Aula 3 - SEMINÁRIOS EM LÍNGUA INGLESA DISCURSO LITERARIO

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Seminários em Língua Inglesa: Discurso Literário
Aula 3 – Literature and language
Nesta aula, vamos demonstrar que a literatura, como a mais duradoura de todas as artes, possibilita ao leitor conhecer melhor determinada cultura.
Iniciaremos nossa aula discutindo a ligação entre língua e literatura. Visto que cada língua apresenta peculiaridades e expressam a visão de mundo de determinado povo, entendemos que a literatura produzida em uma determinada língua é o reflexo de determinado povo e sua sociedade em determinado momento histórico.
A seguir, discutiremos brevemente o conceito de cultura como conhecimento transmitido e comportamento compartilhado por determinado grupo.
Finalmente, trataremos da relação entre literatura e cultura, que é um desdobramento da primeira parte da aula. Veremos que a literatura produzida por determinado povo ajuda o leitor a entender melhor a realidade desse povo.
In this class, we are going to discuss the close relationship between literature and language, and demonstrate how readers can understand a specific culture more deeply based on the language and literature originated from that culture.
Language and literature
Edward Sapir (1921) has demonstrated efficiently in his book Language: an Introduction to the study of speech, the close connection between language and literature:
“Languages are more to us than systems of thought-transference. They are invisible garments that drape themselves about our spirit and give a predetermined form to all its symbolic expression. When the expression is of unusual significance, we call it literature.”
Indeed, language is the medium of literature, i.e. it’s the channel through which literature can be expressed.
Since each language has its own distinctive features, which are peculiar to a people and their way of conceiving the world, we can only expect that the literature produced in a specific language will say about those people, their culture and their society.
Besides, according to Sapir (1921:106), “the innate formal limitations — and possibilities — of one literature are never quite the same as those of another”, mainly due to the peculiarities of the languages in which they are produced.
In the *prologue* of his book Crítica e clínica, Deleuze (2011) offers us a creative text that will help us reflect on language and literature and show how this combination can truly enchant us.
*prologue*
“Este conjunto de textos (...) organiza-se em torno de determinados problemas. O problema de escrever: o escritor, como diz Proust, inventa na língua uma nova língua, uma língua de algum modo estrangeira.
Ele traz à luz novas potências gramaticais ou sintáticas. Arrasta a língua para fora de seus sulcos costumeiros, leva-a a delirar.
Mas o problema de escrever é também inseparável de um problema de ver e ouvir: com efeito, quando se cria outra língua no interior da língua, a linguagem inteira tende mais para um limite “assintático”, “agramatical”, ou que se comunica com seu próprio fora.
O limite não está fora da linguagem; ele é o seu fora: é feito de visões e audições não linguageiras, mas que só a linguagem torna possíveis.
Por isso, há uma pintura e uma música próprias da escrita, como efeitos de cores e de sonoridades que se elevam acima das palavras. É através das palavras, entre as palavras, que se vê e se ouve.
Beckett falava em “perfurar buracos” na linguagem para ver ou ouvir “o que está escondido atrás”. De cada escritor é preciso dizer: é um vidente, um ouvidor, “mal visto mal dito”, é um colorista, um músico.
Essas visões, essas audições não são um assunto privado, mas formam as figuras de uma história e de uma geografia incessantemente reinventadas. É o delírio que as inventa, como processo que arrasta as palavras de um extremo a outro do universo. São acontecimentos na fronteira da linguagem.
Porém, quando o delírio recai no estado clínico, as palavras em nada mais desembocam, já não se ouve nem se vê coisa alguma através delas, exceto uma noite que perdeu sua história, suas cores e seus cantos. A literatura é uma saúde.”
Deleuze’s text reveal to us that the choices skilled writers make about the use of language enable them to express ideas that will contribute significantly, not only to our delirium, but also to the cultural content of a society.
Indeed, it is through language that writers are able to transmit the habits, routines, context, traditions etc. of a people. Literature, then, opens the doors to the human soul and leads readers to a closer look on human beings and their culture(s).
Culture
Defining the term ‘culture’ is definitely not easier than defining literature. This is due to many reasons, but mainly because of the complexity of this concept. 
Therefore, many definitions have been proposed and they vary considerably.
In fact, the term ‘culture’ can be treated erroneously as equivalent to: nation, race, ethnicity, identity etc.
According to Peoples and Bailey (1998):
Culture is the socially transmitted knowledge and behavior shared by some group of people. (Peoples; Bailey, 1998, cited in Birukou, et. al, 2014)
Spencer-Oatley (2012) provides some key characteristics of culture:
Culture is manifested at different layers of depth.
Observable artifacts;
Values;
Basic underlying assumptions.
Culture affects behavior and interpretation of behavior.
For example, a gesture that could be interpreted as conveying approval and acceptance in one culture might be considered rude and obscene in another.
Culture can be differentiated from both universal human nature and unique individual personality
Culture is neither human nature nor an individual’s personality.
Culture influences biological processes.
Spencer-Oatley (2012) claims that even responses to our biological needs, such as eating, drinking etc. are influenced by our cultures.
Culture is associated with social groups.
Culture is shared by some sort of social group or society.
Culture is both an individual construct and a social construct.
People who are immersed in a specific culture act in accordance to the attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs shared by that culture.
Culture is always both socially and psychologically distributed in a group, and so the delineation of a culture’s features will always be fuzzy.
Culture is not uniformly distributed, i.e., group members do not share identical behaviors, attitudes and so on. Rather, they show ‘family resemblances’.
Culture has both universal and distinctive elements.
Since all human beings are biologically similar and live in quite the same social structures, it can be said that they form their cultures in an extremely *similar way. * However, despite the generalizations, there are significant differences among cultures as well.
Culture is learned.
“Culture is learned from the people you interact with as you are socialized” (Spencer-Oatley, 2012, p. 12).
Culture is subject to gradual change.
Change along time is common to all cultures.
The various parts of a culture are all, to some degree, interrelated.
Cultures are integrated systems. In other words, their constituent parts are interrelated to a certain degree.
Culture is a descriptive not an evaluative concept.
There is no such thing as a ‘high’ or a ‘low’ culture. Cultures are either similar or different from each other.
Relationship between literature and culture
We have already learned about the importance of literature to our growth and development as people. 
In fact, literature, as a subjective human expression, enables readers to understand not only themselves, but also their culture and their people, as well as other cultures and other people more deeply.
Ortiga, et. al (2010) argues that:
“A literatura expressa os dilemas, sentimentos e muitas vezes a realidade do homem, de maneira a explorar o raciocínio e o imaginário do leitor, transportando-o para o lugar do outro.
Desse modo, ela leva o leitor à análise de realidades diversas, impulsionando-o ao conhecimento, pois tratade reflexos da história e da realidade social de determinadas comunidades retratando a cultura, os costumes, e a organização política e social de determinada região...”
As part of the culture of a specific society, literature enables readers to understand the social patterns that were/are considered important to that society, such as the changes that took place, its cultural and organizational manifestations, its progress etc.
Besides, literature, through its unique form of expression, is able to highlight those factors which are essential for a society, for example, its problems, its customs, as well as its political and social organization.
Conclusion
As you could see, in this class we saw how difficult it is to define literature, language and culture, but we could learn a little more about these concepts and we found out how interconnected they are.
Besides, we saw that literature, as the most unique and enduring of all arts, enables human beings to reach the human soul and that is a very special gift.
 
	Ref.: 201602981791
		
	
	 1a Questão
	
	
	
	
	Which of the items below CANNOT be considereda key characteristic of culture:
		
	
	Culture is manifested at different layers of depth
	
	Culture can be differentiated from both universal human nature and unique individual personality
	
	Culture influences biological processes.
	
	Culture affects behavior and interpretation of behavior.
	 
	Culture is not associated with social groups.
	
	 
	Ref.: 201602981798
		
	
	 2a Questão
	
	
	
	
	Which of the items below CANNOT be considereda key characteristic of culture:
		
	 
	The various parts of a culture are not related at all.
	
	Culture is learned.
	
	Culture is both an individual construct and a social construct.
	
	Culture is subject to gradual change.
	 
	Culture is a descriptive not an evaluative concept.
	
	
	 3a Questão
	
	
	
	
	Which of the items below CANNOT be considered part of the concept of culture?
		
	 
	Custons
	
	Beliefs
	
	Attitudes
	
	Values
	 
	Individual habits
	
	 
	Ref.: 201602981766
		
	
	 4a Questão
	
	
	
	
	Choose the alternative that is WRONG in relation to the definition of language:
		
	
	Language is an anonymous, collective and unconscious art; the result of the creativity of thousands of generations."(Edward Sapir)
	
	Language gives access to the accumulated records of other people's experience
	 
	Language is far too complicated, intriguing, and mysterious to be adequately explained by a brief definition.
	
	Language is succinctly defined in our glossary as a "human system of communication that uses arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols."
	 
	Language is communication of specific and limited through a system of prdictable signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols.
	
	 
	Ref.: 201602981795
		
	
	 5a Questão
	
	
	
	
	Which of the items below CANNOT be considereda key characteristic of culture:
		
	
	Culture is associated with social groups.
	
	Culture is always both socially and psychologically distributed in a group.
	
	Culture is learned.
	 
	Culture is eirther an individual construct or a social construct.
	
	Culture has both universal and distinctive elements.
	
	
	Ref.: 201603442760
		
	
	 6a Questão
	
	
	
	
	According to our studies, Spencer-Oatley (2012) provided some key caracteristics of culture. Choose the INCORRECT option:
		
	
	Culture is shared by some sort of social group or society.
	 
	Culture is something we do not learn.
	
	Culture is manifested at different layers of depth.
	
	There is no such thing as a HIGH or LOW culture. Cultures are either similar or different from each other.
	
	Culture is not uniformly distributed, i.e., group members do not share identical behaviors, attitudes and so on. Rather, they show family resemblances.
	
	
	 7a Questão
	
	
	
	
	Just as the two faces of a coin, literature and culture are connected to each in an indisputable and inseparable way. Chhose the alterantive that correctly shows this close relation.
		
	
	Literature, through its common form of expression, is able to highlight those factors which are essential for a society, for example, its problems, its customs, as well as its political and social organization.
	 
	Literature, through its unique form of expression, is able to highlight those factors which are essential for a society, for example, its problems, its customs, as well as its political and social organization.
	
	Literature, through its unique form of expression, is able to hide those factors which are essential for a society, for example, its problems, its customs, as well as its political and social organization.
	
	Literature, through its unique form of expression, is not able to highlight those factors which are essential for a society, for example, its problems, its customs, as well as its political and social organization.
	
	Painting, through its unique form of expression, is able to highlight those factors which are essential for a society, for example, its problems, its customs, as well as its political and social organization.