MAELT 200 Written Report

LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND COGNITION DEVELOPMENT
A Written Report
Presented to
Prof. Alyanah G. Pantao
Graduate Studies Department
College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Mindanao State University
Marawi City
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Course
MAELT 200– MN1 (Language Acquisition)
First Semester, A.Y. 2021-2022
By
Nahariza T. Baulo
October 2021
LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND COGNITION DEVELOPMENT
Human being is a social creature. In fact, man is a receiver and sender of messages who
assembles and distributes information (Greimas, 1970). Sapir (1956) insists that “every cultural
pattern and every single act of social behaviour involves communication in either an explicit or
implicit sense”. As humans, we used language as a tool for communicating to others and we also
exchange thoughts and ideas to our receiver by using language.
What is Linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It is a foundational discipline in the sense

that it bridges the social sciences, the natural sciences, and the humanities (Harris, 1951).
Linguistics is an exciting field, not only because of its own achievements, but also because of its
contributions to other fields. Linguists are trying to describe and explain to us about language
and the similarities and differences from other people. We need to understand the structures and
functions of languages which play a part in our social activities in order to be a successful use of
language.
Structure of Language
Language is a system of symbols and rules that is used for meaningful communication. In
many ways the structure of language reflects the structure of how our minds process the world.
According to Douglas (2000), there are four different dimensions of language. There are:
competence and performance; comprehension and production; nature and nurture; and universal
grammars.
Douglas (2000) further indicated that each language structure consists of four different
areas: phonology (the basis of speech sound), semantics (word meanings and organization of
concept), and grammar (include Morphology and Syntax), and pragmatics (the use of language
in contexts). In fact, some languages have similar structural patterns while others are totally
different. One of the reasons why some people have difficulty learning another language is often
related to language structures. For instance, Chinese and English languages have unique and
totally different structures.
However, the structure of a language can be learned because human beings have a natural
and inherent competence to acquire languages. According to language acquisition theory,
language learners usually need a transformational period when they are learning a new language.
They must apply and compare the structures of their mother tongue to the new language in order
to understand its patterns.
Functions of Language
Language is a system of signals, including voice sounds, gestures or written symbols
which encodes and decodes information. The goal of language is to communicate meaning.
When we begin to develop our language abilities, the main purpose is to communicate or interact
with others. Halliday (1973) suggests that the functions of language can be separated in seven
areas, included:
1. Instrumental function: when language is used to manipulate the environment, to cause certain
events to happen.
2. Regulatory function: when language controls events. The regulations may encounter the
approval or disapproval of the listener.
3. Representational function: when language is used to make statements, convey facts and
knowledge, explain or report.
4. Interactive function: when language serves to ensure social maintenance, this implies
knowledge of slang, jargon, jokes, folklore, cultural mores, politeness, and formality
expectations in social exchange.
5. Personal function: when language expresses feelings, emotions, and personality.
6. Heuristic function: when language is used to acquire knowledge and to learn.
7. Imaginative function: when language is used to create tales, write a novel, poetry, tongue
twisters, etc.
All functions of language lead back to the three elements that are indispensable to the
formation of a proposition: the subject, the predicate, and the link between them. Each function
has its objective to help us to deal with the necessities of daily life.
The Relationship between Linguistics and Culture
Language and culture are intertwined, and one will affect the other. Language and culture have a
kind of deep and symbolic relationship. Language stands for the whole culture because language
represents culture in the minds of its speakers. Conversely, culture also symbolizes language and
is summed in the economic, religions, and philosophical systems of a country.
Language Affects Culture

Language is formed to present our ideas or concepts; these can change depending on
which cultural elements are dominant at any given moment. Whenever language expands, the
culture changes. An obvious advantage of human language as a learned symbolic communication
system is that language has infinite flexibility. This means that the meaning of a word can be
changed, and then a new symbolism is created. For example, the English word “Nice” now
generally means pleasing, agreeable, polite, and kind. But, in 15th century “Nice” meant foolish,
wanton, lascivious, and even wicked. This simple example reveals that languages can evolve in
response to the changing historical and social conditions. As we know, the culture of the United
States is made up of many different cultures and languages. Each of these individual cultures is
impacting on, shaping, and redefining the American culture. Many new words are being added
normal American daily speech. For example, the sentence “long time no see” is not Standard
English. It was translated from Chinese; others like sushi and tofu also appear in American
society. People accept and understand them because these adaptations have already become a
part of the “local” culture and blended into people’s lives (Allison & Vining, 1999).
Culture Affects Language

Culture can be defined as a learned system of values, beliefs and/or norms among a group
of people (Greey, 1994). Broad definitions of culture include ethnic background, nationality,
gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, and religion. Culture not only changes people’s
values and habits, but also affects people’s language and behaviors. Cultural knowledge is
crucial in achieving linguistic proficiency, and the culture of a society can be changed depending
upon the language used. For instance, some old words remain even when they are no longer used
cultural. New words emerge as they become identified with particular cultural activities. The
slang words used by our parents were very likely different from those we use today. Different
eras often have differing “pop languages”. These languages are mostly likely to be influenced by
TV programs, politics or music, and little by little they create their own cultural trend. Examples
of this can be seen with the Beatles and most recently in Hop Pop music. In brief, language is
always cultural in some respects. Language should be conceptualized an integrated as part of a
society and its culture.
Perspectives on language and cognition in development

Different perspectives concerning the relation between language and cognition during
child development have been proposed. These different views vary along many dimensions, such
as the following: The innateness of knowledge vs. its gradual construction by the child; the
domain-specificity of knowledge representations vs. their general and connected nature; the
existence of perceptual or cognitive prerequisites and determinants of language acquisition vs.
the structuring role of language and of language-specific properties in cognition; the relative
importance which is attributed to structure vs. function in language in different views of child
language development (Hickmann, forthcoming).
REFERENCES
Hickman, M. (2000).Language and Culture in Development: Old Questions, New Directions.

International Pragmatics Association.
Dr. Tengku Mahadi, T.S. and Jafari, S. (2012). Language and Culture. International Journal of
Humanities and Social Science.

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MAELT 200 Written Report

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LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND COGNITION DEVELOPMENT

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It is a foundational discipline in the sense

Language Affects Culture

Culture Affects Language

Perspectives on language and cognition in development

Hickman, M. (2000).Language and Culture in Development: Old Questions, New Directions.

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