An Introduction to the Pluralism of Cultural Connotation of English Language and English Teaching

I. Language and Culture

Language and culture are complementary and inseparable. Language is a special carrier of culture, culture is the soul and spiritual support of the nation, culture influences and constrains the process and effect of language communication. Language as a communication tool, can express the conceptual meaning of the object; in addition, as a carrier of culture, also contains the language of the national cultural meaning and cultural psychology.

English and English culture

People in the process of learning English, mainly through reading to understand the object of the country's social and cultural customs, and reading materials from one or two native-speaking countries. So some people have decided that "the language of English and the culture of one or two English-speaking countries are inextricably linked". This is an illusion because this theory does not adequately explain the role of English as a medium of intercultural communication. By "language these people mean neither 'human language' in the abstract nor 'speech' down to the micro level of the individual, but the language of a country, a region, a tribe." Thus, it would seem to follow that - British culture is English culture. But this illusion arises from blurring the line between culture being inseparable from language, and a certain culture being inseparable from a specific language. So it is important not to equate language with culture. The term English culture today is very broad.

The pluralistic English culture

From the sociolinguistic point of view, today's English culture (English culture in the broad sense) is pluralistic, and its content can be referred to as:

(1) English culture;

(2) the culture of the countries where English is the native language, i.e. English culture in the narrow sense, such as American culture, Canadian culture, and the culture of the United States. (2) the cultures of countries where English is the mother tongue, i.e. English culture in the narrow sense, such as the cultures of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and some countries in the Caribbean;

(3) non-English, non-Western cultures using English as the medium of communication;

(4) the cultural content of the civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

It goes without saying that English carries Anglo-American culture. As the language of the native-speaking countries represented by Britain and the United States, English carries the culture of the mainstream society, and at the same time serves as a medium of communication between the non-mainstream, non-English-speaking immigrant communities and the mainstream society. If English does not have the cross-cultural ability, the 250,000 Chinese living in New York City will not be able to communicate with the mainstream American society (of course, their communication is carried out through those immigrants who know English). Thus, English is a carrier of Anglo-American culture, and by extension, of Western culture, but it is also a carrier of foreign, non-Anglo-American, non-Western cultures. In addition, as a language tool for international communication in a foreign-language country (e.g., China), it reflects the political position of the government and the cultural life of the people (i.e., it is a carrier of Chinese culture in China and South African culture in South Africa).

Fourth, the relationship between English and the cultures of different countries

What is the relationship between English as a language of international communication and the cultures of different countries? It can be summarized in terms of a changing relationship of confrontation and integration. English, the world language, is being used as an internal language in native-speaking and second-language countries, and as a tool of communication between English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries, and between non-English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries. In the process of use, the logic and traditions of the Westerners inherent in English and the logic of the native language and national traditional norms of the speakers of the place constantly produce "collision", that is to say, the so-called confrontation between English and the culture of the country; and with the passage of time and the adaptation of the environment, some of the things inherent in the English language itself and even some of the "collision", the so-called "collision", the "collision", and even some of the "collision". But with the passage of time and adaptation to the environment, certain things inherent in the English language itself, and even certain "collisions", have survived in the cultural environment of the country, the so-called fusion of the English language and the culture of the country. In the world's multicultural region, all the time learning to absorb foreign languages, borrowing, fusion of foreign cultures for cross-cultural communication activities.

V. Diversification of English Language and Cultural Connotation and English Language Teaching

English language and cultural education is an important part of foreign language teaching that cannot be ignored. To improve students' ability to understand and use English, English educators must fully understand the relationship between English cultural teaching and language teaching. The teaching process should not only focus on the transmission of language knowledge, but also pay full attention to cultural teaching. It is necessary to reveal the cultural connotations of the English language in college English teaching, only in this way can we improve students' learning efficiency and achieve the purpose of cultivating students' cross-cultural communication skills.

"As a world language, the cultural connotation of English is diversified, including elements of Western culture as well as Eastern culture; elements of Christianity as well as elements of Buddhism and Isxism." It can be seen that English language teaching should take into full consideration the impact of the pluralism of English language and culture on the process and effect of English teaching. Therefore, educators should pay attention to the following aspects:

(1) Create a three-dimensional teaching environment, avoid confrontation with local culture, and truly realize the coordination of language and culture

To create a three-dimensional teaching environment for English language and culture teaching refers to organically unifying the three dimensions of language and culture teaching, i.e., the learner, the environment in which the learner is going to use the language in the future, and the learner's study and life at that time. This means that the three dimensions of language and culture teaching, i.e. the learners, the target environment of the learners' future use of the language and the learners' study and life at that time, should be unified organically to form a three-dimensional classroom structure. Taking English teaching in China as an example, "English is basically taught by Chinese people, learned by Chinese people and used in China". In this environment, "Chinese culture always dominates, and input from foreign cultures can only play a supplementary role." Smith pointed out in 1981, "Once a language becomes international, it is impossible for it to adhere to a cultural code." In other words, in order to do business with Filipinos in English, Chinese people do not need to learn to appreciate the British way of life, nor do they need to pronounce standard British sounds. In recent years, due to the heightened awareness of English culture teaching, teachers have been emphasizing certain statutes of foreign cultures and one-sided language and culture harmonization in the process of English language teaching. Unknown to them, they neglect the learning and living environment of the learners at that time, and the result is that "the language seems to be pure, but the harmonization is destroyed because of the mistake of confronting the local culture." So don't forget that English carries Chinese culture.

(2) A correct understanding of the role of the school program

For the few people who will be working in jobs that are closely related to a foreign culture, it is necessary to know the culture of the target country. Even so, the school curriculum can only play a guiding role, as we have mentioned above, if the teaching only follows the content of the textbook (the cultural statute of English), and fails to be correctly adapted to the time and the place (which means that the choice of materials is not determined according to the real environment in which the verbal event takes place, i.e., the learner's learning and living environment at that time, and that the appropriateness of the speech is determined), then the teaching will not be as effective as it could have been in the past. appropriateness), then certain behaviors in teaching will lead to the phenomenon of cultural misinformation. Therefore, it is important to understand the role of the school curriculum correctly and not to exaggerate its role unilaterally. "To understand the whole picture of a foreign culture and to be able to adapt to it in practice, it is necessary to live in its place for some time".

(3) Supplementing the teaching force by employing native speakers

In order to supplement the teaching force, we have employed many native speakers to teach. They should clearly realize that English is a vehicle for multiculturalism. Those who come to China to teach should have the necessary training and mental preparation for the cultural ambiguities that they may encounter when "communicating in this foreign culture (Chinese culture), so that they will not become angry at hearing an unpleasant greeting, or be greatly confused by the other person's self-effacing and self-deprecating remarks." Teachers and students must realize that "the cultural environment of the student is the starting point of the cultural lesson, and the cultural environment of the target country is the end point." Only when the starting point is determined can teachers and students finally reach the end point successfully. It is important not to put the cart before the horse and have the teacher impose the cultural environment of the target country on the students at the beginning of the study (making the end point the starting point). "In this sense, it is more important for the teacher to know the cultural environment of the students than for the students to know the cultural environment into which the teacher will introduce them." In real teaching practice, if a foreign teacher knows nothing about the cultural environment of the students, and only presents the cultural statutes of the target country in the classroom and asks the students to imitate and accept them, regardless of the risk of confrontation with the culture of that country, we can imagine what the teaching effect will be. Some students will reject it. Even if students imitate and accept cultural norms in certain scenarios in the classroom environment, the teacher cannot show them all the aspects of their lives in which they might use the norms, and there are still "many gaps in self-expression" for the students. This is due to the fact that students are still living in the many cultural norms of their own mother tongue, and what the foreign teachers present in the classroom is only a demonstration and embellishment of the exotic culture. Therefore, what we need is foreign teachers who, after study and training, can "find their place in both cultures" when they face Chinese students with a little help, and who are able to teach with ease and freedom of movement. Only by respecting and adapting to the students' mother tongue culture and at the same time letting them accept and absorb foreign cultures can we get twice the result with half the effort in cultural teaching. This is much easier than asking dozens of students to adapt to the teacher.

In the world, different nationalities and different languages contact each other to form a multicultural pattern. Language is the carrier of culture, and English has become the carrier of multiculturalism. In the face of the need for cross-cultural communication, English language and culture education has become an important part of English education in colleges and universities. To make clear the fact that English is the carrier of multiculturalism and to study the relationship between English language and the culture it carries from the perspective of cross-cultural communication. This will undoubtedly challenge the original concepts and methods of teaching English language and culture. Thus, it provides a new theoretical research space for the combination of language and culture for multicultural regions to learn and absorb foreign languages, and to draw on and integrate foreign cultures for cross-cultural communication.

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