A New Language Learning Tool?
𝙲𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎-𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐
𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
Nowadays, the majority of people form their perception of reality exclusively through the prism of their native language. In this context, the philosophy of language, especially 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀, being the part of the latter, comes to the fore. That’s why ideas of shaping one’s worldview and expanding their perspective based on understanding other cultures become rather indispensable.
The role of language acquisition in fostering a deeper awareness of cultural differences is crucial today. However, it’s not all about student books, dictionaries and online platforms.
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚍.
They contain an overwhelming amount of information about grammatical and lexical nuances that won’t really help in a situation where two interlocutors, from different cultural backgrounds, communicate using a common non-native language (English mostly).
𝙲𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚞𝚛al 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚎𝚢
My own experience in teaching English to adults has proven that an understanding of 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 significantly improves students’ grasp of the material.
Understanding these is critical in intercultural communication, in which different 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 can lead speakers to incorrect assumptions and interpretations regarding the use of language.
In Arab countries, for example, people are surrounded by deserts that cannot be crossed without careful preparation and resources. Consequently, the attitude towards words to describe these phenomena will be quite different than in people from other countries and cultures.
Thus, each acquired language has sets of, specific to each culture and linguistic community, rules and features that conduce to the use and understanding of that language. It is precisely these sets that intercultural pragmatics assists in identifying.
And even in today’s world, where most countries participate in globalisation and strive for standardisation, cultural differences and unique associative chains tied to the 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 (denotatum) somehow persist.
𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎
I suggest examining a specific case to illustrate how the cultural conditions of word formation influence a speaker’s attitude towards the referent.
The Arabic word تهذيب (taġzīb) translates as “education.” In Arabic, nouns derive from verbs, and this word comes from the verb هذب (ġazaba), meaning «1) to prune unnecessary branches, 2) to remove excess».
Let’s consider a situation where two people are communicating in English: one with Arabic as their native language (Pa) and the other with Ukrainian (Pu). When Pu uses the English word “education” in their speech, Pa automatically perceives it through the concept of “pruning unnecessary branches,” which, for Pu, might be seen as restricting an individual rather than guiding them towards knowledge.
From this example, it becomes evident that for seamless and effective intercultural communication, knowledge of specific cultural nuances, which undeniably affect the worldviews of individuals from different cultures, is essential.
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 is a phenomenon that allows a smooth understanding of the cultural aspects by interlocutors.
Intercultural competence has to be understood as a complex combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes held together by a critical engagement with the foreign culture under consideration and one’s own — Michael Byram
𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗
Of course, not all people will use discourse or conversation analysis. These methods seem too specific for a general audience of learners. That’s why compiling and universalising knowledge gained through intercultural pragmatics could be the next step in developing systems of language acquisition.
Just like learning multiple languages enriches intercultural competence, knowledge of intercultural pragmatics can positively impact language learning.
