Journal of Iranian Cultural Research
Year:2009 | Volume:2 | Issue:1|Papers Count:10

The reflection of social changes in language is an important issue in sociolinguistics, sociology of language and anthropological linguistics. The present study attempts to examine the linguistic consequences of two contemporary great changes, namely the establishment of the European Union and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The study shows that the consequences of the two are radically different; one promoted integration, while the other led to divergence. The result of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the revival of the local and native languages in different new Republics, in addition to the decrease in the power, authority, influence and dominance of the Russian language. On the other hand, the establishment of the European Union led to a linguistic integrity, resulting in promotion for some languages which are supported by the force of power and the decline in the status of powerless and minority languages. The present study also shows that although the two changes follow opposite directions (integration and divergence), they share one consequence, which is the promotion for English and its domination.

This study follows two aims: one to review some late views on the relations among language, thought, and culture; and the other, to offer a new strategy, in a novel model, based on last achievements in the minimalist approach. Studying views and arguments, three dichotomies are discussed: 1) the views which confirm the relation between culture and language in opposition to the views that deny this; 2) distinguishing the symmetry-procedural view and the transforming views of language; and 3) distinction among the social-communicational, and the biological-genetic motivations of language. The hypothesis for the novel strategy is that considering what the minimalist program has offered, especially from 2000 onwards, it is possible that language affects thought, while coding the and that culture affects language (which is called ethno-grammar) . This is in addition to the biological-genetic base. From this point of view, language’s main function is neither to provide communication, nor to express thought, but to connect cognitive and socio-cultural terminals together.

These days cell phone, as the modern instrument has various, cheap, and user-friendly accessories and possibilities. As a result SMS is now one of the most important media used in different situations. In this study, the SMS was analyzed from a linguistic point of view. Using the content analysis method, the grammatical and semantic congruence of the short-messages with standard Persian was examined. Furthermore, the SMS content (quotations, love messages, empathy and greetings, ironies, and jokes) and language (Persian, English, Pinglish) were studied. For this purpose, 1795 SMSs were received and analyzed during the first half of 2008. The analysis and comparison of the SMSs showed that there is still no specific, uniform language used in their writing. The results showed that though the general tendency is to write in Persian, many SMSs are written in Pinglish.

The present study attempts to compare the concept of “Politeness” in Farsi and Korean. Data gathering happened in a two year study in South Korea, and Korean students in Korea and Iran were interviewed. Politeness is a culturally-rooted universal concept. However, it appears differently in various languages. Persian and Korean, though from different linguistic families, have both applied signs and elements of Politeness and this is their common aspect. There are some aspects of historical, religious, and cultural similarities between Iranian and Korean societies which may account for this. Social hierarchy and Confucianism play an important role in the system of politeness in Korean society. Politeness construction used to be very complicated in the Korean language, but nowadays it is less complicated; as a result, the seven level system of expressions is transformed into a four-level one, emphasizing formality, politeness, intimacy, and simplicity. No sentence in Korean could be expressed unless one of politeness elements are involved. These elements are usually verbal suffixes included in all Korean verbs. Furthermore, as in the Persian language, there are some special words in Korean which exclusively express deference.

“Linguistic culture” is a term used in sociology of language and the anthropology of language. This study attempts to examine the term, its parameters, and the relation it has with language planning. A detail analysis of the status of the linguistic culture, at micro and macro levels, is necessary for language planning. Accordingly, the parameters of the linguistic culture were studies among Persian speakers of Tehran. The results show that linguistic culture contains attitudes, beliefs, norms, and linguistic capital. Linguistic attitude itself involves three dimensions: body of language, dignity of language, and language-learning. Studying these three dimensions shows that feeling in general and empathy with the dignity of the Persian language in particular, have the main share in linguistic attitude, and thus in the structure of linguistic culture among Persian speakers in Tehran. Therefore, it could be said that the emotional factors, as parts of linguistic culture, are very important in sociology of the Persian language and the promotion of language planning.

This study attempts to introduce two main currents in orientalism, the classic and the modern. The Western attitude toward the Orient, and especially Islam, is analyzed in both currents and the operative factors that lead to modern orientalism are surveyed. The 9th September 2001 event is here considered one of the most important points in modern orientalism. Media are here assumed to play a crucial role in representation of the orientalist and racist attitudes which nowadays focus on cultural differences. Accordingly, the present study surveys reflections of western cultural attitudes toward Iran in the linguistic construction of two British journals, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph and two American ones, Time and Newsweek, after the occurrence of the 9/11 event.

In this article, some aspects of the cultural other will be studied from a cultural semiotic point of view, intercultural communication and the role played by translation in such communications and mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. The paper shows that cultural dynamics is the result of intercultural communication and translation is the main mechanism of such communications. Through translation, cultures meet the cultural other, redefine themselves and are mutually enriched. Each culture appropriates some features of another culture and keeps some other features out, and thus maintains its dynamicity. It influences the other and is influenced by the other, yet preserves it difference.

Noam Chomsky has discussed the bias of American media in covering events according to political economy interests and pro-Israeli position, for instance. Looking for the connections between public opinion and the media, focusing on the position of the American government during the first Gulf War, as Mueller, Seaver and Page stated, shows that the United States government has been trying to influence the media in critical situations like wartime. In this study, we are attempting to evaluate Embedded Journalism as a new method of coverage in the Iraq 2003 War. There are plenty of studies in the field of embedded journalism; however, this study is going to measure the objectivity of the Foxnews’ coverage, according to Mindich theory (2000). The study is concentrating on Americans invasion to Iraq in 2003 (from March 20 to April 9, 2003), that have been coined by journalists as “The Fall of Baghdad”. In this study 217 articles of clip descriptions and leads of live reports of embedded journalists have been analyzed.