1.6 Sharifian - 2017

Chapter 1
Cultural Linguistics: The State of the Art
Farzad Sharifian
1.1 Introduction
While the term ‘cultural linguistics’ (or the more frequently used term ‘ethnolin-
guistics’) may be used to refer to the general area of research on the relationship
between language and culture (see, e.g., Peeters 2016, reprinted in this volume), I
use ‘Cultural Linguistics’ to refer to a recently developed discipline with multidis-
ciplinary origins that explores the relationship between language and cultural con-
ceptualisations (Sharifian 2011, 2017). In particular, Cultural Linguistics explores
the features of human languages that encode culturally constructed conceptualisa-
tions of the whole range of human experience. It offers both a theoretical framework
and an analytical framework for investigating the cultural conceptualisations that
underlie the use of human languages. Cultural Linguistics has drawn on several other
disciplines and sub-disciplines to develop its theoretical basis. These include cog-
nitive psychology, complexity science, distributed cognition, and anthropology.
Cultural Linguistics has also been applied to and has benefited from several areas of
applied linguistics, including intercultural communication, intercultural pragmatics,
World Englishes, Teaching English as an International Language, and political
discourse analysis (Sharifian 2011; Sharifian and Palmer 2007).
1.2 The Theoretical Framework of Cultural Linguistics
At the heart of the theoretical framework of Cultural Linguistics is the concept of

cultural cognition, which affords an integrated understanding of the notions of
‘cognition’ and ‘culture’ as they relate to language (e.g. Sharifian 2009, 2011). This
F. Sharifian (&)
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
e-mail: Farzad.Sharifian@monash.edu
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 1

F. Sharifian (ed.), Advances in Cultural Linguistics, Cultural Linguistics,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4056-6_1
2 F. Sharifian
concept offers a multidisciplinary understanding of cognition that moves beyond

the level of the individual mind (e.g. Clark and Chalmers 1998; Sutton 2005, 2006;
Wilson 2005). As Frank (2015, p. 494) puts it, cultural cognition is “a form of
cognition that ... is not represented simply as some sort of abstract disembodied
‘between the ears’ entity”. Furthermore, cultural cognition is a form of enactive
cognition (Stewart et al. 2011) that comes about as a result of social and linguistic
interactions between individuals across time and space (see also Cowley and
Vallée-Tourangeau 2013). Crucially, the elements of a speech community’s cul-
tural cognition are not equally shared by speakers across that community, so much
so that, in fact, cultural cognition is a form of (heterogeneously) distributed cog-
nition (Hutchins 1994). Speakers show variation and differences in their access to
and internalisation of their community’s cultural cognition. Also, cultural cognition
is dynamic in that it is constantly being negotiated and renegotiated across gen-
erations and through contact between speech communities.
The study of cultural cognition has parallels in several subfields and sub-
paradigms of the cognitive sciences (see also Frank 2015). For example, scholars
working in the area of complexity science, often under the rubric of Complex
Adaptive Systems (CAS), have been seeking to explain how relationships between
parts, or agents, give rise to the collective behaviours of a system or group (e.g.
Holland 1995; Waldrop 1992). Similarly, Cultural Linguistics explores cultural
cognition as a complex adaptive system that emerges from the interactions between
members of a speech community across time and space. Frank (2015, p. 497)
observes that “the adoption [by Cultural Linguistics] of a CAS approach as well as
other analytical tools, such as ‘distributed cognition’, opens up the possibility of
productive dialogue between scholars in the humanities and investigators operating
in subfields of cognitive science”.
As a central aspect of cultural cognition, language serves [to use the term used
by wa Thiong’o (1986)], as a ‘collective memory bank’ of the cultural cognition of
a speech community. Many aspects of language are shaped by elements of cultural
cognition that have prevailed at different stages in the history of a speech com-
munity. In other words, these elements can leave traces in subsequent linguistic
practice. In this sense, language can be viewed as a primary mechanism for
‘storing’ and communicating cultural cognition, acting both as a memory bank and
a fluid vehicle for the (re-)transmission of cultural cognition.
The theoretical framework of Cultural Linguistics, as a whole, may be dia-
grammatically represented as in Fig. 1.1, which shows that this is a framework that
also provides a basis for understanding cultural conceptualisations and their real-
isation in language. Language plays a dual role in relation to cultural conceptual-
isations. On the one hand, linguistic interactions are crucial to the development of
cultural conceptualisations, as they provide a space for speakers to construct and
co-construct meanings about their experiences. On the other hand, many aspects of
both language structure and language use draw on and reflect cultural conceptu-
alisations. Hence, the study of language itself is of key significance to our under-
standing of cultural conceptualisations and, ultimately, of the broader cultural
cognitions associated with languages and language varieties.
1 Cultural Linguistics: The State of the Art 3
Fig. 1.1 The theoretical framework of Cultural Linguistics
Apart from language, cultural conceptualisations may also be instantiated in

various other aspects of people’s lives, including cultural arts, literature, ritual,
cultural events, emotion, etc., as represented in Fig 1.2. Exploring cultural con-
ceptualisations is thus not only relevant to language (and linguistics), for these
conceptualisations are reflected in many aspects of human life. Consequently,
research into cultural conceptualisations can be undertaken by scholars across a
wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, literature, sociol-
ogy, theology, and fine arts.
1.3 The Analytical Framework of Cultural Linguistics
The analytical framework of Cultural Linguistics provides tools for analysing the
relationship between language and cultural conceptualisations. They include the
notions of ‘cultural schema’, ‘cultural category’, and ‘cultural metaphor/metonymy’
4 F. Sharifian
Fig. 1.2 The relevance of cultural conceptualisations to various disciplines/domains
(cross- or intra-domain conceptualisation). Many features of human languages are

entrenched in cultural conceptualisations. As such, notions such as cultural schema,
cultural category and cultural metaphor provide fruitful analytical tools for exam-
ining features of language that instantiate culturally constructed conceptualisations
of experience. The contributions to this volume present many examples of cultural
conceptualisations encoded in human languages.
Cultural schemas capture beliefs, norms, rules, and expectations of behaviour as
well as values relating to various aspects and components of experience. Cultural
categories are those culturally constructed conceptual categories that are primarily
reflected in the lexicon of human languages. Examples of cultural categories are
‘colour categories’, ‘age categories’, ‘emotion categories’, ‘food categories’, ‘event
categories’, and ‘kinship categories’. Cultural metaphors are cross-domain con-
ceptualisations that have their conceptual basis grounded in cultural traditions such
as folk medicine, worldview, or a spiritual belief system. The analytical framework
of Cultural Linguistics can be diagrammatically represented as in Fig. 1.3.
In summary, the theoretical and the analytical frameworks of Cultural
Linguistics can be presented as in Fig. 1.4, which reflects the fact that various
features and levels of language, from morpho-syntactic features to pragmatic/
semantic meaning and discourse, may be entrenched in cultural conceptualisations
taking the form of cultural schemas, cultural categories, and cultural metaphors.
1 Cultural Linguistics: The State of the Art 5
Fig. 1.3 Analytical framework of Cultural Linguistics
Apart from the above, an important aspect of our conceptual life is what can be
referred to as the reconceptualisation of cultural conceptualisations. This phe-
nomenon is gaining momentum as the processes of globalisation bring about
increased contacts between different speech communities and, consequently, dif-
ferent systems of cultural conceptualisations. An example of reconceptualisation is
provided by the way in which the cultural conceptualisations of Christmas are
adapted in non-Christian, non-Western societies, as is the case in the author’s place
of birth, Iran. Local adaptations of the CHRISTMAS schema may involve modifying
the cultural categories of CHRISTMAS PARTY, including the subcategories of
CHRISTMAS GIFT, CHRISTMAS FOOD, and CHRISTMAS DRINK. The whole event category
of CHRISTMAS may be conceptualised as a Western celebration, rather than a religious
occasion, providing the host of such a party with a chance to project a (Western)
“modern” identity. It is well known that, even in the Western world, historically,
6 F. Sharifian
Fig. 1.4 The theoretical and the analytical frameworks of Cultural Linguistics
Christmas has been reconceptualised first from a pagan celebration, then to a

Christian cultural event, and more recently in many cases from a religious event to a
more commercial one or simply a family gathering. Other examples of reconcep-
tualisation are provided by event categories such as VALENTINE’S DAY, THANKSGIVING
DAY, and HALLOWEEN. In some parts of the world, including China, people may
celebrate Thanksgiving Day to thank teachers and parents, rather than conforming
to the original, earlier idea of thanking God for the blessings of the year, including
harvest, as continues to be done in the United States. Thus, in general, reconcep-
tualisation may take various forms, such as blending elements of conceptual sys-
tems drawn from different speech communities and cultural traditions, a
phenomenon that may be referred to as cross-cultural reconceptualisation. A
noteworthy case would be where a conceptual/spiritual system, such as a religion, is
amalgamated into a local system of conceptualisations, as in the case of the
Christianisation of events such as Yule (which became Christmas) and Valentine’s
Day (which grew out of the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia).
Processes such as transnational trade, colonisation, and (increasingly) globalisation
often lead to such cases of reconceptualisation.

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Chapter 1

Cultural Linguistics: The State of the Art

1.2 The Theoretical Framework of Cultural Linguistics

At the heart of the theoretical framework of Cultural Linguistics is the concept of

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 1

concept offers a multidisciplinary understanding of cognition that moves beyond

Fig. 1.1 The theoretical framework of Cultural Linguistics

Apart from language, cultural conceptualisations may also be instantiated in

1.3 The Analytical Framework of Cultural Linguistics

Fig. 1.2 The relevance of cultural conceptualisations to various disciplines/domains

(cross- or intra-domain conceptualisation). Many features of human languages are

Fig. 1.3 Analytical framework of Cultural Linguistics

Christmas has been reconceptualised ﬁrst from a pagan celebration, then to a

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