Cultural mistakes
in English
language
Feofanova Varvara
Grade 9
School 852
Moscow, Zelenograd
Hypothesis
 Learning and understanding a foreign
language means the interest for the cultural life
of this country. Without sufficient knowing of the
culture
even
well-educated
non-native
speakers can make a lot of mistakes when
speaking a foreign language.
 Language as culture which is an impact of one
on another.
Goals
• To mark one of the most serious problems in
learning a foreign language which is that we
try to translate sentences from our native
language to a foreign one word by word.
• To point at necessity of re-thinking the concept
of English language lessons for Russian students
that need to be more concentrated on English
culture, but not on tortuous grammar that is
less important for everyday life and
international communication.
• To help to broaden the mind and increase the
interest to study English and use it correctly.
Task
1. To use different methods to analyze and
study the problem.
2. To explore the books and other sources of
information about this problem.
3. To define main aspects of the problem after
accumulation enough information about the
topic.
4. To work out a method of social research.
5. To create some advice after analyzing the
research
Introduction
Language is grammar,
vocabulary, lots of new
rules and expressions.
But if you know all the rules
and have vocabulary that is
rich enough, does it mean
that you know the language?
Actually not yet.
Learning and understanding a foreign
language means the interest in the
cultural life of this country.
We are sure that without sufficient
knowing of the culture even welleducated non-native speakers can
make a lot of mistakes when speaking
a foreign language.
Language is a decisive factor in
forming our views of the world
because it provides speakers with a
set
of
elements,
including
grammar, which predispose them
to perceive their environment in
certain patterns.
Lexical items do not exist in a cultural vacuum, and it is
often hard for a non-native speaker to realize which “key
words” critical to the understanding of a culture have
quite different associations within another language and
culture.
The Americans believe in the power of
positive thinking. As for them everything is
‘fine’ or ‘great’.
The Americans and the Russians have
completely different concepts about what the
word ‘bad’ or ‘kind’ mean. Americans tend to
emphasize ‘intelligence’ and ‘mind’ more than
‘heart’ or ‘soul’.
Research
After accumulation enough information we
created a test for the students of high school to
check what they will choose in embarrassing
situations.
After analyzing the results of four classes we
realized that even high-educated students,
that get good marks in English classes, made
many mistakes in questions connected not with
the grammar but with the knowing of English
culture.
Categoricalness and Negativity
Many negative constructions
needs reworking in English
language if an Englishspeaking Russian is to avoid
sounding unfriendly.
It takes time to get used to the
idiomatic equivalents in English
for these Russian
expressions.
Of course, English has negative
expressions, but they are
generally expressed in a less
categorical and more polite
form than in Russian.
Passive Voice and Impersonality
Differences
in
the
way
languages and cultures use the
active and passive mood are
reflected in vocabulary, idioms
and grammatical constructions.
The differences in attitude
are clearly reflected in the
use of language. Pessimistic
determinism
still
remains
deeply ingrained in Russian
linguistic
structures
and
idioms.
Finesse and Colocations
In English language there is
whole a rank of tricky words.
False friends are pairs of words
or phrases in two languages
that look or sound similar, but
differ significantly in meaning.
There are comic
situations
They are comedians
The Discussion
After the analyzing the results
of our test we made a
presentation for the students
of high school.
After these special ‘culturallanguage lessons’ we created a
list of advice together.
Conclusion
I. Think about the idea
that you want to express
but not of the sentence
that
you
want
to
translate.
II. Explore English history. It will
help you to understand
English culture better and will
broaden your mind.
III. Watch English films without
translation. You will notice a
lot of useful constructions,
idioms and patterns. And you
will certainly improve your
listening skills.
IV. Read books in English
language. One of the most
important peculiarity in this case is
that
you
don’t
have
to
understand every word that you
see, you have to understand the
idea.
V. Go to the English-speaking
country. Full-immersion in the
world of English language will
open up new horizons for you.
You will be able to see the
ordinary life of English-speaking
people and notice every
detail.
VI. Explore English culture. That item
includes reading books, watching films,
exploring English history and interest
about every part of the English culture.
No doubt, you must love English culture,
if you want to learn English language!
Использованная литература
1. Lynn Visson ‘Where Russians go wrong in spoken English’.
2. Edward Sapir ‘Language Race and Culture’.
3. Edward Sapir ‘An Introduction to the Language of Speech’.
4. Benjamin Lee Whorf ‘Language, Thought and Reality’.
5. Anna Wierzbicka ‘Semantics, Culture and Cognition’.
6. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale ‘The power of Positive Thinking’.
7. David Katan ‘Translating Cultures’.
8. Genevra Gerhard ‘The Russian’s World: Life and
Language’.
THANK
YOU
FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION !