " blue comes from the indigo plant but is bluer than the plant itself " means that students excel their teachers.

    Although vocabulary is the most active subsystem in language in which cultural differences can be reflected, it is not the only one. Syntax is another. When we compare English and Chinese cultures, the following differences can be seen. In English culture, logic and order of space are emphasized while in Chinese culture, meaning and order of time are paid more attention to; the English speaking people tend to look at things in the focus perspective while the Chinese always do in the defocus perspective; the thinking ways of the English speaking people are deductive while those of the Chinese are inductive. In the following three paragraphs, I will illustrate with examples how these differences are reflected in syntax.

    First, English sentences are linked together by grammatical means while Chinese sentences are actually linked together by internal meanings.  Therefore, all parts of English sentences are closely and compactly connected with each other while those of Chinese sentences are loosely connected without complicated changes of cases or forms. The complication of English sentences often comes from clauses linked by relative pronouns. The main clause may be short, but may also be heavily loaded with subordinate clauses. Take the following sentence as an example: "It is a curious fact, of which I can think of no satisfactory explanation, that enthusiasm for country life and love of natural scenery are strongest and most widely diffused precisely in those European countries which have the worst climate and where the search for the picturesque involves the greatest discomfort. " (Aldous Huxley: The Country) The main clause of the sentence is short and simple (“ It is a curious fact “) followed by four subordinate clauses. In Chinese sentences, complicated thoughts are organized by internal meanings instead of relative pronouns.

    The second point is that nouns and prepositions prevail in English sentences while verbs do in Chinese sentences. Here is an English sentence: "Carlisle Street runs westward, across a great black bridge, down a hill and up again, by little shops and meatmarkets, past single-storied homes, until suddenly it stops against a wide green lawn. " In this sentence, there are as many as seven prepositions and six nouns. If the same meaning is expressed in Chinese, usually verbs are used instead since verbs do not change their forms in Chinese and can be used very conveniently. In Chinese, complicated ideas are always expressed with the help of verbs arranged in order of time and are developed level by level.

    Besides the above two points, the third and last point can be seen in the comparison of sentence focus. In complicated English sentences, the main clause is the most important part and usually comes at the beginning while in Chinese sentences; the most important part is placed at the end. For example, in the English sentence, " It was a keen disappointment when I had to postpone the visit which I intended to pay to the United States in January. " the attitude is expressed at the very beginning. It is just the opposite in Chinese. In Chinese sentences, feelings, attitudes, comments or conclusions usually go after the description of what has happened.

    I have discussed cultural differences reflected in both vocabulary and syntax. To sum up, language is a system, which can never be independent of culture. Cultural differences can be seen in various levels of language, especially in vocabulary and syntax. When we learn a language, we should not only learn the internal rules of the language but also try our best to get ourselves exposed to its culture to gain linguistic competence and cultural competence at the same time.

(Organizational principles: categorization and comparative contrasting.)