Applied ethnolinguistics Is Cultural Linguistics, but Is It cultural linguistics?

Abstract

The label cultural linguistics has been used to refer either to a broad field of scientific endeavour—which I suggest to call cultural linguistics (in lowercase)—or to a more narrowly defined framework within that field—which I call cultural linguistics (in small capitals). The latter uses cultural conceptualisations (categories, metaphors, schemas, and models) to study aspects of cultural cognition and its instantiation in language. The term cultural value is used sparingly, and not at all in a technical sense. This raises the question of whether bridges can be built between cultural linguistics and applied ethnolinguistics. The latter makes prolific use of the term cultural value, which it sees as fundamental to its endeavours. Close scrutiny reveals that both frameworks do acknowledge the importance of cultural values: in cultural linguistics, detailed study of culturally specific conceptualisations may lead to a more precise understanding of the cultural values upheld in particular language communities. Nonetheless, there seems to be little prospect for an amalgamation of the two frameworks. Rather, applied ethnolinguistics and cultural linguistics are both part of the broader field of cultural linguistics, where they provide separate, but equally useful, methodologies for the study of language and cultural values.