Defining Culture

            Culture is like a slight breeze, it may go unnoticed, though is constantly moving and changing as time progresses. After reading Morgan’s text on defining culture, we can further identify this concept of culture as a not only a noun, or essentialist, but also as a verb, or non essentialist. Morgan defines and deconstructs culture in a few different contexts. He states,  “…the persons of the culture are the process of activity creating, changing products, practices, perspectives and communities” (24). He identifies culture as an active, living thing that, like the breeze, travels, and changes.  Some of these aspects, such as products, are tangible, but it is often the non tangible aspects of culture, such as perspectives as Morgan illiterates in an iceberg, that may be often overlooked especially in the classroom.

            A lesson activity that I appreciated in Morgan’s text was his activity “Analyzing the Cultural Phenomenon” (28). The purpose in this activity is to examine the interconnectedness of the five dimensions of culture. Some of the topics are a restaurant, a musical instrument, a food market, or a concert. By identifying students answers to these questions the instructor and the student can better identify some different aspects of culture.

            I am also very interested in language and culture. Language not only is used as a vessel to communicate ideas, though can also be seen as a projection of a person’s identity. An example of this can be seen in the standardization of American English. Americans had a want to separate themselves from the English to create their own identity. The standardization of American English that came with the publication of Noah Websters dictionary in 1828 developed different ways to spell certain words. For this reason, diction, syntax, dialect can develop communities identity and culture.  However, how does language, seen as part of identity, used in a classroom of students that is being taught the English language?

            Prescriptive language is the standard language and grammar. This use of language have a “correct” and an “incorrect” usage. This is what is typically taught in an academic setting. Descriptive language and grammar is how people actually speak, which can be translated into writing. In a classroom a teacher has the challenge of supporting the cultural aspects of language, but also enforcing the learning of prescriptive language.