The cultural meaning in terms of everyday use: the "lunch" for Italians

The cultural meaning in terms of everyday use: the "lunch" for Italians

The research focuses on the connotative meaning that extends beyond the dictionary, referring to the socio-cultural and personal associations of the sign. This is the implicit cultural meaning that links the language with the culture whereby the effect of a word varies according to the culture. The theory has it that Mediterranean countries like Italy are polychronic and oriented towards social relations.

The term of daily use examined in this work concerns the "lunch" intended in terms of connotations centered on the social aspect of lunch.

This phenomenon of connotation concerns the evocation of various associations and refers to certain habits. Since these observations are not the same all over the world, a word can have completely different effects in various countries. If we take the example of Eco (2001: p.18) as a good example, we talk "I ordered a coffee, threw it down in a second and left the bar". Eco tells us how a simple term like "coffee" is easy to translate into other languages ​​but that this linguistic equivalence does not mean cultural equivalence. Let's take the American coffee that you could never throw down in a second "both for the quantity and for the temperature".

This phenomenon is part of the problem of intercultural situations: the implicit cultural meaning. This meaning is implicit because "it is hidden". Problems arise when two people believe they understand each other while simultaneously assigning different meanings to the words used. This then leads to understanding the social consequences of the connotations (Allan, 2007, Yamamoto and Swan 1983, Omar, 2012).

In semiotics with Barthes (1967, p.14), Chandler (1994, p24) points out that the association between the acoustic image and the concept exist only through a "collective agreement", ie the consensus in the community in question . Therefore, a word means what it means only because collectively it has been so decided (Chandler, 1994, p.24). As we know for Saussure, language is a social fact while the word is an individual and heterogeneous fact. Hence the importance of studying the connotations in order to make people understand that a word has no meaning only. In fact for Omar (2012) many errors in intercultural communication are the result of confusion in the meanings attributed in the cultural context. Understanding the connotation according to Allan (2007, p 1048) serves to identify the attitude of the community towards it. Take the example of the word dog, which in English translates as "dog" and in Arabic "kaleb". In English the term dog refers to positive connotations while in Arabic it has more negative connotations.

In summary we can say that the denotative side of a word is the collective contract of the sign while the connotation of a term is not only the individual result but largely depends on the cultural codes to which the individual has access. Therefore each person is positioned in the ideology of his culture. For Agar it is important to make it understood that the language is linked to the identity of the speakers and not only to grammar and vocabulary. In today's world it is unthinkable not to be in contact with "different" people and therefore communication in the contemporary world requires culture (Agar, 1994: p.20). Agar's vision of the relationship between language and culture refers to the concept of linguistic relativity in its weak version of Sapir and Whorf, that is to say, language constitutes "the usual way of seeing the world and talking about it" (Agar, 1994: p .68). In other words, habits and ways of thinking develop, based on the language, but it is not impossible to change the perception of the world (Agar, p. 68-71). Agar maintains that at the moment when one realizes that other languages ​​constitute other forms of awareness, it is the culture that comes into play. In fact, the meanings we give to words in our lives are linked to the ideology in which we grew up. People grow up in States that often coincide for many people but not for everyone.

In the works of Aneta Pavlenko (2008, p.151) three possible relationships between the concepts are described in two different languages:

a. similar or identical concepts;

b. a concept in language A does not find equivalent in language B;

c. Two or more concepts partially overlap.

For example the terms of daily use seem the same but there are so many implicit meanings, that is hidden. According to Hall (1990) and Hostede it is believed that citizens of every country have their own way of seeing and doing things because their behavior has been programmed by culture (Hall & Hall, 1990, preface). Programming implies the hierarchization of information and priorities of a given human group. Hall & Hall claim that human behavior comes from "cultural codes" and that this behavior is even unconscious. These cultural structures are hidden. For example, to understand the concept of "coffee" and "lunch" we need to refer to the key concept of time, which determines and coordinates everything we do, as well as how to manage relationships with others in many subtle ways (Spencer- Oatey, Franklin, 2009, p.24).

Monochronic time and polychronic time


Hall and Hall (1990, p13-17) distinguish two different systems of the perception of time, namely the monocronic time and the polychronic time. These systems are opposing visions of time and personal relationships: monochonic cultures are more time-oriented, while polychronic cultures are oriented towards social relations.

In monoconic cultures, the perception of time is linear, time is divided into behaviors, one task is concluded before another begins and so we focus on one thing at a time. Time commitments are taken seriously, appointments, programs and punctuality are very important. Life is determined by time. In polychronic cultures, social contacts and personal relationships are appreciated much more than fixed programs. Time is flexible and therefore many things are done at the same time and it is not considered annoying to be interrupted. Programs and appointments are changed often and easily. The concept of time as well as adherence to a monochronic or polychronic vision is our ideology. These are elements of very deep cultural codes in various cultures.

In a practical way, the concept of dining has connotations that are to be found in 4 categories, namely what we eat, where we eat, the sentimental value towards the term. For Italians the associations linked to the concept of "lunch" concern in order of importance according to the sample of people interviewed: pasta, break, food (good), family.