Language Is the Mirror of Society - 4885 Words

Preamble: Sociolinguistics is the mirror of society. It is not presupposed. We have to mention some important feature and information to justify the comment. To prove this we should clarify some initial terms before discussing further. Sociolinguistics: Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society. Sociolinguistics differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latters focus is on the languages effect on the society. Sociolinguistics overlaps to a considerable degree with pragmatics. It is†¦show more content†¦Language, The Social Mirror: Language is a multi-faceted phenomenon. For Chomsky, language is the human essence, a mirror reflecting the natural creativity of the mind. However, language, with its rich variation, can also be seen as a mirror reflecting the miscellaneous nature of the society or the distinct locality of a culture. In her book, Language, the Social Mirror (1982), Chaika states that language and society are so closely intertwined that it is impossible to understand one without the other (p.1). The mutual dependence, mutual influence, and mutual shaping between language and society are inevitable. Similarly, language and culture are intimately interrelated. Instead of thinking of language and culture, Duranti (1997: 336-7), following Harry Hoijer (1953), suggests that we should think of language in culture. He further states, the linguistic system interprets all other systems within the culture. To expand this idea, we could say that language is in us as much as we are in language. This statement reminds us of linguistic relativity contained within the Whorfian Hypothesis, and at the same time suggests that language is a mirror of the society as well as culture . The following sections will look at language from a socio-cultural perspective, and point out the implications of this outlook on foreign language teaching. LanguageShow MoreRelatedI Am You: The Misrecognized Post-Structuralist Subject827 Words   |  3 Pagestwo theorists, both arguing that a subject is misrecognized and constructed differently to the traditional Cartesian Subject. Beginning with Lacan’s â€Å"The Mirror Stage,† he uses psychoanalysis to develop a new understanding of the intellectual development in babies, as he explains that when a child from six to eighteen months views itself in a mirror there is a â€Å"†¦transformation that takes place in the subject when he [sic] assumes an image† (Lacan 72). 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