Language as a Cultural Code: How Learning Foreign Languages Contributes to Intercultural Communication

Language as a living organism exists and develops with its people. Similar processes are observed in the cultural code, which is also undergoing irreversible changes. In this regard, an interesting question arises: how does learning foreign languages contribute to intercultural communication and understanding of someone else's cultural code through language, and is language really a cultural code? The purpose of this article is to define the concept of language as a cultural code, as well as to analyze how the cultural code contributes to intercultural communication. In particular, this paper examines the impact of learning foreign languages on the formation of intercultural competence. The authors conducted a survey on the basis of the State University of Management and the National Research Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. The survey results helped to understand how much students are aware of the cultural code and what gaps need to be filled. An analysis of the universities' work programs was carried out, problems were identified and recommendations for their resolution were proposed. The authors concluded that the cultural code includes a language that not only serves as a communication tool, but can also be considered a universal means of expressing any culture.