Language, Culture and Society Reviewer

Prof. Robert Niño O. Ponce

Lesson 1
“Social Functions of Language”
Social Function of Language-how we use language and how we communicate in a social setting
Interconnection of Language and Culture to Society-Happens when individuals interact, negotiate, and
create meanings while bringing in their varied cultural backgrounds (Ting-Toomey, 1999).
How does Culture influence Language in a Society?
 Cultural Identity- Language serves as a way to express the culture of one another. You can’t
understand a particular culture without learning its language. A specific language is often tied with a
particular group. Language promotes social connections. At the same time, culture aids our learning
of how to connect with others. People who share the same culture for example Chinese tends to
communicate easily with one another as they share the same cultural background and language as
well.

 Gender role- Language still plays a great role in defining gender even up to this day. Every language
in the world has a language agreement wherein specific words were used in order to describe a
gender. For example, “babae” which means girl, and “lalaki” which means boy, both were Tagalog
words translated to English. Gender roles also connect with language through the reflection of the
way they speak and their living styles and attitudes. Females tend to speak a little indirect as for them
expressing their feelings are more important while males speak directly and their main goal is to
transfer the information that their carrying the first thing. But this is a case to case basis as in the end
it really depends on the person on how the way they want to communicate. Some female tends to cut
to the chase and really give out the information and some male tend to speak indirectly to others.

 Age identity- Age has an impact on the aspects of language processing. Each generation has their
own way of communicating with one another. Generation by generation, pronunciations evolve, new
words are borrowed or invented, the meaning of old words drifts, and morphology develops or
decays. If you observe, new language tends to develop from each generation. In the millennial age,
they popularized the more usage of slang words while communicating from their age group. The
Generation Z carried the way they communicate and give out a more enhance version of their slangs
and they made it more popular through the help of different social media sites like Facebook and
Tiktok.

 Social Class- Social class refers to the hierarchy that a person belongs to ( upper, middle, and lower
class). People belonging in the upper class are expected or tend to speak formally and in a mannerly
way when they are talking to one another. These people are often fluent on two or more languages as
they have the means to go on expensive schools. Middle class or the working class are those people
who can speak also formally and gracefully but not often. They speak casually with one another and
does sometimes use some slang words when they are communicating with their friends. Here in the
Philippines, people belonging in the middle class tends to know one or two language which is
Tagalog and English and can communicate fluently with one another as they learn it either at their
homes or schools. The lower-class people were perceived as those who have little to no formal
learning due to financial incapacity. The way they speak were loud to each other and they were also
very casual while talking to one another. But this also varies from the person as some from the upper
 class can speak like they are uneducated and some people from the lower class can speak in a
mannerly way through their dedication to learn.

 Religious Identity- Sometimes, a person may feel uncomfortable communicating with people from
other religions because of assumptions about the other's beliefs and opinions. One main
communication barrier stemming from religion is individuals' lack of knowledge or information
about other religions and belief systems. Ideas of religion being spread more easily to speakers of
similar language

“ The Developmental Model of Language and Cultural Sensitivity”

Bennett and Bennett 2014
Six Stages

1. Denial- does not recognize cultural differences.

2. Defense- starts to recognize but also start to get intimidated, compare in a bad way
3. Minimization- more universal than recognizing the cultural difference. “we are really just the
same”
4. Acceptance- begins to appreciate but doesn’t fully support or want to join, manifest greater
curiosity
5. Adaptation- more open minded, accepts new perspective, starts to behave culturally appropriate
6. Integration- can go beyond, people are able to experience themselves as multicultural beings who
are constantly choosing the most appropriate cultural context for their behavior
World Bank (2010) identifies the following traits that define a competent language and culture
communicator

Adjacency Pairs- follow ups

Question- Answer
Greeting- Another Greeting

“Regional and Social Dialect”

Dialect- a specific language to a specific region or group of people
Regional Dialect- Distinguishable from their pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. It is also known as
“regiolect or topolect”
Social Dialect- A variety of speech associated with a particular social class or group within a society. It is
also known as “sociolect.”

“ Multilingualism”
 More than one language is used
 Lesson 2
“Communication Ethics”
Ethics- Deals with values relating to human conduct, with the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and
to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.
Communication Ethics- The principle governing communication, the right and wrong aspects of it, the
moral-immoral dimensions relevant to interpersonal communication are called the ethics of interpersonal
communication.
“Fundamentals of Ethical Communication”
1. Responsible Thinking
2. Decision Making
3. Development of relationships and communities
 Context
 Culture
 Channels
 Media
“Principles of Ethical Communication”
 Advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication.
 Endorse freedom of expression. Diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the
informed and responsible decision-making fundamental to a civil society.
 Condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation,
coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.
 Communication should accept responsibility for the short and long-term consequences of our own
communication and expect the same others.

Lesson 3
“Globalization and Communication”
Communication- sending or receiving information from one another
Globalization- spread of products, technology, information and jobs across national borders and cultures.
(trade,travel,media and entertainment, knowledge).

Communication is important in globalization because of individuals from different countries, ethnicities,

language and cultural attitudes.

“Increased Business Opportunities”

 Many companies today hire employees that are located in other countries. Using communication
vehicles such as video calling make it simple to converse with colleagues across the globe, almost
making it feel as if they are in the same room.
“ Fewer Cultural Barriers”
 Many people perceive culture to be the root of communication challenges. When people from two
different cultures try to speak their body language or their mannerisms can be interpreted differently
by the other person.
“Creation of Global Village”
 Global village is created when distance and isolation no longer because people are connected by
technology. Wide-spread telephone and internet access have been life-changing for many people
across the world, especially those in developing countries.

“World Englishes”
  different varieties of English and English-based creoles developed in different regions of the world.
 forms of English that have been developed by non-native speakers
“World English”
 English language as a lingua franca used in business, trade, diplomacy and other spheres of global
activity

Many co

 I
n
his 1985 paper, Kachru classified Englishes using the now famous “three circles” model. These
were concentric circles and he called them the inner, outer and expanding circles. The inner circle
countries were those in which English was traditionally the first language of the majority of the
speakers. 
1. Inner (ENL or English as Native Language) - native speakers born in an English-speaking
country, having then this language as their mother tongue or first tongue.
2. Outer ( ESL or English as Second Language) -non-native speakers who have learnt English
almost at the same time as their mother tongue.
3. Expanding ( EFL or English as Foreign Language) - non-native speakers who learnt English in a
country where English is not usually spoken.

“Culturally Sensitive and Bias Free Language”

Culturally Sensitive - aware that cultural differences and similarities exist and have an effect on values,
learning, and behavior.

Components
 Valuing and recognizing the importance of one’s own culture.
 Valuing Diversity
 Realizing that cultural diversity will affect an individual’s communication and participation in
education in various ways.
 A willingness to adapt one’s communication and behaviors to be compatible with another’s cultural
norms.
 A willingness to learn about the traditions and characteristics of other cultures.

Bias Free Language

 language that is sensitive to people’s sex, race, age, physical condition and many other categories
 Bias-free language does not discriminate and therefore includes all readers in a fair and friendly
manner.
“Race and Ethnicity”
Racism- form of discrimination against a person or persons of a different race. In general, it is best to avoid
identifying people by race or ethnic group.
“Gender and Sexual Orientation”
Sexism- prejudice and discrimination based on sex or gender.
“Social Class”
Class Discrimination or Classism - form of prejudice against a person or people because of their social class.
“Age”
Ageism- form of discrimination against other people because of their age.
“Disabilities”
When referring to people with disabilities, the focus should be on the person, not the condition.

“Language Planning and Policy”

 is concerned with the policies both explicit and implicit that influence what languages are
spoken when, how, and by whom, as well as the values and rights associated with those
languages.
Language Planning Principles
1. Assimilation- every person within the society should be fluent of the dominant
language. For example, only English movement in the USA.
2. Linguistic Pluralism- Better to have multiple language. For example, in Switzerland
they have French, German and Romansh as their official language.
3. Vernacularization- restoring native language as the commonly spoken language
4. Internationalization- adopting non-indigenous language in order to communicate
easily with other nations. For example, English as the global language that is taught
worldwide.
Stages of Language Planning
1. Selection- choice of language to fulfill certain functions in a given society.
2. Codification- creation of linguistic standards.
 Graphization- writing system
 Grammaticalization- grammar rules
 Lexicalization- vocabulary
3. Implementation- promoting and exposing the language in the society through producing books,
newspapers, education, and administration.
4. Elaboration- the stylistic development of a codified language to meet the communicative demands of
modern life and technology.
Levels of Language Planning
1. Status Planning – social and political position
2. Corpus Planning - changes and standardization
3. Acquisition Planning – control textbooks and dictionaries done by government officials

“Multilingualism”
- Ability of an individual speaker or a community of speakers to communicate effectively in three or
more languages.
“Monolingualism”
- Ability to use only one language
“Polyglot”
- Multilingual
“Diglossia”
- A situation in which two languages or two varieties of the same language are used under different
conditions within a community, often by the same speakers.
“Low Variety”
- Used in daily conversations
“High Variety”
- Used in formal setting
“Spoken and Written Language”

Both are ways of communicating with others

 - A speaker who
writes an oral
presentation as if it
were an essay and merely reads it risks losing the audience.
- Spoken Language- communicating through sounds, body language
- Sign language= spoken
- Spoken language= meaning determined by context
- Written Language= direct meaning
- Spoken Language= common sense
- Written Language= logical and coherent
“History of Public Speaking”
 Few of these were from the more well-known public speaking traditions of GREEKS and ROMANS,
and the public speaking traditions that are found in the Philippines.
 The Greek teacher, Corax, and his student, Tisias, proceeded to help citizens when it came to
speaking persuasively in courts of law.

Three Basic Parts of Speech According to Corax

 Introduction
 Evidence
 Conclusion
Protagoras – father of debate
Aristotle – Greek philosopher, father of modern communication
1. Logos- logical argument
2. Pathos- emotional argument
3. Ethos – credibility of the speaker
Demosthenes – famous orator in Ancient Greece, flawed in public speaking , stammering and weak voice
Cicero – Roman Orator, “Resistless Torrent” ,
Quintillian - Roman Lawyer and Educator, public speakers should be ethical

“Pre-Colonial Philippines”
Babaylan- Priestess of the community
Mandirigma – warrior
Karagatan – men and women duel with each other through the use of words when it comes to talking about
love
Huwego de Prenda – game used to entertain during wakes
Francisco Balagtas- well known Filipino poet
- Balagtasan is like an ordinary debate, except that one has to reason and argue in verse. Staged and
scripted but later on becomes impromptu.
“Tools for Public Speaking”
- Vocal Delivery
- Body Language
- Visual Aids ( can be optional depending on the type of speech)
- Audience Engagement
- Method of Delivery
- Good Grooming/ Being Presentable
Alphabet- set of basic written symbols that represent phonemes of a certain language
Alphabet- aleph=ox , betos=house
“History of Alphabet”
- Started in Ancient Egypt
- Phonecian Alphabet is considered as the first alphabet
- First true alphabet was the Greek Alphabet
- Braille Alphabet is used for those who are blind
- Khmer Alphabet was the longest alphabet with 74 letters
“Spelling and Spelling Reform”
- Spelling is the forming of words from letters according to accepted usage.
- spelling reform refers to any organized effort to simplify the system of English orthography.
“Language Change and Reconstruction”
- Language change is the phenomenon by which permanent alterations are made in the features and
the use of a language over time.
- as long as people are using a language, that language will undergo some change