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Module 6: Culture and Language

Readings

Dylman, A. S., Champoux-Larsson, M., & Zakrisson, I. (2020). Culture, Language and Emotion [PDF]. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 4 (2). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1167. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Kashima, Y. (2020). Language and language use [PDF]. In R. Biswas-Deiner & E. Diener (Eds), Noba Textbook Series: Psychology. Champaign. Retrieved from http://noba.to/yxcptqw. This material is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Gannon, M. J. (2011). Cultural Metaphors: Their Use in Management Practice as a Method for Understanding Cultures [PDF]. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1065. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Gire, J. (2014). How Death Imitates Life: Cultural Influences on Conceptions of Death and Dying [PDF]. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1120. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Liu, S., & Gallois, C. (2014). Integrating intercultural communication and cross-cultural psychology: Theoretical and pedagogical implications [PDF]. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Teaching Materials

Major Points

    1. Human language
      1. Basic components of a language
    2. Phonemes
      1. English language
      2. Brain development and sound recognitions
      3. Problematic sounds “R” “L” “V” W”
    3. Morphemes
      1. Sound combination
      2. Accent on vowels and meaning change
      3. Accent on consonants
    4. Syntax
      1. SVO and changes across language
      2. Surface Structure
      3. Deep structure
    5. Language and Identity
      1. Self-identity
      2. Group identity
      3. National identity
      4. Indigenous Languages
    6. Language and Reality
      1. Sapir-Whorfian Hypothesis
      2. Language shapes reality
    7. Culture and Communication Styles
      1. Direct-Indirect
      2. Elaborate-Succinct
      3. Personal-Contextual
      4. Instrumental-Affective

Videos

How language shapes the way we think | Lera Borodisky (14:12)

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How do languages and cultures interact and influence each other? |Jennifer Qi | ACS Athens (7:03)

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Bilingualism and Cultural Imperialism of language | Zoe Marie Pace | (11:53)

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Native American Culture – Language: the key to Everything | Ron (Muqsahkwat) Corn, Jr. | (11:56).

 

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The benefits of a bilingual brain – Mia Nacamulli (5:03)

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Mohawk language, phonology, morphology, syntax and culture – InterCycles (30:50)

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Critical Thinking Questions

Critical Thinking Questions

  • Contact with other cultures and languages is possibly easier and more common today than ever before. How can this contact with other cultures and languages affect the way we learn a foreign language and use it? Will this context, which can be much less sterile than a classroom setting, influence the way we experience emotions in a second language?
  • What might we find out by comparing different languages within same culture? Can you think of any such cultures with multiple languages?
  • Think of your own ethnic heritage. What metaphor or metaphors would you use to describe it? Why?
  • Find and write down five proverbs or adages from you culture. Share them with the class and discuss the cultural dimensions they reveal (e.g., collectivism, power distance, high-context culture
  • Make a list of some common idioms used in your language and culture. “Translate” each idiom into what it actually means (the figurative meaning of the idiom) and compare each with its literal meaning. How might someone who does not speak your language as a mother tongue misinterpret some of these idioms?

Critical Thinking Questions adapted from:

License

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Psychology of Culture Copyright © by Gira Bhatt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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