What is the relationship between language and culture?

Answer 1

Language is the verbal expression of culture. Culture is the idea, custom and beliefs of a community with a distinct language containing semantics - everything a speakers can think about and every way they have of thinking about things as medium of communication. For example, the Latin language has no word for the female friend of a man (the feminine form of amicus is amica, which means mistress, not friend) because the Roman culture could not imagine a male and a female being equals, which they considered necessary for friendship.

Another example is that Eskimos have many different terms for snow...there are nuances that make each one different.

Language and culture are NOT fundamentally inseparable. At the most basic level, language is a method of expressing ideas. That is, language is communication; while usually verbal, language can also be visual (via signs and symbols), or semiotics (via hand or body gestures). Culture, on the other hand, is a specific set of ideas, practices, customs and beliefs which make up a functioning society as distinct.

A culture must have at least one language, which it uses as a distinct medium of communication to conveys its defining ideas, customs, beliefs, et al., from one member of the culture to another member. Cultures can develop multiple languages, or "borrow" languages from other cultures to use; not all such languages are co-equal in the culture. One of the major defining characteristics of a culture is which language(s) are the primary means of communication in that culture; sociologists and anthropologists draw lines between similar cultures heavily based on the prevalent language usage.

Languages, on the other hand, can be developed (or evolve) apart from its originating culture. Certain language have scope for cross-cultural adaptations and communication, and may not actually be part of any culture. Additionally, many languages are used by different cultures (that is, the same language can be used in several cultures).

Language is heavily influenced by culture - as cultures come up with new ideas, they develop language components to express those ideas. The reverse is also true: the limits of a language can define what is expressible in a culture (that is, the limits of a language can prevent certain concepts from being part of a culture).

Finally, languages are not solely defined by their developing culture(s) - most modern languages are amalgamations of other prior and current languages. That is, most languages borrow words and phrases ("loan words") from other existing languages to describe new ideas and concept. In fact, in the modern very-connected world, once one language manufactures a new word to describe something, there is a very strong tendency for other languages to "steal" that word directly, rather than manufacture a unique one itself. The English language is a stellar example of a "thief" language - by some accounts, over 60% of the English language is of foreign origin (i.e. those words were originally imported from another language). Conversely, English is currently the world's largest "donor" language, with vast quantities of English words being imported directly into virtually all other languages.

Answer 2

Each country has its different language and different culture,with reference to which the locality of an individual can be known.Each religion has its own culture which helps us to know its merits.To understand a person its more important to learn their language and understand their culture.

Answer 3

Culture and language are extremely important. Why? Because without one you can't have the other.

Depending on the culture you live in, dictates the language you use. This is the same reason why some people will speak their native tongue at home but another language outside -this includes slang.

Culture is important because without it, we wouldn't have art, technologies or the defining aspects of any society.

Language is important because without it, we would not have a clear way of expression or communication.