المستخلص: |
This paper discusses the relationship between language and culture. In particular, it highlights the importance of understanding culture in order to learn a new language. Second Language (L2) learners sometimes send or receive messages improperly which can lead to misunderstanding. This misunderstanding could be attributed to their lack of linguistic knowledge (phonology, grammar and morphology) of the new language, as well as to their lack of awareness of the new culture (lack of cultural knowledge). To avoid such misunderstandings, and in order to acquire the new language properly, it is suggested that L2 learners should be familiar with the new culture. In this paper, a description of such a misunderstanding from the author’s own experience and observation is provided, and its source and cause are explained in the light of theories and models. Some differences between English and Arabic on a lexical level, the rhetoric and discourse levels (writing style) and culture that could lead to errors and consequently to misunderstanding, are highlighted and discussed.
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