2010-10-01 20:35![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
melluransa
melluransaFascinating article!
Languages and words convey concepts, subtle shades of meaning and inference that go way farther than the bare letters you see on a page. On top of meaning, you have sounds of words, syntax in sentences, tense, and real-life application of words in context. Man!
So all those parts, do they shape the way you think? If a language has no future tense, does its speakers have no conception of the future?
Language does obligate you to say certain things. In German and Spanish, you must address someone either formally or casually. Even more extreme is Japanese, which takes into consideration gender, age, and social status too. This means that in those languages, maybe they have to notice those characteristics more so than English, where only "sir" or "dude" differentiate formal vs. casual. So yeah, to a degree language does shape little things like that. Not to say you're forever stuck like that, though. An English speaking person learning German can learn to notice and mention things like that.
English is very different from other languages in that we don't have gender. For native speakers of gender languages, it's a concept they have ingrained in their minds and that carries over even when speaking neutered English. Whoa. In addition, the gender of the word can lead speakers to think of it as more "manly" or "feminine."
Not only gender, but also time and spacial perception views can all be tied to a language. Certain things can be super-defined, or left very ambiguous (example: "privacy" is a clear concept for English speakers, but Japanese speakers don't have a word for "privacy," but that's not to say privacy doesn't exist in Japan).
From birth a person is taught these concepts, and they are solidified and reinforced through the way their language words it. This makes you remember things in certain terms, as you've been taught, of course. You retell stories this way, live them this way, remember this way. People who speak different languages almost look at life through different sets of lenses.
Emotions are defined with words, concepts, experiences... Life is defined with words! And so your mental processes can be influenced by your words and the characteristics of your language. Man! That's so cool! Who knows how impactful language is on a person! Maybe it even shapes our beliefs and life experience and we don't even realize it, cuz it's not like we can switch bodies with someone who speaks another language.
Languages and words convey concepts, subtle shades of meaning and inference that go way farther than the bare letters you see on a page. On top of meaning, you have sounds of words, syntax in sentences, tense, and real-life application of words in context. Man!
So all those parts, do they shape the way you think? If a language has no future tense, does its speakers have no conception of the future?
Language does obligate you to say certain things. In German and Spanish, you must address someone either formally or casually. Even more extreme is Japanese, which takes into consideration gender, age, and social status too. This means that in those languages, maybe they have to notice those characteristics more so than English, where only "sir" or "dude" differentiate formal vs. casual. So yeah, to a degree language does shape little things like that. Not to say you're forever stuck like that, though. An English speaking person learning German can learn to notice and mention things like that.
English is very different from other languages in that we don't have gender. For native speakers of gender languages, it's a concept they have ingrained in their minds and that carries over even when speaking neutered English. Whoa. In addition, the gender of the word can lead speakers to think of it as more "manly" or "feminine."
Not only gender, but also time and spacial perception views can all be tied to a language. Certain things can be super-defined, or left very ambiguous (example: "privacy" is a clear concept for English speakers, but Japanese speakers don't have a word for "privacy," but that's not to say privacy doesn't exist in Japan).
From birth a person is taught these concepts, and they are solidified and reinforced through the way their language words it. This makes you remember things in certain terms, as you've been taught, of course. You retell stories this way, live them this way, remember this way. People who speak different languages almost look at life through different sets of lenses.
Emotions are defined with words, concepts, experiences... Life is defined with words! And so your mental processes can be influenced by your words and the characteristics of your language. Man! That's so cool! Who knows how impactful language is on a person! Maybe it even shapes our beliefs and life experience and we don't even realize it, cuz it's not like we can switch bodies with someone who speaks another language.
◾ Tags:
