HS Language & Culture
Content
In the first part of the seminar, we will discuss in detail the first chapters from Wierzbicka, Anna. English Meaning and Culture.
Oxford: OUP. 2006. Please read the following chapters so that we can discuss them:
1 English as a Cultural Universe
2 Anglo Cultural Scripts Seen Through Middle Eastern Eyes
3 The Story of RIGHT and WRONG and its Cutural Implications
4 Being Reasonable. A Key Anglo Value and its Cultural Roots
9 The "Cultural Baggage" of English and its Significance in the World at Large
You are required to read them before the term starts, since there will be a TEST
in the second week of term!
The second part will be student papers. Here are a few suggestions:
- Colour systems in English and German
- Colour metaphors in english(es)
- A comparison of "I think" vs. "I know" in German and British PhD theses
- "Reasonable" vs. "vernünftig" - a cultural semantic comparison
- "Fair" in English, German and beyond.
- A survey of "English Language and Culture" courses at Australian Universities.
- A review of the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture from a German student perspective.
Objectives:
In this seminar, you will learn
- to analyse texts (written and spoken) from different cultural backgrounds,
- to interpret linguistic phenomena in their relationship to cultural parameters and
- to become aware of culture-specific forms of language (varieties)