Introduction to Intercultural Studies: Language and Culture

Examine the relationship between language, nationality and cultural identity

On this course you will analyse why language is a social construction and examine how it relates to cultural identity.

You will start by exploring what language is, how it relates to the way we think and how it is shaped by the culture it originates from. You’ll learn how language is used and explore cases of intercultural communication. You will examine the difficulties of translation and how politeness is expressed across cultures. Finally, you’ll learn about the controversial issue of language loss and examine the reasons that cause it and its implications for cultural identity.

The course is for anyone with an interest in the relationship between language and culture, you don’t need any previous experience.

This course is also ideal if you are working with languages, you are preparing to move to a different country for work or study or you work with groups of people from different cultures to yours. By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time.

• What is language?
• Welcome
• Language, nation, and cultural identity
• Language and thought
• Do languages affect the way you think?
• Summary
• The relationship between language and culture
• About Week 2
• Language and translation
• Language and politeness
• Language and identity
• Summary