There is more to linguistic communication than just knowing the vocabulary and grammar of a language; speakers need to know the different ways of using the language they speak ' what to say, how to say it and when to say it. But language is also intimately involved in our notions of culture, our thought processes and, perhaps, even in our sense of reality. Indeed, the very act of linguistic communication itself both creates and sustains our expectations, beliefs and moral values about our world and lives. This module explores a number of issues relating to this reciprocal relationship between language and culture. Linguistics, characterised as the scientific study of language, tends to focus on the formal features of language structure, treating it as an autonomous object. There is more, however, to linguistic communication than just knowing the vocabulary and grammar of a language; speakers need to know the different ways of using the language they speak - what to say and how to say it. These assumptions vary from culture to culture as often shows up in the various forms of miscommunication that occur when we talk with speakers from different linguistic backgrounds. From a broader perspective language is intimately involved in our notions of culture - imagine, for example, expressing, discussing or learning about religious or political beliefs without language - our thought processes and, perhaps, even in our sense of reality. Indeed, for some, the notions of language and culture are so inseparable that they are referred to collectively as languaculture.