Cultural Linguistics: The Key to Study Intercultural Communication

Abstract

In recent years, studies on intercultural communication in applied linguistics witnessed the emergence of several approaches to the study of intercultural communication, which focused primarily on miscommunication, chiefly between native and non-native speakers of English. The new field of cultural linguistics has implications and contributions for second language learning and intercultural communication. Cultural Linguistics has provided a productive method to deal with the investigation of varieties of English. It focuses on the interrelationship between language, culture, and conceptualizations. Conceptualizations on intercultural competence are of fundamental importance in applied linguistics because without a valid framework we cannot meaningfully assess people’s competence in interacting across different cultures. The notable development in intercultural communication among individuals from many cultural backgrounds has offered new chances, as well as challenges, for making more researches on intercultural communication and its complex nature. This paper’s trend stands for the premise that varieties of English of different cultural groups might differ from one to another at the level of cultural conceptualizations. So, this research provides an account of the rapid increase of Cultural Linguistics and its application to the study of intercultural communication. Furthermore, this theoretical explanation will be followed by an illustration in Cultural Linguistics focusing on researches of embodied conceptual metaphor together with studies of varieties of English. Finally, the present paper will examine how the implications of Cultural Linguistics can be applied in solving problems of intercultural communication.