Language vs. Culture; they are not the same thing

Discussing this article.


Daneydzaus : DING DING DING DING!
 
Nanmoro ma-Burerisnel :This article was decent for the first 10 or so paragraphs and then just started rambling.
 
Daneydzaus : Actually, more precisely, I believe that the author failed to understand that while language and culture are very distinct aspects of human brain activities, they turn out to be both very important. There is no "merely" about culture, it is an important part of living in some place.
 
He got the right thing about distinguishing language, a tool to listen to others, think and express yourself, and culture, a code through which a locality's population live, which will include many linguistic cues. What he got wrong is that culture isn't important; it is as important (and I may say, as readily explainable as language if you do the right studies; teacher's job) and it is an important aspect of internationalization.

Eris, thanks for the article; I cannot say it is perfect, as Nanmoro pointed out, but it sure was a damn good step ahead what I have heard been told around here. Using it for my Foreign Language Acquisition course
 
Eris ma-Numumésis : No article is perfect. You have to take some and leave some.
I definitely agree that culture is a big part of a language, but Japanese people do tend to make it into a bigger problem than it really is. In any case, as Daneydzaus said, it's definitely a step forward.

Nanmoro ma-Burerisnel : Yeah, I agree with that. Foreigners are still generally treated like they'll never fully grasp Japanese, which is a shame. But then the guy starts meandering into a way different territory and that's a sign of an amateur article. Published authors should know better and editors even more so.
 
Eris ma-Numumésis : I definitely agree with Nanmoro, there. The article could have been much shorter and just as incisive had he stayed on topic. That being said, I write my blog the way I speak, which means I constantly digress into totally unrelated matters
But then again, I'm not a veteran writer. Lol
 
Nanmoro ma-Burerisnel : Japan Times is plagued with bad writers, as is Weekender and most English publications in Japan, with the exception, of course, of TokyoDesu.com. I cringe to say this, but Debito Arudo, despite his overwhelming pessimism and snark, is Japan Times' most talented essayist.

Daneydzaus : Nanmoro : That is why I will use it, but I will not propose it as a great example of communication. He failed to understand many things (especially the importance of culture, as I pointed out); he's already outdated in my mind. This is why I posted my comment, so that we could discuss this matter and go further. And I believe our discussion is many steps beyond what the author wrote, and that's a great thing.

Eris ma-Numumésis : I admit I didn't know of Roger Pulvers, even though he seems to have a long career in writing. As for Debito Arudo, I gotta give it to him: he has often given a voice to until then very taboo aspects of the Japanese society, but I just can't abide his constant cynicism...