The Research Of George Steiner’s Language Culture Notion

After long time of development, All modern, after modern theories and thoughts have been gradually exposed its defects and shortcomings. The Structural theory uses science to analysis language culture,the deconstruction theory tries to make the meaning of the language culture becoming nothing have hurt the language culture in some degrees.Thus, the language culture is more and more far from us, more and more difficult to understand.George Steiner have realized the bad situation of the language culture,in order to making everyone focusing on this problem,changing their thoughts,creating a better language culture environment, he proposed his own language culture notion. Steiner’s language culture notion have inherited the European humanism tradition, analysed the situation of the language culture, exposed reasons that hurt the language culture,constructed a set of the language culture notions.His notions include these aspects, definition of connotation、interpretation of the present situation、analysis of the causes、 out-ways searching. His theory has a great influence for us to have a better view of language culture and guides us to find a way of developing language culture in the future.Steiner’s view of language culture is that a language is culture, it is not only a unique view of language, but also a unique cultural perspective, his criticisms are caused by this feature. His conservative and open, his respecting of the text itself and attention to the world that outside the text, the choosing and absorbing of all kinds of thoughts are closely related to this unique language culture notion.This paper consists three chapters, the three chapter will focus on Steiner’s language culture notion, expounding the connotation of the view, exploring the reasons for the formation of the view and discussing the the out-way of the language culture in the future.The first part of this paper will briefly discuss the meaning of the Steiner language culture notion, and expound Steiner’s view on language cultural status. Steiner’s "language" is as same as culture. Steiner believes that language itself is culture, but the language is also the symbol of culture, can represent culture. His language culture is metaphysical spiritual language culture, rather than the material aspects of language culture. From three aspects,Steiner decides that current language culture is collapsing, the first one is that species and the performance of language culture is shrinking, the second one is language culture has gradually lost its function of education, the third one is language culture can no longer be understood directly.The second part of this paper will use Steiner’s five books-Heidegger、After Babel、Tolstoy or Dostoevsky、Language And Silence、Errata to talk about the causes of the language culture collapsing, reveals the relationship between language and literature、 politics、social and culture. Steiner thinks that three countercurrents polluted originally holy language culture. As a result, the language is abusing. They eroded western literary creation, making it facing the crisis of silence.The countercurrents are totalitarian system, the mass consumption society and natural science which is gradually gaining the discourse. Totalitarian system made the species of language culture shrinking and eliminating its humanity; absolute freedom in the mass consumption society eliminated the beauty and connotation of language culture, blind democracy worship made traditional humanistic education and classical being neglected; natural science made images gradually replacing texts and put scientific theory into the human camp to produce the structuralism theory.The third part of this article will focus on the "Tolstoy or Dostoevsky "and" Language And Silence ", analysis three out-ways that based on current or future language culture.They are silent, the Pythagoras style and the old criticism. This chapter will discuss the reason and practice of silence; definitions and effects of the Pythagoras style; definition,original theory and practice of the old criticism.Generally speaking, Steiner’s language culture notion is very unique and different from the trend, which has attracted many attentions and judges of scholars. Although Steiner’s some views have revealed strong atmosphere of elitism and excessively belittle the language culture situation currently, but we can not deny the fact that his views can make scholars stand in a rational point of view and examine our language culture, correct attitudes to the language culture, pay attention to the language culture, protect language culture, develop language culture.