填空题
Language and culture are not fundamentally inseparable. At
the most basic level, language is a method of expressing ideas. That
is, language is communication; while usually verbal, language can
also be visual (via signs and symbols), or semiotics (via hand or
body gestures). Culture, on the other hand, is a special set of
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ideas, practices, customs and beliefs which make up a functioning
society as distinct.
A culture must have at most one language, which it uses as a
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distinct media of communication to convey its defining ideas,
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customs, beliefs, et al., from one member of the culture to any
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member. Cultures can develop multiple languages, or "borrow"
languages from other cultures to use; not all of such languages are
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co-equal in the culture. One of the major defining characteristics of
culture is which language is the primary means of communication in
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that culture; sociologists and anthropologists draw lines among
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similar cultures heavily based on the prevalent language usage.
Languages, on the other hand, can be developed (or evolve)
apart from its originated culture. Certain language has scope for
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cross-cultural adaptations and communication, and may not actually
be part of some culture. Additionally, many languages are used by
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different cultures (that is, the same language can be used in several
cultures).
Language is heavily influenced by culture—as cultures come
out with new ideas, they develop language components to express
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those ideas. The reverse is also true: the limits of a language can
define what is expressible in a culture (that is, the limits of a
language can prevent certain concepts from being part of a culture).