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Definite

  • singular count noun: the book that we bought yesterday
  • plural count noun: the books that we bought yesterday
  • non-count noun: the oxygen that we bought yesterday

Indefinite

  • singular count noun: there is a book on the table
  • plural count noun: there are ⌀ books/some books on the table
  • non-count noun: there is ⌀ oxygen/some oxygen in the tank

Generic

  • singular count noun: he knows a lot about the history of the book and printing in general
    a book makes a good Christmas present
  • plural count noun: ⌀ books make good Christmas presents
  • non-count noun: ⌀ oxygen can be dangerous

I am trying to write an essay and I had a hard time deciding whether I should put the definite article before language and culture. The above is a guideline from Purdue I think, but the guideline is not very helpful because I have no idea which situation my sentence fits. My feeling tells me that I should put "the" before both "language" and "culture", as it sounds better, but it seems to me at the same time that the usage of "language" and "culture" fits the definition of generic non-count noun more closely.

In general, I am wondering if the rules are all that solid or if native speakers themselves use it somewhat arbitrarily,

choster
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jxhyc
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    The correct use of the articles and other determiners depend upon context. You you have given a fragment when you should give a sentence, and you have given no context - In context, what do "language and culture refer to?" – Greybeard Jun 11 '20 at 09:24
  • Please transcribe text properly rather than using screenshots. Screenshots do not get indexed properly for search, either internally or externally, which skews the visibility of the question. They do not resize legibly on all devices, and are moreover unfriendly to those on metered connections or who use text browsers, which include the visually impaired and people in low-bandwidth areas. – choster Jun 11 '20 at 16:46
  • A major problem here is the use of the definite article in 'In general, I am wondering if the rules are all that solid'. This has moved from seeing the 'guideline from Purdue' to an implied inviolate set of rules. Look up the threads on using indefinite articles with non-count usages and the null {not zero} article for a start (not 'for 5 starts'!). – Edwin Ashworth Jun 11 '20 at 18:07
  • Here, balanced 'behind the language is the culture' and 'behind language is culture' are both acceptable. If context had already hinted, however faintly, at a particular language/culture, I'd use the definite articles. This variant also sounds more robust as a title. More prosaically, 'behind every language is a culture' echoes 'behind every great man ...'. // Obviously, the strong Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is not given prominence in this statement. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 11 '20 at 18:14
  • "I have no idea which situation my sentence fits." You haven't provided full context. There's no way anybody can help you until you do. Is the title of the question the complete sentence? What comes before it and after it? (Have you already mentioned language or culture, or something about some particular society?) – Jason Bassford Jun 11 '20 at 20:32

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