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VEDA’S JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.5 An International Peer Reviewed Journal Spl.Issue 3 http://www.joell.in 2018 NATIONAL SEMINAR PAPER LANGUAGE IS CULTURE AND CULTURE IS LANGUAGE N.Sudhakara Rao (Head, PG Department of English,TJPS College, (PG Studies), Guntur.) ABSTRACT Language and culture are complementary to each other in such a way that one enriches the other and vice versa. Learning or teaching a language which is nothing but sharing cognitive abilities includes the involvement of the native culture of that particular language group because language and culture are not two separate entities. the use of symbols that represent events, identities, feelings and beliefs is also the method of bringing these things into the process of acquiring a language consciously and getting in touch with its culture unconsciously. Because of this reason, the much acclaimed phrase, language is culture and culture is language has been in vogue. With the advent of globalization, intercultural relations are growing intensely. There is a continual merging of cultures across the world as people began to think globally. As the world has been termed to be a global village, peoples of the world are looking for new styles of life, new values, behavioral conventions, beliefs and attitudes shared by different ethnic groups. In this process, a sort of embracing the dominant cultural traits and conscious erosion of recessive ones take place. Human histories have been written and passed on to the succeeding generations through a language. On the contrary, animal behavior or culture has no such transmission since they have no written form of language. Keywords: Language, Literature, Culture, Inter-Cultural , Globalization, Ethnicity, Aureation, Diglossia. Author(s) retain the copyright of this article Copyright © 2018 VEDA Publications Author(s) agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License . 39 Proceedings of National Seminar on “Language of Literature and Culture” held on 22nd & 23rd Nov., 2018. Organised by the Dept. of English, JMJ College for Women, Tenali. VEDA’S JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.5 An International Peer Reviewed Journal Spl.Issue 3 http://www.joell.in 2018 Language and culture are two concepts in pressure represents aspects of reality as well as human life that are inseparably intertwined. They are connects different contexts? It means that the use of complementary to each other in such a way that one symbols that represent events, identities, feelings enriches the other and vice versa. A particular and beliefs is also the method of bringing these community of people is identified with the use of a things into the process of acquiring a language specific language. When people of one language consciously and getting in touch with its culture background are confronted with those of another unconsciously. Because of this reason, the much language, they are also interacting with the culture of acclaimed phrase, language is culture and culture is the latter. At this juncture, Alfred L. Krober, a cultural language has been in vogue. According to anthropologist of America said ‘culture started when anthropologist-linguist Edward Sapir of the United speech was available, and from that beginning, the States, language habits of specific groups of people enrichment of either one led the other to develop built the real world. further.’ One cannot understand the culture of a WORLD IS GOING INTERCULTURAL AND MULTI- community without ever having the knowledge of CULTURAL their language. Rita Mae Brown, an American writer, With the advent of globalization, activist, and feminist says ‘Language is the road map intercultural relations are growing intensely. There is of a culture. It tells you where its people come from a continual merging of cultures across the world as and where they are going.” people began to think globally. As the world has been It goes without saying that when you learn a termed to be a global village, peoples of the world new language, it not only tells us about learning its are looking for new styles of life, new values, alphabet, the word arrangement and the rules of behavioral conventions, beliefs and attitudes shared grammar, but also learning about the specific by different ethnic groups. In this process, a sort of society's customs and behavior which amount to embracing the dominant cultural traits and conscious culture. Therefore, learning or teaching a language erosion of recessive ones take place. For instance, which is nothing but sharing cognitive abilities the advent of the British in India has influenced the includes the involvement of the native culture of that dress styles of the Indians, not only due to the particular language group because language and fascination for the new style, but also for the culture are not two separate entities. ambience it offers. Gradually, food, business, Paralanguage is specific to a culture, in the sense that education, medical procedures, travel and leisure it is inevitable to learn the glances, gestures and management have been richly influenced by the changes in voice or tone and other communication dominant cultural traits, but not necessarily the tools to emphasize or alter what one want to do or dominance of the western culture is taking place. To say. put the argument inversely, knowledge of other The homologous relationship between languages facilitates knowledge of other countries language and culture are emphasized by many and the specific cultures and as a consequence linguists. The sum total of human interactions international communication and cooperation are constitutes culture. Ferruccio Rossi-Landi, an Italian promoted. philosopher who worked on semiotics and linguistics Every language has its own literature with said that a speech community is made up of all the culture- specific dimensions and social standards. A messages that were exchanged with one another dialect or standardised form of the language used in using a given language, which is understood by the writing is called the literary language. There exists a entire society. Rossi-Landi further added that young strong divergence between literary and non-literary children learn their language and culture from the forms in many languages. For instance, Telugu used society they were born in and hail from. According to in Telangana literary writing is almost the same as Professor Michael Silverstein, who teaches the spoken and vernacular form and therefore it psychology, linguistics and anthropology at the reflects the life styles of common people who do not University of Chicago, culture's communicative relish nuances and innuendoes of language. But in 40 Proceedings of National Seminar on “Language of Literature and Culture” held on 22nd & 23rd Nov., 2018. Organised by the Dept. of English, JMJ College for Women, Tenali. VEDA’S JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.5 An International Peer Reviewed Journal Spl.Issue 3 http://www.joell.in 2018 some languages like English exhibit a clear form of Dhimotiki, ‘demotic’ or popular Greek, was the daily diglossia. language. This created a diglossic situation until in CLASSICAL LANGUAGES 1976, when Dhimotiki was made the official language Some languages like Hebrew, Aramaic, of Greece. Greek, Latin Sanskrit and most recently English are Latin also has its own share of diglossic used for liturgical writing, which is the language or situation. Classical Latin was the literary register used form of language used in the liturgy of some in writing from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, while religions. Vulgar Latin was the common, spoken variety used There had not been much distinction in the across the Roman Empire. The Latin brought by English language between an elevated literary Roman soldiers to Gaul, Iberia, or Dacia was not language and a colloquial language before the identical to the Latin of Cicero, and differed from it in Norman conquest of England. At this time and into vocabulary, syntax, and grammar. In 813, priests the Renaissance, the practice of aureation (the were ordered to preach in the vernacular language— introduction of terms from classical languages, often either in the rustica lingua romanica (Vulgar Latin), or through poetry) was an important part of the in the Germanic vernaculars for the intelligibility of reclamation of status for the English language, and the language by the common people. many historically aureate terms are now part of CULTURAL AFFINITY AND TRANSMISSION OF general common usage. Modern English no longer CULTURE has quite the same distinction between literary and There is an unconscious and involuntary process colloquial registers. of acculturation in a language community. In the case of one of the oldest languages like Transmission of culture takes place through teaching Arabic, many western scholars distinguish two or learning a language, teaching. Human histories varieties: the Classical Arabic of the Qur'an and early have been written and passed on to the succeeding Islamic (7th to 9th centuries) literature; and Modern generations through a language. On the contrary, Standard Arabic (MSA), the standard language that animal behavior or culture has no such transmission has been in use today in the Arab speaking Islamic since they have no written form of language. countries. Today, literary Arabic or classical Arabic is Media play a vital role in the dissemination the official language of all Arab countries and is the of culture of a language group. The advent of only form of Arabic taught in schools at all stages. But television, broadcast media and internet has much to the sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern do with the spreading of new culture values across times provides a prime example of the linguistic the communities of the globe. As such, the world phenomenon of diglossia. today is becoming inter-linguistic and inter-cultural.