4．2 Relationship between Culture and Language文化与语言的关系
Language is part of culture．It cannot be equated with culture．We do not know the exact period of time when language and culture appeared，but we can say for sure they appeared at the same time．There is no culture that has no language as its part．Language and culture are not separable．We can say that culture is the general environment of different activities in language．Language is strongly influenced and shaped by culture just as a mirror．Culture is reflected in language，and at the same time it exists in the intellectual structures that a certain group use their language．In this sense，we ought to really pay special attention to cultural aspects when we are engaged in the task of translation．However，the relationship between them is not just that between a part and the whole．It is much more complex than that．Language is the carrier and container of culture and it also exerts its influence on culture．Human knowledge and experience are described and stored in language．Customs，habits and behavioral patterns can be described and analyzed in language．Social institutions，value systems，beliefs，world views can be described，analyzed and evaluated in language．Even the visual arts like painting，sculpture，and dancing and the auditory arts such as music and singing can be described and evaluated in language．To be sure，culture can exist in the form of materials．But language as the medium of communication is indispensable in their production and use．It is concluded that language and culture are closely related，influencing and shaping each other．To learn a foreign language implies to learn the culture in which it is spoken．A language can never be learned in a cultural vacuum．Culture is learned through language．Without language as the medium for formal or informal instruction，no culture could ever be learned．
Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one another and each culture is unique．As cultures are diverse，languages are diverse．It is only natural then that with differences in cultures and differences in languages，difficulties often arise in translating between cultures and across cultures．Understanding is not always easy．Learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation，grammar，words and idioms．It also means to see the world as native speakers of that language see it，learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas，customs，and behaviors of their society，learning to understand their“language of the mind” ．Learning a language，in fact，is inseparable from learning its culture．
Due to the relationship and characteristics between culture and language，translation，in other words，is the process of rendering the culture underlying the language．It is not simply understood as an activity on linguistic facet．We hold that to translate from one language into another，in a sense，is to translate the culture of the language．