How can language reflect culture?

Answer 1

The question is rather difficult too answer, as it is a subject of great controversy. Among the first to dabble within this field of linguistics was Weissgerber who is an excellent example of why this issue is so difficult to handle - he practically dubbed peoples whose languages were of smaller vocabulary as stupid (and his theories where a popular means as to justify colonialism and European superiority). It is however true that languages and perhaps even more the use of languages within sub cultures and same-language groups affect the way we perceive and react to our surroundings.

This way, language has also turned into a class-related issue,

as people with restringent (limited) knowledge of mother tongue tend to have greater difficulties in learning than people with of more elaborate language codes.

To return to the actual question; examples of how language can reflect culture lie primarily in vocabularies and variations within them. To make an example, the a high number synonyms and hyponyms of words for a certain phenomena may reflect the importance and development of said phenomena, as the need for these variations apparently exist. This may also reflect the material needs of people speaking it, and the climate they live in (for example, the Sami people of northern Scandinavia has an abundance of words, to us all meaning simply "snow", with fine distinctions of the different properties of kinds of snow)

Words of more abstract meaning are generally the key to investigating this matter, as they generally are more directly linked to thinking and behaviour the culture.

This is turning into a lecture... I better quit here. Let us hope it comes to some good use.

Answer 2

Language reflects culture by incorporating unique words, expressions, and grammatical structures that are specific to a particular society. It can reveal values, beliefs, and social relationships within a culture, and certain language features may be influenced by historical events, traditions, and social norms. Through language, cultural nuances, rituals, and social hierarchies are communicated and preserved.