Cultuling Analysis: A New Methodology for Discovering Cultural Memes Reza Pishghadam1a, Shima Ebrahimi 2a, Ali Derakhshan3b Abstract The close relationship between language and culture has been ARTICLE HISTORY: highlighted by scholars in sociology, sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, psychology, and linguistics. Received April 2020 They postulate that language is a tool to instantiate cultural Received in revised form June 2020 concepts and delineate how individuals perceive the world. Accepted June 2020 Regarding such an outstanding impetus and triggered by the Available online July 2020 conceptualization of cultulings (culture in language), language structures and expressions can manifest the overt and covert cultural patterns. Not only can the cultuling analysis of a society disclose the cultural patterns entrenched in the language, but also it can unearth the effective and defective cultural memes. To this end, our cultural model, KEYWORDS: underpinned by environmental factors, cultural, emo- sensory, and linguistic differences, can provide a robust Culture model to analyze cultulings of a given society. Therefore, to Cultuling analyze and explain the cultulings, the cultural, emotioncy, Cultuling analysis and SPEAKING models are suggested to be collectively Emotioncy model Euculturing utilized to reflect the participants’ culture. The amalgamation of these models and the underlying environmental factors can delineate people’s specific behaviors and cultulings which can culminate in euculturing. © 2020 IJSCL. All rights reserved. 1 Professor, Email: [email protected] (Corresponding Author) Tel: +98-51-38802000 2 Assistant Professor, Email: [email protected] 3 Associate Professor, Email: [email protected] a Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran b Golestan University, Iran 18 Cultuling Analysis: A New Methodology for Discovering Cultural Memes 1. Introduction Whorf’s (1956) linguistic relativism and linguistic determinism. Their well-grounded he progress and transcendence of each theorization has justified that the role of nation might be inextricably bound to its language in culture should not be overlooked T rich and healthy culture, which per se and that culture affects people’s thoughts and plays an indispensable role in the identity mentality through language. Thus, people’s formation of that society. Therefore, in order to mindsets and behaviors hinge on their language develop a society, it seems essential to first and they construct and reconstruct their world develop its culture. In order words, if a culture based on their language. of a society is well-developed and appropriate, it guarantees its progress, and if the culture is As explicated, in addition to the language- undeveloped and inappropriate, it hinders its culture relationship, the issue of people’s progress. Needless to say that exploring the thinking and cognition regarding their healthy culture and diffusing it paves the way surrounding world is remarkably significant, for its development (Pishghadam & Ebrahimi, which is addressed by pioneering scholars such in press). as Vygotsky (1978, 1986) and Halliday (2003). These scholars have considered culture as a Considered as social heredity, culture has social behavior that produces language and received a great momentum in diverse fields of plays a decisive role in shaping people’s study such as anthropology, sociology, thoughts in society. philosophy, and psycholinguistics, each of which has conceptualized culture with respect From another crucial perspective, Pishghadam to its specific domain. For instance, (2013) has considered the role of language to be anthropologists and sociologists define even more decisive and held that “language first ‘culture’ as a symbolic-meaningful or a social led to the technology development and at the system, encompassing symbols, ideas, beliefs, same time created culture, this culture again attitudes, norms, artifacts, manners, literature, produces a special discourse in a society art, architecture, customs, etc. (Gill, 2013; explaining how to practice wisdom” (p. 51). As Henslin, Possamai, Possamai-Inesedy, a result, “an accurate analysis of a language can Marjoribanks, & Elder, 2015). In such a reflect the culture that governs the society definition, culture pertains to those customary where it is spoken” (Pishghadam, 2013, p. 52) beliefs and values that ethnic, religious, and and can be well elucidated by investigating the social groups transmit fairly unchanged from linguistic components containing a society’s generation to generation (Guiso, Sapienza, & cultural information, the culture governing that Zingales, 2006). It is therefore perceived that society, and their thinking. Thus, like his culture is a means of communication and that ‘Brainling’ (Pishghadam, 2020), which is built interaction among the members of a group, and upon the structure of the brain (constituting the analysis of a culture reflects its people’s cogling (thinking in brain), emoling (emotion in lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and ways of brain), and sensoling (sense in brain)), thinking (Wardhaugh, 2010). Moreover, Pishghadam (2013) coalesced the two words Axelrod (1997) defines culture as the set of ‘language’ and ‘culture’ and introduced the individual attributes that are subject to social concept of ‘cultuling’, that is, ‘culture in influence. This definition is in line what that of language’ in sociological studies of language. Taga’s (1999), positing that culture constructs, Regarding the fact that cultulings play a crucial reconstructs, reflects, and conveys ideas and role in revealing the cultural and linguistic beliefs. It also gives the individuals knowledge characteristics of individuals in a society, and information about customs, traditions, through their thorough analysis, in other words, norms, and values which are concomitantly cultuling analysis (CLA, hereafter), one can transferred through language as an inseparable extract cultural roots, raise public awareness entity of each culture (Derakhshan, 2018). toward them, and make suggestions for altering Therefore, many distinguished researchers them if needed. In addition to providing (Agar, 1994; Diaz, 2013; Fantini, 1997; valuable contributions to language planners, Friedrich, 1989; Risager, 2006, 2011) have CLA also lays the groundwork for the focused on the language-culture relationship, assessment of attitudes, feelings, and language the most outstanding of which is Sapir and behavior of different classes of people R. Pishghadam et al. / International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 2020, 8(2) ISSN 2329-2210 19 (Pishghadam & Ebrahimi, in press), within the brain. They may be perceived by the culminating in the euculturing (bettering sense organs of other individuals, and they may culture) of any society. Bearing this in mind, so imprint themselves on the brains of the we seek to provide a comprehensive analytical receiving individuals that a copy of the original model for CLA. Accordingly, we conjecture meme is graven in the receiving brain. “The that in order to analyze a cultuling, one must new copy of the meme is then in a position to describe and explain the culture well. To this broadcast its phenotypic effects, with the result end, in this study, we elaborate on memes as a that further copies of itself may be made in yet unit of cultural transmission, cultuling, CLA, other brains”. (Dawkins, 1982, p. 109). different cultural models (CMs), the emotioncy Consequently, memes are living beings (Distin, model, factors underlying CLA, and our 2005) which are informative in nature and are a comprehensive model. It is believed that a clear combination of biological and mental factors picture of a nation’s culture and the linguistic intertwined with social and cultural factors. expressions they use (cultuling) can be provided Patterns, concepts, and ideas are stored in the by considering these factors simultaneously. memes. Clothing styles, music, common idioms, etc. are examples of cultural memes 2. Meme as a Unit of Cultural Transmission (Dawkins, 1989). Many scholars have been searching for a base Dawkins (1976, 1989) expounded that we can for culture, and they have tried to explore its identify people’s ideas and beliefs in a society th evolutionary principles. In the late 20 century, through memes which are considered as inspired by Darwin’s postulations and genetics subunits of culture transmitted by copying and science which argues that genetic information imitation because they are ideas, symbols, and is transmitted from one generation to the next, cultural acts which are transmitted in various Richard Dawkins (1976) propounded the term forms such as language (oral and written), ‘meme’ and established the science of behavior, customs, architecture, music, art, etc. ‘memetics’. ‘Meme’, rhyming with the word Therefore, memes have the ability to construct ‘gene’, means the cultural gene. According to cultures and can be considered as a base for this theory, memes are considered as units of cultural evolution (Aunger, 2002). They are not information in the brain, just like genetic only characterized as self-replicating but also information that resides in the DNA (Dawkins, known as contagious (Taecharungroj & 1982). “Imitation is key to Dawkins’ notion of Nueangjamnong, 2014). Traditions, beliefs, the meme because imitation is the means by customs, values, etc. are stored in the which memes propagate themselves amongst individual’s memory which are transmitted or members of a culture”