What is Cultural Literacy?
Every culture has its own set of stories, wisdom and history. When
you learn a new language, it is not enough to study its grammar,
vocabulary and pronunciation. You also need to learn the “back
story,” the ideas and references that pop into the heads of its native
speakers every time they open their mouths.
It’s like knowing an inside joke. If you don’t get the joke, you don’t
really understand what is being said.
For example, you may read an article in which an American politician
is called a lame duck. In early 2008, President George W. Bush was
frequently called this. Do you understand the reference?
You know what a duck is; you can look up the word “lame” and find
that it means to be injured and unable to walk properly. But there
was nothing wrong with Bush’s ability to walk. It turns out this is the
phrase Americans use to describe someone who will soon leave office
and is thus not as effective or powerful as he used to be.
Very often, you will come across references to children’s songs, poems
and stories. You will not hear the whole story or song, just a key
word or two. If you don’t know the story, you will miss the
reference.
Here is a famous children’s rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
Humpty Dumpty, you see, was an egg; when he fell off the wall he
broke into pieces and not even the most powerful forces of the land
could fix him. We often use the term Humpty Dumpty to describe a
situation that cannot be fixed, like perhaps the war in Afghanistan.
If you come across references to the “ugly duckling,” Cinderella, or the
emperor’s new clothes, you may be puzzled. These all refer to stories
or fairy tales. All American children grow up hearing the same stories,
poems and rhymes, just as children do in every culture in the world.
We will study some of the most famous stories and rhymes to
acquaint you with the sources of many references in American culture.
In addition to fairy tales, most Americans are familiar with stories from
Greek and Latin mythology. Many of these stories may be known in
your culture as well, as they are part of the world’s intellectual
heritage. We will make sure you know and understand references to
things like the Midas touch, Cupid’s arrow and Pandora’s box.
Another source of cultural literacy is religion and the Bible. The Bible
is by far the best-known book in our culture. You do not have to
share our religious beliefs, but you should be familiar with the main
themes and stories in the Bible in order to understand American
cultural references.
For example, here is an excerpt from a recent article in The New York
Times:
Spain, with the style and power of Barcelona and Real
Madrid, ... operating on minuscule budgets but high-powered team spirit,
made it to the promised land.
You already know that Spain won the World Cup, so you can infer
that “promised land” has something to do with that win. But what is
the reference?
Or take the former governor of Illinois, Blagojevich, who was on trial
for corruption. Here is what he told NBC News: "I'm up against the
giant Goliath and I take solace in the biblical story of David. I don't
have a slingshot but I do have the truth on my side." If you know the
biblical story of David and Goliath, you will have no problem
understanding his point.
Americans love sports, and our culture uses a lot of terms from the
world of sports. We will study some of the most common of these, so
that when something comes out of left field you will be able to cover
all your bases, you won’t be behind the eight ball or have three strikes
against you!