The Characteristics and Influences of Culture
Examining the features of culture will help us understand the concept of culture and enable us to see how these features influence communication.
Culture is learned behavior.
Patterns of culture are not inherent with any individual. They are not genetically passed down from previous generations; rather, they are acquired through the process of learning or interacting with the individual’s environment. The process of cultural acquisition is called enculturation. The learning environment includes the family, neighborhood, schools, social groups, physical surroundings, etc. If the environment is different, the culture that each individual learns or acquires will be different too.
Culture is usually acquired unconsciously.
It should be noted that the learning of culture is usually done unconsciously. Our relationship with culture is like that between birds and the sky, fish and water or people and air. Only when we are deprived of our own culture or put into a completely new culture can we realize the importance of culture to us. Without culture we cannot survive. Since culture is often learned unconsciously, we often fail to account for our behavior. In intercultural studies, we should make deliberate effort to understand how culture influences our own behavior as well as that of other people.
Culture is shared among its members.
The learned cultural patterns are not the property of any individuals but shared by the members of the same group or society. When we say A and B come from the same culture, we assume A and B share the same patterns of living: the same set of symbols used for communication, the same rules of speaking, the same idea about what can be eaten as food and what cannot, the same belief about nature and man, and so on. Though individuals may have different preferences over one way of conduct or another, they must share one and the same system out of which their personal choice is made. Within the same system, individuals can easily understand one another and adjust themselves to their surroundings. If we intend to understand people from other cultures, and communicate effectively with them, we must try to understand their ways of living.
Culture is persistent and enduring.
Culture is not created and developed overnight. It is the deposit of human knowledge and collection of both material and non-material wealth created by man over the long process of human civilization. This nature of culture gives continuity to the development of a culture and provides reinforcement to its members in their lifetime learning of the culture.
Culture manifests itself both implicitly and explicitly.
Some aspects of culture are easily observable and some are not. The ways of dressing, talking, and working are readily noticeable, but the ideas and motivations underlying these superficial behaviors are generally unrecognized. The study of culture and its people should involve not only the learning of the explicit rules but also those implicit beliefs, values and attitudes that relate to them.
Culture is adaptive and changeable.
Though culture is persistent and enduring, it is not static. Any great inventions and progress of mankind will bring about changes in people’s ideas, way of life, mode of behavior, etc. These changes often take place on the superficial levels of a culture, while the deep structures, i.e. ideological perceptions, values and value orientations, world views and beliefs, are likely to stay or change slowly. Therefore, the study of culture should take a dynamic perspective. We must not assume that any trait of culture is forever fixed. The belief that culture is adaptive and changeable also makes it possible for us to learn about new cultures and adapt ourselves to them.
Culture is relational.
Any culture is an integrated entity. All the components of culture are interrelated. The change of one aspect of culture will certainly bring about changes in other aspects as well. The study of culture and people should also take a relational approach. In other words, we should study one aspect of culture in relation to other aspects. Only in this way can we gain a true understanding of a culture and its people.
Questions for Discussion or Reflection
1. What do you think are the features of culture?
2. Please use examples to illustrate “culture is usually acquired unconsciously.”
本文选自
常俊跃，教授，博士，国家教学成果奖获得者，辽宁省省级教学名师。现任大连外国语大学副校长、教育部高等学校外语教学指导委员会英指委委员、辽宁省普通高等学校外语专业教学指导委员会秘书长及四个学术机构的秘书长或常务理事。
吕春媚，大连外国语大学教授，文学博士，硕士研究生导师，大连外国语大学爱尔兰研究中心研究员。主要研究领域为西方戏剧。近年来出版专著两部，在《当代外国文学》《英美文学研究论丛》《东北师范大学学报（哲学社会科学版）》等刊物发表学术论文多篇，主持国家、省级、校级科研项目十余项。
赵永青，英语语言文学博士，教授，硕士生导师，大连外国语大学学报《外语与外语教学》主编。获辽宁省高等教育优秀教学成果一、二等奖，省级精品课“英语基础写作”的负责人。被授予省、市优秀教师称号。发表CSSCI来源期刊论文30余篇，出版专著、主编教材10余部，其中多部为国家“十一五”“十二五”规划教材。现任中国英汉语比较研究会界面研究专业委员会常务理事、中国英汉语比较研究会会话研究专业委员会常务理事。
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