The Relationship between the Dialect and Local Culture

曹敏

【Abstract】Language is the foundation of culture. Culture cannot exist without language. Language can reflect the characteristics of the nation， not only concludes the history and cultural background but also contain the life style and the thinking mode of the nationalities. We need to think and take action within the permitted scope of language.

【Key words】dialect； local culture； tradition； language； variants

Introduction

Language is the tool of communication， the production of social activities， also reflects the specific culture of the society. The human linguists B. L. Whorf pointed that in the situation of homologous development of language and culture， and there is a very close relationship between this language structure and the corresponding cultural features. No one can beyond the constraints of language although it is intangible. The using of a language means some cultural commitment. The same is true with local culture and language variants.

Regional culture and the regional language variants

Regional culture refers to the geographical conditions， such as ocean， mountains， rivers， and its unique humanistic spirit and so on. All of these factors have unchangeable inflections on cultures uniqueness and cannot change factitiously. Dialect is the directly result of migrating of northern residents to the south， but the immigration background is different：

a. The earliest source of Xiang dialect is Guchu language in Hunan province today. The original living place for human in Guchu period is in southwest of Puyang， He Nan province. The modern Xiang dialect in north was influenced deeply by northern mandarin， while more characteristics of ancient Xiang dialect were remained in south.

b. Cantonese came into being after Cin Shih Huang unified China. He sent his troops to occupy Lingnan area， and left one million solders to defend the area. From then on， the northern language used by those solders became the initial Cantonese.

c. Gan dialect and Hakka were known by people a little late. In the period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty， people migrated from north to the northern and middle area of Gan. The language they spoke became the Hakka today， while the local dialect became Gan dialect.

The evolution of the dialect and its cultural background

Dialect is the important carrier of regional culture and an integral part of the regional culture. The following examples can explain some relationship between dialects and regional culture：

A. Dialects affected by specific material conditions of peoples lives. Because of the different climate， rice is grown in the south and wheat is grown in the north. So the main food for southerners is rice and when they say “飯” it means “米飯”；while “飯” in the north means “面食”， such as “饅頭”“面條”“餃子”. If they want to say “米飯”， they should say “米飯” instead of “飯”.

B. Dialects affected by physic-geographical environment. It is cold and dry in north of China but hot and humid in south. So northerners are very familiar with “冰” and also many words related to it， such as “冰淇淋” “冰棍” “冰箱”. But ice and snow cannot be seen all year round in Guangzhou area， so they called “冰” as “雪”. So， “冰淇淋” “冰棍”“冰箱” in Cantonese are changed to “雪條” “雪糕” “雪柜”.

The culture is different because the region， nation and any other elements. Culture in different nation and region is isolated at first and has its own distinguishing feature which includes different language or dialect. With the development of history， the isolation is gradually broken.

Conclusion

Dialect has the different culture type， while regional culture also has varieties in categories. Both of them have a closely relationship with each other. It is necessary to research and analysis the regional culture if the variation of dialect should be studied. Only under the condition of fully understanding the various regional cultures behind each dialect， the revolution process of the language in this region can be seen completely.

References：

[1]Chambers，J.K.，&Trudgill，P.（1998）.Dialectology（2nd ed.）.Cambridge：Cambridge University Press.

[2]Li Rulong（2002）.Han Yu Fang Yan Te Zheng Ci Yan Jiu.Xia Men Publishing Press.

[3]Li Rulong（2001）.Han Yu Fang Yan Xue.Beijing：Higher Education Press.