Language in Society and Culture

Sociolinguistics can be given a broader remit and consider questions of

language and culture and/or ethnicity rather than just of language and society.
This broader approach is labelled anthropological linguistics. Anthropology is a
holistic science which encompasses every aspect of human society and culture
at present. It can also trace human evolution and development stretching back
into prehistory. There are two main branches of anthropology: 1) Cultural or
social anthropology which studies living human societies and their cultural
systems; 2) Physical or biological anthropology which is primarily concerned
with human evolution at a much greater time depth. Typical issues in
anthropological linguistics are linguistic relativity, kinship terms, colour terms,
systems of address, honorifics, politeness or different modes of communication
across cultures.
Social and Cultural Functions of Language in Nigeria and West Africa
Language is both a system of communication between individuals and a
social phenomenon. The area of language and society – sociolinguistics – is
intended to show how our use of language is governed by such factors as class,
gender, race, etc. A subsection of this area is anthropological linguistics which
is concerned with form and use of language in different cultures and to what
extent the development of language has been influenced by cultural
environment.
Culture refers to the way of life of a people. This includes their customs,
traditions, ideas, art, values their language. Invariably, language can be
described as the repository of culture, since a language cannot express or name
an entity that is not part of that culture. In the history of any civilization,
language mixes up in contact with another culture. The history of the English
language started with the contact of the Anglo-Saxons with the Romans and the
French. Today, eighty percent of the culinary expressions in the English
language have French origin, and most of English language lexicon have Latin
origin. The relationship between the English language and Nigerian cultures are
similar to the above since many English loan words have been integrated into
many Nigerian languages.
Language, as it is generally known performs several functions. It allows
the individual to a full membership of his community and equips him with the
power of self-expression, which makes him a complete human being, since its
absence, even in part, renders the individual incomplete. Human language has
the properties of productivity and displacement, and relies entirely on social
convention and learning. Its complex structure affords a much wider range of
expressions than any known system of animal communication.
It also provides a medium for inter-personal communication for the
different members of the society. But beyond all these functions, language acts
as a vehicle whereby the culture of the society finds verbal expression. It is this
strong bond between culture and language that has prompted analysis to
compare their co-existence to that of the body and soul.
Languages, understood as the particular set of speech norms of a
particular community, are also a part of the larger culture of the community that
speaks them. Languages differ not only in pronunciation, vocabulary, and
grammar, but also through having different ‘cultures of speaking’. Humans use
language as a way of signalling identity with one cultural group as well as
difference from others. Even among speakers of one language, several different
ways of using the language exist, and each is used to signal affiliation with
particular subgroups within a larger culture.
Linguists use the term ‘varieties’ to refer to the different ways of speaking a
language. This term includes geographically or socio-culturally defined dialects
as well as the jargons or styles of subcultures. Linguistic anthropologists and
sociologists of language define communicative style as the ways that language
is used and understood within a particular culture.
The norms for language use are shared by members of a specific group,
communicative style also becomes a way of displaying and constructing group
identity. Linguistic differences may become salient markers of divisions
between social groups, for example, speaking a language with a particular
accent may imply membership of an ethnic minority or social class, one’s area
of origin, or status as a second language speaker. However, many languages
also have grammatical conventions that signal the social position of the speaker
in relation to others through the use of registers that are related to social
hierarchies or divisions. In many languages, there are stylistic or even
grammatical differences between the ways men and women speak, between age
groups, or between social classes, just as some languages employ different
words depending on who is listening.
Language Problems of new States
The problems of language as witnessed in multilingualism which can
easily be seen at both the individual and societal level. People living in
multilingual societies who are not monolingual are, daily, faced with the
question of which language to use. Another challenge multilinguals encounter is
individual language loss, or the decrease in incompetence of a language less
used.
At the societal level, there are problems such language loss, a society
could gradually experience the death of a language. Secondly, language as
witnesses in multilingualism threatens nationalism. At the most practical level,
communicational challenges within a country can act as an impediment to
commerce and industry and disrupt the nation.
Language Policy
Policy is defined by the Oxford Advanced Dictionary as ‘that plan of
action, statement of aims and ideas, especially one made by government,
political party, Business Company, etc.’ Language policy therefore considers
language planning as concerned with ‘both the symbolic function of language
within a society, and with the instrumental use that its speakers make of their
language.’ Language policy should be understood as a systematic attempt to
resolve the communication problems of a community by studying the various
dialects it uses and developing a viable policy concerning the collection and the
use of different languages. One crucial point stated in this view is that the
primary stage of language policy is seeking to understand the languages
available and planning the importance of those selected to use for various
functions. Furthermore, related to this is the fact that for any government-
oriented change in language status, the first stage is information on its use.
Language in society and culture are so intertwined that one cannot
survive without the other. Both of them are sensitive and adapt to prevailing
circumstances. Language gives full expressions to people’s values and norms.
They are dynamic in nature. Language has to be fully associated with cultural
transformations. It is impossible for one to teach language without teaching
culture. The importance of the indigenous language in the educational system of
Nigeria is very important.