2.2 Language as Culture

2 min read•december 27, 2022

Margaret Schmidt

AP French 🇫🇷

52 resources

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How does language shape our cultural identity? En quoi la langue forme-t-elle notre identité culturelle?

“On n’habite pas un pays, on habite une langue.” (One does not live in a country, one lives in a language.) —Michel Cioran, écrivain roumain d'expression française.

Language can play a significant role in shaping and informing an individual's identity. It can be an important part of a person's cultural background and can influence their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. It can also serve as a means of communication and connection with others who share a common language. In some cases, language can even serve as a marker of social or economic status.

For example, if an individual speaks a language that is not commonly spoken in their community, they may feel a sense of pride or connection to their cultural heritage. On the other hand, if an individual is not proficient in the dominant language of their community, they may feel a sense of exclusion or alienation. (Remember last unit?)

This is why your French teacher spends so much time teaching you about the different cultures in which the French language is dominant! 🌍

Language allows you to belong to a group. Dialects and slang are pieces of the cultural identity puzzle 🧩 The list below provides expressions to help you understand written and audio texts in French, and to help you express your ideas about your own identity in French. In the speaking portion of the exam, past prompts have heavily alluded to one's own cultural identity through language and why it is important.

Strive for Five Vocab

la langue natale (native) dominante; officielle
l’argot (slang); le jargon; un dialecte; un accent ; le langage familier
le verlan—(a form of slang that developed in France among immigrant populations after WW2 in which syllables are reversed)
l’identité linguistique (linguistic identity)
être bilingue (bilingual)
la culture dominante (the dominant culture)
la diversité linguistique (linguistic diversity)