The Cultural Coloring Of The English Vocabulary And Its Implications For Language Teaching

From a sociolinguistic perspective, competence in language use is determined not only by the ability to use language with grammatical accuracy, but also to use language appropriate to particular contexts. Thus, successful language learning requires language users to know the culture that underlies language.Vocabulary is the key element of a language. The impact of culture on language is mainly reflected in its vocabulary. Theoretically, the larger vocabulary one acquires, the more effectively he can perform the communication activities. However, the neglect of vocabulary's cultural connotation will directly affect the correct and proper choice and use of words, thus causing the communication barrier. With the exposition of the integral relationship between language and culture, this thesis puts more emphasis on the cultural coloring of the English vocabulary. On the basis of linguistic theories, the writer points out the necessity of teaching the English vocabulary's cultural connotation and suggests some methods of integrating the teaching of its cultural connotation into English teaching.