On the importance of the cultural component in foreign language learning

Abstract

In the process of learning a foreign language, gradually mastering its lexical and grammatical categories, individuals are faced with the fact that the language barrier is not the only obstacle to successful communication. Behind every word, behind every language structure there is a national consciousness-driven view of the world. The problems, which arise in situations of intercultural communication, are seen as the result of differences in behaviour and thinking between people from different cultures, which often leads to ineffective communication. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate and argue for the importance of the cultural component in the process of learning a foreign language on the example of figurative linguistic units as the deep cultural foundations of the conceptualisation of the world. These linguistic units are used as a means for interpreting the value aspect of conceptualisation. The research is conducted on the material of Russian, Romanian and German. The linguistic material of the study refers to idioms, similes and metaphors as models, correlated with a deeper conceptual layer, which are actively used by modern speakers of the respective languages. CZU 37.035:81’243; JEL: A23; DOI https://doi.org/10.53486/9789975147835.04