How To Compare Two Cultures

Tihomir Bozicic M112040/18
HOW TO COMPARE
TWO CULTURES?
ACCORDING TO ROBERT LADO
Robert Lado (1915-1995)
 An American expert on modern linguistics
who is considered one of the founders of
modern contrastive linguistics
 P.h.D – University of Michigan
 He recieved worldwide recognition and
honors including honorary doctorates
from Georgetown and Sophia
University in Tokyo, Japan.
 Associated with the strong version of the
contrastive hypothesis together with
Charles C. Fries
Contents
 Definition of culture
 Functioning units of culture
 Form, meaning and distribution
 Comparison of cultures
 Gathering cultural data for a structural
description
Introduction
 Culture – “ways of people”
 How to present a culture? What to show and tell to
a foreign visitor? What is important in one culture?
 We are able to use complex language structures in
our language but if someone asks us when to use
between and among, we are confused.
 Two cultures cannot be compared if don’t have

accurate understanding of both cultures!
Definition of a culture
 Culture is a structured system of
patterned behavior.
 Edward Saphir stated that: “All cultural
behavior is patterned”
The main concepts that make
one culture
Functioning units of a culture
 The individual acts of one behaviour
through which a culture is manifested
are never exactly the same.
 Each act is unique
 The same picture drawn many times can
not be the same.
This guy
https://www.boredpanda.com/teacher-wears-same-clothes-in-school-pictures-for-40-years/
 Typical American breakfast:
 an orange juice, coffee, fried eggs, bacon and white toast.
 Another morning:
 grapefruit juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon and whole
wheat toast.
 In the United States this is the same unit of
behavior – eating breakfast.
 Different units but they make a pattern of
behaviour, i.e. the functioning unit of behavior in
that culture.
 These patterns are made up of elements such as:
performer, act, object, setting, time, manner, purpose,
etc.
 Although they are always unique and different they
are identified into “sames” and “differents”
 Items can be treated as:
o static units - men, women, children, doctor, teacher,
animals, horses, ideas, family, etc.
o processes - to study, to rest, to run, to think, to fish, etc.
o qualities - fast, slow, good, bad, cold, hot, sleepy, cruel,
etc.
Form, meaning and distribution
 Units of patterned behavior that make
each culture, have:
Form
Meaning
Distribution
Form
 Forms of these patterns of culture are identified
functionally on inspection by the members of that
culture.
Some individuals may not be able accurately to define the
very same forms they can identify.
 Clear unit of behavior as eating breakfast can not be
clearly defined because the same food can be eaten
in the morning, afternoon or even for supper.
 What is the definition of breakfast then?
 We can describe it by observing a representative
number of occurrences which seem to resemble
breakfast.
Meaning
 Meanings, like forms, are culturally determined
or modified.
 They represent an analysis of the universe as
grasped in a culture.
 Eating breakfast, lunch or dinner are engaged
in usually to provide food and drink for the
body.
We say that this is the primary meaning
A particular form of a meal may carry secondary
meaning of good or bad, on a health scale,
economic scale, religious scale, etc.
Distribution
 All meaningfull units of form are
distributed in patterned ways.
 Distribution patterns involve various
time cycles, space locations, and
positions in relation to other units.
 Breakfast shows time distribution on a
daily cycle, monthly cycle, and a yearly
cycle. It is also distributed after some
units of behaviour and preceding others.
Comparison of cultures
 If the native culture habits are transferred
when learning a foreign culture, it is obvious
that, by comparing the two culture systems,
we can predict what the trouble spots will
be.
 We distinguish three potential problems in
understanding the other culture:
Same form, different meaning
Same meaning, different form
Same form, same meaning, different distribution
Same form, different meaning
 Interesting kind of trouble spot is seen
when any element of the form of a
complex patterns has different
classification and meaning across cultures.
 Bullfighting
 An example of a cross-cultural
misinformation. A rather difficult pattern of
behaviour to explain convincingly to an
unsophisticated United States observer.
 Bullfigthing has its own form, meaning and distribution.
(Spanish culture)
 Form is very precise and complex. A man, armed with a
sword and a red cape, challenges and kills a fighting bull.
There are specific vocabulary term. The bullfighter, the
bull, the picadors, the music, etc. are all part of the form.
 Meaning in Spanish culture is very complex. It is sport. It
symbolizes triumph, bravery. It is a form of entertainment.
 Distribution is also a complex pattern. There is a season
for this sport on a yearly cycle, there are favoured days
on a weekly cycle, favoured time on a day cycle. It occurs
at the special place.
 Form, meaning and distribution to an alien
observer.
 An American observer will see the great deal
of form, but not all of it.
 The meaning is quite different. It is the
slaughter of a “defensless” animal by an
armed man. This is unfair! It is cruel! The
fighter is cruel! The audience is cruel!
 Distribution does not represent a problem at
all…
 Is the word “cruel” interpreted differently in two languages?
No!
 A number of vocabulary items are different. In English, both
animals and people have legs. In Spanish, people have
piernas, and animals have patas. The same is for backs and
necks. In English it is the same, in Spanish there are
different words. In Spanish animals do not get nervous, have
hospitals, whereas in English this is not a case.
 In Hispanic culture the distinction between man and animal
seem very great. In their culture man is not physically
strong but is skillful and intelligent, a bull is stronng but not
skillfull and not intelligent. In American culture a man is
physically strong, and so is a bull.
Same meaning, different form
 Another kind of trouble spot can be expected
when the same meaning has different form
 A young man from Iran is in the USA. He carries
his baggage and attempts to get a taxi. A likely
white car with a white license plate and black
letters goes by. The young man waves at it, but
the car does not stop. After a few attempts he
walked to his destination.
 Later on, he finds out that in the USA, taxis are
distinguished not by white license plate, but by
bright flashing lights and loud colors.
Same form, same meaning,
different distibution
 Another problem arises when a certain
feature of one culture is present in
another but it is not completly the same.
 Latin American students complained
that North American meals abused the
use of sugar, while on the other hand
North American students complained
that Latin American students use too
much sugar.
How could these seemingly contradictory
opinions can be true at the same time?
 A research was conducted and it was noticed that
Latin American student takes more sugar. He is
not used to drinking milk at meals, but when there
is milk he sometimes likes to put sugar in it.
 It was also notices that the sugar bowls at tables
where Latin Americans sit have to be filled more
often than the tables where North Americans sit.
 Therefore, the dietitian who conducted this
research felt quite confident in making this
generalization.
Gathering Cultural Data for a
Structural Description
 Since good structural descriptions of the cultures
will usually not be found ready-made, here is a
checklist of possible patterns of behavior that in
different cultures constitute functioning units:
Interview representative informants. Ask what they do
each day, on special days, what do they do at special
ocassions, etc.
Classify the responses. There can be many cateogires
– needs, appereance, personality, activities, etc.
Do not make generalizations before a complete
research!
https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Deadpool-Kills-the-Marvel-Universe/
 Joan Rivers RIP
https://twitter.com/joan_rivers
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION !

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Tihomir Bozicic M112040/18

 Two cultures cannot be compared if don’t have

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