Karin Risager

Languaculture as a key concept in language and culture teaching

Introduction

Languaculture as a key concept in language and culture teaching. Explore "languaculture" as a key concept in language and culture teaching. Understand its three dimensions: semantic/pragmatic, poetic, and identity potential, and its implications for education.

Abstract

Are language and culture inseparable, or are they separable? Neither of these positions is tenable, and in order to find a solution to this seeming paradox, it is useful to develop a theoretical understanding of the concept of languaculture. The point of departure should be a sociolinguistic one, seeing language primarily as linguistic practice going on in - small and large - social networks of various ranges, incl. the global range. Languages, i.e. language users, spread all over the world by various kinds of migration, and each language carries languaculture with it. The languaculture of each specific language is seen as encompassing three interrelated dimensions: a semantic and pragmatic potential, a poetic potential and an identity potential. Languages and their languacultures spread across cultural contexts and discourse communities. This view has a range of far-reaching implications for the content and identity of language teaching and learning.

Review

This paper addresses a foundational and often debated question in language studies: the intricate relationship between language and culture. By arguing that neither absolute separability nor total inseparability offers a tenable theoretical position, the author introduces "languaculture" as a crucial concept to resolve this seeming paradox. This intervention is timely, proposing a necessary conceptual refinement that promises to deepen our understanding of how language operates within and shapes cultural contexts. The proposed theoretical understanding of languaculture is commendably grounded in a sociolinguistic perspective, viewing language primarily as dynamic linguistic practice within social networks. A key strength lies in its multi-dimensional definition, encompassing a semantic and pragmatic potential, a poetic potential, and an identity potential. This nuanced approach moves beyond simplistic views, acknowledging how languages, through their users' global migration, inherently carry and spread these languacultural aspects across diverse cultural contexts and discourse communities. The abstract effectively highlights the far-reaching implications of this languaculture framework for the content and identity of language teaching and learning. This suggests a potential for significant pedagogical innovation, moving towards a more integrated and culturally attuned curriculum. Further development in the full manuscript, particularly regarding the specific practical applications and empirical validations of this multi-faceted framework, would be highly anticipated, as it offers a valuable lens for future research and pedagogical practice.

Full Text

Comments

You need to be logged in to post a comment.