?The language of interpersonal relationships in China

【Abstract】This paper analyzes the relationship among language， identity and culture with Stuart Halls notion. It discusses the distinctive language of interpersonal relationship in China.

【Key words】Stuart Hall; Interpersonal relationship; Language

【作者簡介】 付悅，電子科技大學成都學院文理系。

Ⅰ.Introduction

By interpreting how language， identity， and culture are interconnected with each other， Stuart Hall （1997a， 1997b， 1997c） states that through representation system， language， identity， and culture are intertwined. With this notion in mind， this paper will firstly summarize Halls arguments in discussing the interrelationship between language， identity， and culture in three perspectives： language and culture， identity and culture， as well as language and identity. Then it will describe some episodes from the personal experience drawn from Chinese culture， which will introduce and discuss the distinctive language of interpersonal relationships in China.

Ⅱ.Summary of Stuart Halls notion

According to Stuart Halls （1997b） theory， instead of existing independently and separately， there is a complex interrelationship of language， identity， and cultural difference.

In terms of the relationship between language and culture difference， language， as a tool， a privileged medium， a symbol， embodies， expresses， and symbolizes culture （Kramsch， 1998）. In turn， languages are distinguished because of cultural differences. In addition， owing to culture can be represented in different ways through language， thus we have the cultural difference. Obviously， culture differences will produce different languages.

Identity is a product of culture since culture meaning involves concepts， ideas， emotions and sense of belonging. To illustrate， In Halls “cultural identity and diaspora” （1997a）， it indicates that cultural identity is about shared culture， which means people believe in a common history and ancestry （p. 51）. Therefore， with the same understanding， experience， and beliefs， individuals who share the same culture will build up a common sense of identity.

As for the interconnection between language and identity， identity influences language. As is mentioned above， people who have the same identity have a similar way to interpret the world. Besides， people regard their language as a part of their social identity since language is a symbolized system （Kramsch， 1998， p. 3）. Thus， they must share the same “cultural codes” to communicate， which refers to the broad sense of language， including the various signs and symbols （Hall， 1997b， p. 4）. Therefore， identity shapes the way of using language.

Ⅲ.Discuss the language of interpersonal relationships in China

The language of interpersonal relationships is a set of specific language， which is influenced by identity and culture difference， in order to describe the relationships between individuals. Drawn from Chinese culture， the language of interpersonal relationships in China is a typical phenomenon to interpret and analyze the complex interrelationship between language， identity， and culture different. This part will argue and discuss the interaction and relationship between the language of interpersonal relationships， Chinese culture， and identity of the young generation which generally refers to people who were born after the year 1980.

Firstly， the language of interpersonal relationships reflects Chinese culture. There， it will take the language of kinship as an example to illustrate. Kinship is a kind of important interpersonal relationships in China. Unlike most western countries， for different kinsfolk in China， the language will be used differently to represent the position in the family. To illustrate this special phenomenon， on one hand， collectivism occupies an important position in Chinese culture， which promotes incorporation （Yao， Wang， Tang & Wang， 2012）.

On the other hand， Chinese culture has a great influence on language， which contains spoken language， written language， clothes， gestures and other aspects in terms of a broad sense. Since language plays a role as a medium and a repository， the norms， values， customs and beliefs of a culture can be transmitted. There is a famous old saying that is “Expand the respect of the aged to that of other families”. It shows that respect the aged is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. With this major cultural value and custom based on Confucianism， people who are older， more senior or with a higher social status will be addressed with honorific titles in Chinese society. For example， there are two ways of saying “you” in Chinese.

Secondly， with respect to the relationship between the language of interpersonal relationships and identity of the young generation， it claims that identity rules language usage. Meanwhile， identity can be reflected by language. The relationship between teachers and students in China is another typical phenomenon to illustrate the interaction between language and identity. According to the fourth and fifth principles of Regulations for primary and middle school students that issued by Ministry of Education （2015）， it emphasizes that students， as the young generation， should be modest and polite to their teachers in schools.

However， culture identity is not fixed along with the changes of using language. As Hall （1997b） claims that things have no meaning originally. It is the participants empower the people， objects， and events to have meanings in cultural practices. Thus， with the change of participants， things will have no single and fixed meaning. Owing to that people used to call peoples names directly in English， students will address their English-native-speaker teachers with their given names. In this process， students acquire another identity by understanding the difference between English and Chinese.

Thirdly， in terms of the relationship between identity and culture， it states that identity and culture are intertwined with each other. On one hand， identity is produced in the process of meaning giving and meaning taking， so that culture differences produce different identities （Hall， 1997c）. Based on these values， the old generation is labeled as traditional， rigid， stereotypical， and conservative. Comparatively， grown up in a multiple-cultural environment， the young generations values are constituted both from various nationalities of China and from different countries. Therefore， they pursues more equal， fair and unrestrained interpersonal relationships. Influenced by the contemporary culture， the young generation promotes the freedom of speech， the freedom of marriage， and the equality of social relationship and sex. The differences between the identity of the young generation and the old generation are marked out by distinctive characteristics and shared cultural beliefs.

In turn， different identities reveal culture differences. As Hall （1997b， 1997c） suggest， culture is not only about the similarity， more importantly， about the difference. The essence of general Chinese culture will be inherited and accept with majorities. However， the mainstream ideology will be selected and created from generation to generation. As the young generation is the major labor of a country， the mainstream culture will be influenced and change by their ideology. Specifically， as a famous quote says “once a teacher， always a teacher”， teachers were used to be seen as the only authority of knowledge. Students were not allowed to doubt teachers sayings， even not allowed to ask questions to their teachers. Therefore， traditional Chinese classes were extremely teacher-centered. Since the Chinese adolescences define themselves as the young generation， they promote the equal relationship between teachers and students. They begin to ask their teachers questions about what they do not understand and challenge their teachers interpretation and pedagogies， even correct teachers obvious errors directly. Once， their behaviors are criticized as discarding the classics and rebelling against orthodoxy. However， with analyzing the characteristics of Chinese adolescence with contemporary culture， there is a lot of literature to encourage that the focus should be shifted from teachers to students. Thus， the current curriculum indicates that the priority is transferring teacher-orientate to learner-oriented， in which the core is the development of learners （MOE， 2003）.