Passage 9 W here There Is a Language There Is a Cu...
In the course of a nation's history，its language naturally forms a close relationship with its culture.It is quite justified to say that where there is a language，there is a culture.This connection between a language and its culture is，first of all，reflected in the nature of a language，its social conventions and its diversity.
English has an alphabetwriting system，for example.The symbols of the alphabet stands for the sounds of the language.On the other hand，Chinese does not use an alphabet.It uses ideographs，symbolswhich represent ideas or words.Furthermore，English iswritten in lines from left to right，while Chinese is traditionally written from top to bottom，and the columns are placed on the page from right to left.
In terms of the sound system，intonation is themost remarkable nature of English，while Chinese is spoken with tones.In English different meanings，attitudes and emotions are conveyed by using different intonation.For example，the simple word“yes”can be spoken with different intonation for the purposes of expressing intentions，attitudes and emotions of different kinds.The wrong use of intonation can cause misunderstanding.On the other hand，the four tones in the Chinese language which are used for the same word to carry different meanings，can be difficult and confusing for people from other cultures，or it can even cause cultural shocks to them.This can be seen from following account by an Englishman：“Once I confused a ticket-seller in a railway station when Iasked to sell（mai）a ticket，rather than asking to buy（mai）one.She told me I could not and I felt a little frustrated and confused.Fortunately，a friendly Chinese was close by and able to help me.Maybe if I had shownmy cards to the seller，she would have understood what Iwanted more easily.”
The language of a nation is identified with its social convention of language use aswell as its customs.The Chinese custom of serving people for food is quite different from the British way，for example.And this can cause confusion in cross-culture communication.This can be shown by the experience of the same Englishman in another personal account： “In a fast restaurant in Beijing，a waitresswanted to practise her English while Iwas being served my food.We had a short conversation and then she gavememy food and said，‘Eat slowly！’It sounded tome like an order.This，I thought，was very strange；I did not know that‘man man chi’is a Chinese expression of politeness，that in English would be‘Enjoy your food！’”
Greeting people is common in everyday life，whichever country you are in.But the way people do in different countries are not the same.In China people often greet each other by asking“Have you eaten？Or Where are you going？”In English-speaking countries，however，to ask“Have you eaten？”would mean that you would like the other person to join you for a meal，and to ask“Where are you going？”would be considered that you are intruding into other person's privacy.
In many countries such as Britain，America，Canada and Australia，English is the native language of its people.However，there are differences between the English of those countries.In the United States，some words have different meanings to that in Britain.The word“to bathe”provides a good illustration.If an Englishman said，“Ihaven't bathed for a long time”，an American might be very surprised.In Britain， “to bathe”means to swim，while in the United States it means to wash or have a bath.Today，however，American English is becomingmore popular in other English-speaking countries.
Australians speak English with a very strong accent and they are proud of their accent.Unlike the Americans，many of them do not like the accent of“Queen's English”or“King's English”—the commonly accepted accent in Britain.Some of their words are different，too.An Australian might say， “My sheila always whinges that she's crook.”In England the same sentence would be“My wife always complains when she's ill”.Both Australians and Canadians use words that come from the languages of their native peoples.For instance，the word“kangaroo”is the Aborigine name for the animal，and“toboggan”is a Canadian Indian word for a sledge used for sliding down sport.
As the basic means of communication，words of a language communicatemeanings.But aswe have seen，the meanings of words are very much influenced by the culture in that language.Thus，if we want to learn to communicate well in a foreign language，we must understand the culture that gives that languagemeanings.
参考译文：
哪里有语言 哪里就有文化(https://www.daowen.com)
在一个民族的历史发展过程中，其语言与文化形成了一种天然紧密的联系。我们可以有充足的理由说哪里有语言，哪里就有文化。这种语言与文化之间的关系首先就反映在一种民族的语言的特点之中，在一种语言的社会俗规之中，以及一种语言的多样性之中。
例如，英语是一种字母文字体系，字母符号代表着英语的语音。与英语形成对照的是，汉语则不使用字母，而是使用表意符号。这种符号代表概念或词语。而且英语的书写体系是从左到右排列成行，而汉语有时是从上到下，字行的排列是从右到左。
在语音体系方面，语调是英语最突出的特点，而汉语的特点则是四声。英语通过使用不同的语调传达不同的意义、情感和态度。比如，“yes”这样一个简单的词可以通过使用不同的语调达到表达不同的意图、不同的态度和不同的情感的目的。语调用错就会引起误解。
从另一方面来讲，在汉语中，四声用于同一个词来传达不同的意义。这对来自其他文化的人来说是既困难又容易混淆的，甚至还会发生文化休克。这一点从下面一位英国人所叙述的故事中可以看出：“对一个外国人来说，汉语的四声既难学又容易混淆。一次，在火车站买票时，我把‘买票’说成了‘卖票’，因此使售票员产生了误解。售票员告诉我说我不能卖票，为此我感到有点沮丧和困惑不解。幸好我身旁一位友善的中国人帮我解了这个围。也许当时如果我事先向售票员出示自己的证件，也许她会更清楚我要买票而不是卖票。”
一个民族的语言还与其语言使用的社会常规密切相关。例如，中国人招待客人进餐的常规与英国人的常规就大不相同。这在跨国文化交际中会引起误解。这一点可以从同一个英国人在他对另一个次亲身经历的叙述中看出： “在北京的一个快餐店里，一位女招待在我点菜时想跟我练练她的口语，我们简单谈了几句。随后她给我上菜并说道：‘慢慢吃！’这话在我听起来就像一道命令。当时我心里感到十分纳闷，因为我那时还不知道‘慢慢吃’在汉语中是一种礼貌表示，而在英语里这句话就是‘祝你好胃口！’”
别人打招呼是日常生活中一件普遍的事，但在不同的国家人们打招呼的表达方式却不尽相同。在中国，人们在与对方打招呼时常会问道：“吃饭了没有？”或“你上哪儿去？”但在英语国家，问别人“吃饭了没有？”就意味着你想邀请对方一同进餐；而问“你上哪儿去？”则会被对方理解为你在干涉他人的隐私。
在英国、美国、加拿大和澳大利亚等许多国家，英语是其本民族语言。然而，这些国家的英语却存在着差异。比如，在美国，一些词语的意思就跟在英国的意思不同。“to bathe”这个词就是一个很好的说明。如果一个美国人听到一个英国人说：“I haven't bathed for a long time.”，那么，这个美国人会感到大吃一惊。因为在英国“to bathe”的意思是“游泳”，而在美国它的意思则是“洗澡或沐浴”。
澳大利亚人讲英语带有非常浓厚的方音，而且引以为荣。许多澳大利亚人不像美国人那样喜欢英国普遍推崇的标准音调—— “女王英语”或“国王英语”。一个澳大利亚人会说“My Sheila always whinges that she's crook.”。而在英国，同样一句话就是“My wife always complainswhen she's ill.”。澳大利亚人和加拿大人都使用来自当地民族的语言。例如，“Kangaroo”是澳洲土著人词，指“袋鼠”；“toboggan”是加拿大印第安人的词语，指用作滑行运动的“平底雪橇”。
一种语言的词语是交际中传达意义的基本手段，但正如以上所述，词语的意义受到语言文化的深刻影响。因此，如果我们要学会用一门外语进行有效交际，我们就必须了解赋予该语言以意义的文化。