scholarly journals Immigrant learners’ cultural identities in the vocabulary input of EFL textbooks through prototypical associations.

Elia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 14-51
Author(s):  
María Daniela Cifone Ponte ◽  
Jaqueline Mora Guarín
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
La Rioja ◽  
Target Culture ◽  
Shed Light

In recent decades, scholars’ attention has been focused on how the target and source cultures can be integrated to EFL materials. Despite significant progress in this respect, the source culture is still considered as the predominant culture in a classroom, even in countries where immigration is reaching unprecedented numbers (Suárez Orozco, 2001; McKay, 2003). This poses some challenges for selecting the vocabulary input for EFL materials and promoting cultural diversity in the classroom. For this reason, since semantic prototypes are anchored in the categorisation of mental lexicon (Taylor, 1989; Aitchison, 2003), they may shed light on what cultural words are being and should be integrated to EFL textbooks to foster the integration and balance of predominant and non-predominant cultures. This study aims to examine whether immigrant learners’ cultures are evidenced in the vocabulary input of two EFL textbooks used in La Rioja, Spain; and to analyse if these cultural identities are represented through prototypical associations by means of two semantic categories: free-time activities and festivities. The results suggest that (i) the target culture is pervasive while immigrant students’ cultures are scarcely included in EFL materials; (ii) there are similarities and differences regarding the cultural aspects drawn through prototypical associations in the two EFL textbooks selected; and (iii) the cultural identity aspects are scarce because most of the vocabulary input of EFL textbooks is focused on the use of words from the target language. The present study has implications for textbooks publishers and multilingual learners as it provides insights into the unbalanced cultural picture that EFL textbooks draw through word associations.

scholarly journals Spaces of Meanings and Translators’ Identities

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic System ◽  
Conscious Choice ◽  
Culture Models ◽  
Language User ◽  
The One ◽  
Target Culture

<p>The focus of the paper is the analysis of translators’ identities as expressed in Polish-to-English and English-to-Polish translations understood in terms of informed choices from spaces of meanings. The first part of the paper deals with the relation of approximate correspondences between thought and reality on the one hand, and between thought, image, linguistic system and cultural emotional type on the other.  The concept of semantic approximation in communication, introduced in Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk (2010, 2012) is shown to be conditioned by cognitive categorization problems of the language user, as well as a conscious  choice of the syntactic structure and meanings in discourse. The conscious choices from meaning spaces are motivated by the translator’s subjective intentions, as well as constraints imposed by the Target Language systems (displaced equivalence patterns), limitation on the translator’s linguistic repertory  and by Source Culture and Target Culture models and conventions. In the second part the study an interpretation is proposed of semantic and cultural SL and TL similarities, meaning displacement and reconceptualization in monolingual and intercultural communication and translation to account for the translator’s linguistic and cultural identity dynamics, with a varying emotional message. It is illustrated by examples of Polish-to-English and English-to-Polish translations.</p>

scholarly journals The Shared Dream of the Americas: An Introduction to Americanity

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1,2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Guyot
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Shed Light

While the cultural identities of Latin America, Québec and the Antilles have long been forged around a single reference, namely to their European past, they currently show signs of rupture and heterogeneity. Thinkers from Québec (Sherry Simon, Pierre Nepveu, Gérard Bouchard), the Antilles (Glissant, Chamoiseau, Confiant) and Brazil (Bernd) have been revisiting the concepts of origin and space from a completely different perspective. No longer would Europe be the anchor of their totalitarian-shaped cultural identity; the roots and origins of this identity construction would have to be found elsewhere, in a new environment perhaps, embracing the modernity and diversity that are celebrated in the concepts of hybridity, transculturalism, creolization, which all slowly lead to a mythical crossroads: America.However, the establishment of a symbolic relation with the American territory remains somewhat problematic as the concept of Americanity relies on diverse discourses which can be contradictory at times. In this essay, I aim to shed light on the trendy concept that Americanity has become. On the one hand, I will point out the ambiguity that surrounds the concept, and on the other hand, I will briefly explain how the different perspectives in the reappropriation of the American space could lead to the establishment of America as a shared elsewhere.

Incorporating culture in teachers’ training

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Gabriel Bărbuleț ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Classroom Teacher ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Teaching Aids ◽  
Culture Teaching ◽  
Teachers Training ◽  
Target Culture

The present paper addresses the question of how one should include culture in language teacher training to increase awareness of the target culture. Admittedly, language teachers are themselves learners, constantly improving their own cultural competence. Teachers must be made aware of the fact that there are no higher and lower cultures, and that there exist differences between groups within the target culture. This means that language does not only represent how we describe culture, it also mirrors cultural aspects. Thus, the culture associated with a particular language cannot be learned while referring to a few aspects about celebrations, customs or traditions of the zone in which a language is used. Culture is a much larger concept. This is inherently bound to countless linguistic aspects. The latter are to be introduced in second/foreign language education. Language teaching aids may not be enough for the target language culture teaching, so it ought to be the language teachers’ responsibility to find practical solutions to this issue. Thus, language educators ought to find a way to assimilate culture into their teaching approaches. Moreover, it may not be realistic to consider that language learners will later be faced with cultural situations after they achieve mastery of the linguistic structures of the language. The imaginative classroom teacher can bring forward countless ideas about how to insert culture into his/her textbooks and classroom events. Some of the approaches I want to suggest are the use of movies, dialogues from genuine speakers of the target culture, talks with native speakers, video-taped materials of the target language community, and genuine readings and realia. In addition to this, it ought to be noted that the possible activities and approaches are countless, and that each teacher ought to evaluate his/her own context to assess the success of any potential activity. He/she should adapt any activity or material at his/her disposal to suit his/her students’ needs.

scholarly journals Biography of a Painted Wessel from Starčevo: Discovering Layers of Meaning

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Bajčev
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Painted Pottery ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Representative Material

Scientific interest in the painted pottery of the Starčevo culture in Serbia dates back to the very beginnings of research and the first works on the relative-chronological systematization of the Early and Middle Neolithic of the central Balkans. This paper presents the deconstruction of our established notion of painted ceramics as the ultimate parameter of relative-chronological dating, the most representative material reflection of the cultural identity of the people of Starčevo culture and the highest achievements of Starčevo culture. The paper discusses circumstances and archaeological practices through which this ingrained view and knowledge of painted pottery was formed. The research is based on the analysis of the biography of a painted vessel from the Starčevo-Grad site, having in mind that a detailed life history of an object can shed light on wider phenomena in the archaeological discipline. The aim of this paper is to remind that objects do not have a single essential meaning, but that their meaning shifts and builds through changes in the historical and social context, as well as through changes of actors gathered around certain practices in which the objects are used. The biography of the painted vessel is therefore viewed as a series of assemblages of relations in two planes, through which its identity and layers of meaning were built. The first plane is the Neolithic, in which the focus is on the practices of painting and use, and the second is her life in the role of an archaeological artifact, during which she moves from the sphere of scientific research and musealization to the sphere of negotiating contemporary cultural identities. By applying a new analytical approach, we discovered that this vessel was not very skilfully and carefully painted, and that as such it does not testify to the highest achievements of Starčevo culture, but to a social practice, learning, apprentices and mastering the skill of pottery painting. Therefore, I believe that by reducing painted pottery to relative-chronological parameters and luxury objects, we lose sight of the possibilities through which we can build much more diverse interpretations of the past.

Cultural Identity and Continuity - Case Study of Authentic Conservation of Xi'an Bei Yuan Men Historic District

2013 ◽  
Vol 357-360 ◽  
pp. 1840-1846
Author(s):  
Hong Yan Li ◽  
Fei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Historic District ◽  
Development Mode ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
The Core ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Authentic Development ◽  
Corresponding Analysis

This paper discusses cultural identity and continuity of historic district based on the principle of authenticity in conservation field. The objective is to find out appropriate solutions for a historic district and to keep its special cultural value. It develops corresponding analysis in both physical aspects and cultural aspects, emphasizing the living feature of a historic district. The author advocates that it is significant to keep local residents living in the district since they are the cultural carriers and the core to conserve their cultural identity. The paper advocates an authentic development mode in historic district.

Cultural Functions of Translation: Sustainable Development in the Context of Globalization

2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 426-430
Author(s):  
Da Lai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Cultural Information ◽  
Foreign Culture ◽  
Cultural Functions ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Target Culture

This paper aims to account for sustainable development of different cultures in the context of globalization from the perspective of cultural functions of translation, which wield enormous power in constructing representations of the foreign culture and have far reaching effects in the target culture. According to cultural communication of translation, the major task of translation is to turn the cultural information in one language into another. Therefore, in the process of translating, the translator should try his utmost to allow his target language reader to acquire cultural information of the source text in order to promote mutual understanding between Western people and Eastern people and make different cultures co-exist peacefully and achieve sustainable development.

scholarly journals Cultural Differences in the Hedonic Rewards of Recalling Kindness: Priming Cultural Identity with Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-90
Author(s):  
Lilian J. Shin ◽  
Seth M. Margolis ◽  
Lisa C. Walsh ◽  
Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok ◽  
Xiaodong Yue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Weak Ties ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
The Usa

AbstractRecent theory suggests that members of interdependent (collectivist) cultures prioritize in-group happiness, whereas members of independent (individualist) cultures prioritize personal happiness (Uchida et al. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5(3), 223–239 Uchida et al., 2004). Thus, the well-being of friends and family may contribute more to the emotional experience of individuals with collectivist rather than individualist identities. We tested this hypothesis by asking participants to recall a kind act they had done to benefit either close others (e.g., family members) or distant others (e.g., strangers). Study 1 primed collectivist and individualist cultural identities by asking bicultural undergraduates (N = 357) from Hong Kong to recall kindnesses towards close versus distant others in both English and Chinese, while Study 2 compared university students in the USA (n = 106) and Hong Kong (n = 93). In Study 1, after being primed with the Chinese language (but not after being primed with English), participants reported significantly improved affect valence after recalling kind acts towards friends and family than after recalling kind acts towards strangers. Extending this result, in Study 2, respondents from Hong Kong (but not the USA) who recalled kind acts towards friends and family showed higher positive affect than those who recalled kind acts towards strangers. These findings suggest that people with collectivist cultural identities may have relatively more positive and less negative emotional experiences when they focus on prosocial interactions with close rather than weak ties.

scholarly journals Human Rights and Cultural Identity

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon John-Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Culturally Sensitive ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Ethical Relativism ◽  
Small Core ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Universal Human Rights

Abstract Universal human rights and particular cultural identities, which are relativistic by nature, seem to stand in conflict with each other. It is commonly suggested that the relativistic natures of cultural identities undermine universal human rights and that human rights might compromise particular cultural identities in a globalised world. This article examines this supposed clash and suggests that it is possible to frame a human rights approach in such a way that it becomes the starting point and constraining framework for all non-deficient cultural identities. In other words, it is possible to depict human rights in a culturally sensitive way so that universal human rights can meet the demands of a moderate version of meta-ethical relativism which acknowledges a small universal core of objectively true or false moral statements and avers that, beyond that small core, all other moral statements are neither objectively true nor false.

CULTURAL IDENTITY AND SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM IN KARMA BROWN’S NOVEL “RECIPE FOR A PERFECT WIFE”

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alia Afiyati ◽  
Divya Widyastuti ◽  
Yoga Pratama
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Symbolic Interactionism ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
George Herbert ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
George Herbert Mead ◽  
The Past ◽  
Stuart Hall

In a literary work, two characters can be narrated as the attention center that contains the cultural identity from certain generation. Meanwhile, a symbol actually can cause an interaction within characters. This research discusses about cultural identity and symbolic interactionism reflected in a novel. There is a novel entitled “Recipe for a Perfect Wife” by Karma Brown that tells about two female characters that are represented as a housewife from different generation. This research uses descriptive qualitative as the research methodology and content  analysis as the method in analyzing the object of the research, a novel entitled “Recipe for a Perfect Wife”. This research also uses the intrinsic approach to analyze the characterization, plot, and setting. This research reveals two kinds of a housewife. They are a housewife and working woman, and a full-housewife. This research finds five cultural identities in the past and present time that is related with a housewife reflected by two female characters in the novel by using cultural identity theory by Stuart Hall. This research also reveals the symbol and memory even three concepts of symbolic interactionism that is mind, self, and society based on symbolic interactionism theory by George Herbert Mead.

scholarly journals The Proper and Foreing: The Problem of French Children’s Literature Translation into Ukrainian

2021 ◽  
pp. 219-237
Author(s):  
Nataliia Yakubovska ◽  
Halyna Kutasevych ◽  
Kateryna Balakhtar
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Educational Purpose ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Living Together ◽  
Editorial Strategies ◽  
Target Culture

The translation of children’s literature has certain specificities because it must be subject to several constraints: taking into account the double recipient in children’s literature (child and adult), the educational purpose, the diastratic variation, etc. Wonderful Neighbors (2016) by Hélène Lasserre is a children’s book about difference, tolerance and living together. The gap between French and Ukrainian cultures leads to problems with the perception of socio-cultural realia by readers of the target language who sometimes misunderstand or even reject them. In this intervention, we analyze the perception of the album by the readership of the source and target culture based on the comments of the readers which will allow understanding the editorial strategies and the choices of translation procedures made by the translators. In particular, we study the text-image relationships and the influence of extralinguistic factors on the lexical level. In a second step, it is necessary to analyze the role of the educational purpose which may provide for certain censorship of children’s text to which the translator must obey in order to meet the demands of a publisher and his/her readership.

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