An inventory for storing data on a sociocultural system was designed (a) to favor the emergence of a structural-functional model, and (b) to generate the descriptive knowledge most useful for a practical understanding of the life style. Thirty sections are grouped into four subsystems, adapted from those of the sociologist Talcott Parsons: the…

Revised version of a speech delivered at a meeting of the National Association of Language Lab Directors (NALLD), New Orleans, Louisiana, November 28, 1969. Outlines suggestions for utilizing language laboratory facilities in teaching cultural concepts. (DS)

The distinction between the value system and the unconsciously held assumptions of a culture is clarified in this paper. The underlying structure of the sociocultural whole of a particular society leads the author to explore culture's "ground of meaning" in terms of main themes. A tentative summary of the value system of French culture…

Cross-cultural understanding and successful communication are the objectives of this study, whose approach focuses upon descriptive knowledge of the foreign culture and society. In this part (written in English), the report focuses on some main culture patterns and social institutions of the United States, under the headings of (1) value system,…

Selected twentieth century French cultural and societal characteristics of the two decades following the second world war are organized into a structured inventory or "emergent model." The cultural aspects covered are --(1) main themes, (2) ethos or "national character," (3) assumptions about reality, (4) verifiable knowledge,…

Selected twentieth century French cultural and societal characteristics of the two decades following the second world war are illustrated by literary examples and organized into a structured inventory or "emergent model." The cultural aspects covered are--(1) main themes, (2) ethos or "national character," (3) assumptions about…