8.6 Problem of interlingual culture

2. Implicational and non-implicational universals
2.1. Implicational universals
* These are the ones that relate the presence of one property to the presence of some other
property of a given language.
* The universal: If A, B.
Four possibilities:
A and B
A and not-B
not A and B
not-A and not-B
Presenter: Hoàng Hương Linh

A: first and second person reflexive
B: the third person reflexive
If the language has first person and second person reflexive (A), it will have the third person reflexive (B).
The language has first person and second person reflexive (A), it may not have the third person reflexive
(not-B).
The language doesn’t have first person and second person reflexive (not-A), it has the third person reflexive
(B).
The language doesn’t have first person and second person reflexive (not-A), it doesn’t have the third person
reflexive (not-B).
Implicational universals:
➔ If there is X, there would be Y; if there is no X there would be no Y.
➔ It is always condition based.
2.1. Implicational universals

2.2. Non-implicational universals
o Non-implicational universals do not include any if-whether kind of a conditional sentence.
o Non-implicational universals are those which can state whether certain properties are found in
natural language without reference to any other property of the given language.
All languages have oral vowels.
➔All natural languages or the human languages have oral vowels.
➔Consonants may or may not be there.
➔That is available across languages.
➔Non-implicational universals do not have any connection with any other kinds of conditional
sentences.

“What makes implicational universals more interesting than unrestricted universals is
that they state a dependency between 2 logically independent parameters”.
(Croft, 1990)
Compared to Non-implicational universals, implicational universals further illuminate the
dependencies among grammatical parameters.
2. Implicational and non-implicational universals

3. Absolute universals and tendencies
o Absolute universals are statements that hold true for all languages at any time.
→ They are exceptionless.
o Tendencies have exceptions.
o Non-implicational and implicational universals may be absolute universals or tendencies.

Absolute non-implicational All languages have vowels.
Absolute implicational If language has first/second person reflectives, then it has third
person reflectives.
Non-implicational
tendencies
Word order types of nearly all languages are SOV, SVO, VSO.
(But word order in Malagasay is VOS) (Hawkins, 1983).
Implicational tendencies If a language has SOV basic word order, it will probably have
postpositions.
(But Persian language has SOV order with prepositions).
Those would be considered as absolute universals if and only if there is no violation.
The reality is that some languages violate this. → Tendencies.

Word order types of nearly all languages are SOV, SVO, VSO.
(But word order in Malagasay is VOS) (Hawkins, 1983).
(Keenan, E. L., & Ochs, E. , 1979)

III. Explanations for language universals
1. Common genetic origin
2. Innateness
3. Functional approach

1. Common genetic origin
“These languages have retained these
traits of the ancestor language without
change” (Comrie, 1989).
Example: If your mother tongue happens
to be a European language, when you
learn another European language is that
you begin to see words very similar to
those in your mother tongue used to
describe the same object.

Problems of interlingual culture
Presenter: Nguyễn Thị Hồng Ly

.
8.6.1. Introduction to interlingual culture
8.6.1.1. Definition of culture:
8.6.1.2. Definition of interlingual culture
8.6.1.3. Types of cultural interaction
8.6.1.4. Some causes of interlingual culture
8.6.2. Problems of interlingual culture and language-teaching
8.6.2.1. Language acquisition
8.6.2.2. Problems of interlingual culture and language teaching
8.6.2.3. CA between American English and British English
8.6.2.3. CA between American and British emails
8.6.3. Conclusions
OUTLINE

8.6.1. Introduction to interlingual
culture
8.6.1.1. Definition of culture:
• “Culture ... is that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.”
Tyler (British anthropologist) (1871: 1)

8.6.1.1. Definition of culture (cont.):
• UNESCO defines culture as “the set of distinctive spiritual,
material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a
social group, that encompasses, not only art and literature but
lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and
beliefs”.
(UNESCO, 2001)
• “Văn hóa là một hệ thống hữu cơ các giá trị vật chất và tinh thần do
con người sáng tạo và tích lũy qua quá trình hoạt động thực tiễn, trong
sự tương tác giữa con người với môi trường tự nhiên và xã hội của
mình.”
Trần Ngọc Thêm (2008: 75)

8.6.1.2. Definition of interlingual culture
• “Giao thoa văn hóa, theo cách hiểu của chúng tôi, là sự
tương tác giữa các nhóm xã hội (social groups), giữa
các tiểu văn hóa (subcultures), giữa các văn hóa tộc
người (ethnic cultures) và giữa các nền văn hóa
(cultures) khác nhau.”
Nguyễn Quang (2008:77)

8.6.1.3. Types of cultural interaction
• Intra-cultural interaction (tương tác nội văn hóa): The
process of interaction between people living in the same
nation with the same culture.
• Inter-cultural interaction (tương tác liên văn hóa): The
process of interaction between people living in a nation but
of different ethnic groups.
• Cross-cultural interaction (tương tác giao văn hóa): The
process of interaction between people living in different
countries and of different cultures.
• Trans-cultural interaction (tương tác xuyên văn hóa): The
process of interaction between people living in a nation or
different nations with different cultures.

8.6.1.4. Some causes of interlingual culture
• Globalization: The increased movement of people, goods, and information
across borders has led to a greater intermingling of cultures and languages.
• International trade and commerce: Business relationships and partnerships
often require communication and collaboration between individuals and
companies from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
• Travel and tourism: The rise of affordable travel and tourism has enabled
people to experience different cultures and languages firsthand, leading to
increased understanding and appreciation.
• Education and academic exchange: Educational institutions and academic
programs that offer language and cultural studies can promote interlingual
understanding and cultural exchange.
• Media and technology: The widespread availability of media and technology
has made it easier for people to access information and entertainment from
different linguistic and cultural contexts.

8.6.2. Problems of interlingual culture and
language-teaching
8.6.2.1. Language acquisition:
• Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the
capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain
the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as
to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.
Wikipedia
• First language acquisition: refers to the process that children
naturally pick up the language that they hear spoken around them
without special instructions.
• Second language acquisition: refers to the process of learning other
languages beside the native language.

Problems of learning second language
Intralingual
problems
Interlingual
problems
Second
language
acquisition
interferences

Contrastive analysis between British
English and American English

Similarities: The framework of the standard
language is basically the same, especially the
inflectional system and syntax
Eg: Genitive case, position of subject-verb, adj-
noun,etc.

+) Distinction: Pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling
American English Pronunciation British English Pronunciation
• sound /t/ is pronounced /d/ when
standing between 2 vowels.
Examples:
✔ letter /ˈlet̬.ɚ/
✔ water /ˈwɑː.t̬ɚ/
✔ daughter /ˈdɑː.t̬ɚ/
• pronounce every written /r/ .
Examples: park /pɑrk/, horse /hɔrs/,
further /ˈfɜrðər/.
• sound /t/ is pronounced /t/ when
standing between 2 vowels.
Examples:
✔ letter /ˈlet.ər/
✔ water /ˈwɔː.tər/
✔ daughter /ˈdɔː.tər/
• Silent /r/
only pronounce a written < r > if there
is a vowel sound after it. Ex: park /pɑːk/,
horse /hɔːs/ or further /ˈfɜːðə/

British vs. American

Contrastive analysis between British
and American emails
• Similarity: same form

Differences between British letter and
American letter
American English British English
Punctuation in opening
greetings
• Dear Mr. Case,
• Dear Alex:
• Dear Mr Case,
• Dear Alex
Opening line • Thanks for your email about……(mail
= email )
• How was your vacation?
• How are you doing ?
• What’s up? (Wassup?)
(Rare, very informal if used)
• How was your holiday?
• No used
• How is it going?
• How are things?
• How is life?
• What’s wrong? (different meaning)
Body
• application emails
• Concentrate more on showing that they
can sell themselves
• Please find my CV attached
• Focus more on the basic facts.
• Please find my résumé attached

Differences between British letter and
American letter
American English British English
• Request emails
• Making polite request
• Apology emails
• Could you….?
• Can you…. ( too casual, even
rude)
• May I….?
• I was sorry to hear about your
issues with…( sound
sympathetic)
• Could you…? Can you…?
• Could I possibly…?
• ( May I….. Only used for asking
permission, not requests)
• I am sorry to hear about your issues
with.. (actual apology)
Closing line Sincerely, Sincerely yours (more
formal)
Best regards, (formal)
(Rarely used)
Yours sincerely, Your faithfully, (super-
formal)
Best regards, (less formal)
Cheers

Language teaching
To address these issues, language teachers
• must be aware of the potential for interlingual cultural transfer. All
cultures are equal but different. ( something good in our culture may
be not good in other cultures).
• Advise students to have critical thinking when accessing the new
and the unknown, avoid adjusting, respect the differences.
• provide learners with strategies and techniques to avoid
misinterpretation, misunderstanding, culture shocks that lead to
misbehavior, misinteractions and cultural conflicts. Dispensable
results could be breakdown of interaction and cooperation.

8.6.3. Conclusions
• In most cases of interlingual cultures, there exists
factors of intra-cultural, inter-cultural and trans-cultural
interactions.
• Interlingual interaction is a natural process that is
interrelated to the development of human’s society.
• It is necessary to aware of the differences in geography,
social, culture, and so on of the different communities
using the same kind of language.
• Using a word without knowing its meaning in specific
contexts is unwise.

REFERENCES
1. Trần Ngọc Thêm (1996). Tìm về bản sắc văn hóa Việt
Nam. NXB TP Hồ Chí Minh.
2. E.B. Tylor (1871). Primitive Culture. Dover publication,
INC.
3. Allen, B. Harold (1965). Teaching English as a second
language. MacGraw-Hill, Inc.
4. Nguyễn Quang (2008). Văn hóa, giao thoa văn hóa và
giảng dạy ngoại ngữ. Tạp chí Khoa học ĐHQGHN, Ngoại
ngữ 24.

8.6 Problem of interlingual culture

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