The dialectics between language and culture

Abstract

This paper takes point of departure in the view that “No particular language or way of speaking has a privileged view of the world as it "really" is” (Romaine 1999, 20). Neither the structure of a language nor the way people speak about the world are given by nature, but are negotiated and constructed by language users. Language and language use reflect different conceptualizations of the world and are related to the culture in different communities. When children are born, they grow up as members of a linguistic community based on earlier members’ conceptualizations and negotiations over time. They integrate the constructed linguistic categories and their own conceptualizations and culture are influenced by the language and language use. Gradually, they themselves become part of the negotiations of language and new categories are handed down to new members. This means that language and culture are dialectic my nature. The aim of this paper is, within a societal dimension, to discuss the dialectic interplay between language and culture; how linguistic categories emerge, what they reflect, and what impact they have. This is done within the framework of cultural linguistics based on a constructivist approach to language and culture. It is an additional aim of the paper to illustrate that a direct foundation in a constructivist approach is useful in order to highlight the meaning and impact of language in a societal dimension.