DISCUSSION BOARD: How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky
That’s what I’d like to focus on in out very first discussion board. Think about the way you use language, and try to identify how that shapes your perception of an event or object.
Boroditsky gives lots of examples to draw from. Does your first language include grammatical gender? Or, does it assign blame for accidents (the way English does)?
Is your first language highly metaphorical like American English? Do you say things like my head is killing me or she’s a ticking time bomb? If you use that language, how does it shape the perception of the relationship between your head and your body? How does it shape your perception of the woman that’s “ticking”? Would you be likely to befriend her or would you stay away?
This is a a thought exercise…no right or wrong answers here….just offer some thoughts. It will be helpful to understand how language shapes our perception as we move toward a discussion of how our language shapes other’s perception of us.
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To use the examples given “my head is killing me” is definitely something I would say on the regular to describe the massive headaches I get because its just a quick way to explain my feelings. Something that she had said in the video was that different languages use feminine or masculine words to start off the sentence. So naturally because gender is associated to the language it’s also very important to the culture and their values. I think that’s interesting because now with different pronouns how will languages that use feminine or masculine words change overtime because the dialect of each generation will change. As we know it the gender roles in society is changing so that will have major effects on cultures who value the stereotype women in the house and men on the field.
I agree with your comment. And I would like to add that, I would also use the same phase to describe my headache. But if we were talking about this a few years before I wouldn’t really use the same phase because it is different in our country and our culture. Language is also very important to very culture because it helps to shape the culture the way the people want.
That’s an interesting idea. In my opinion, most romance languages will remain the same as you would have to re-conjugate most words. Even with that in mind, romance languages are quite liberal. Most job titles have both female and male expressions like a mechanic. In English, it’s neutral, but in Spanish, both options are given to you, mecánica and mecánico. I actually think Spanish is better because English allows too much interpretational freedom. If I say, mechanic, you have no choice but to rely on societal stereotypes or your own stereotype that is biased.
I actually never thought about how we use our words when talking about gender. How we use those words are changing since people are noticing how those words could affect people. I never realized that using a dialect can change how we think things some things like masculine and feminine. I’m other languages like Spanish and German those things can impact you into describing something without noticing you are using them.
The example “my head is killing me” is a form of expression that English speakers used to say that they have a headache. In Spanish the same expression would not be translated the same. Instead, it would be translated as “the pain in my head is killing me” which touches upon what Boroditsky was saying on how people pay attention to different things depending on what their language requires. In the video Boroditsky also touches upon how in some languages they don’t have a word for seven and for me that is very interesting because my family speak Mixtec an Indigenous language known to Mexico. I have noticed that in their dialect they also don’t have certain words to describe different type of animals and different types of foods.
I agree with your comment and also would like to add that it is same for me too. Because I now use this phrase but in our culture we don’t normally use this one in our culture. We would normally say that I am having a bad headache or something. Because we normally use killing words for something more serious.
I see what you’re saying about using the word “killing” for something more serious. Whenever I say “my head is killing me,” my mother always berates me for putting something like that into the air. Being raised in a Christian household, the tongue is looked at as having the power of life and death within it, so phrases such as “my head is killing me” are looked down upon.
I agree with your comment and would like to add now location and language play hand in hand. It’s extraordinary how humans just find a name for something and it just registers to everyone in that vicinity. Also pretty cool how your family still speaks their indigenous language due to how Europeans almost wiped out everything in the Americas.
For the example of “she’s a ticking time bomb” in my parent’s language we wouldn’t be able to translate that because their language isn’t metaphorical like English. My perception of the women that is “ticking” would make me want to stay away from her.
In American Sign Language it’s kinda the same thing like there aren’t certain words, probably already attach to another word. That’s pretty awesome that your family speaks an indigenous dialect! I think as humans we should be preserving our indigenous dialect of the countries because it’s so important and critical to the history before us. Like for example the only way Pearl Harbor happened was because the military didn’t pick up the fact that the Japanese were speaking Native American until after the fact.
I agree with you, other languages and cultures can have completely different ways of speaking and interpreting things. A phrase you would say in Spanish may not make sense in English.
I agree with your comment, in terms of the use of the word “killing” the phrase can be interpreted differently depending on how other language tend to understand the meaning of it.
I agree with her since, in our culture, women are expected to perform housekeeping while men are expected to work outdoors because males are powerful while women are not, and they are compared to other things seen in the video. However, as time passes, individuals improve and the manner they communicate changes for both men and women.
Speaking of gender roles, I wonder if there are some languages that don’t acknowledge gender. Like if “strong” and “muscular” are just words to describe someone rather than to say something is masculine. Or if they don’t have gender pronouns like “she” or “him” and just use “they/them” like we do in english if someone is nonbinary.
English is a language that, at its roots, does not acknowledge gender. We don’t really have feminine and masculine pronouns for things beyond she/her and he/him. Our associations with the word strong with men and the word women with weaker, more delicate things come from stereotypes about both genders rather than English itself.
Our primary language has the ability to influence how we see or think a particular thing. The varied ways that speakers of different languages experience events is an intriguing example of this aspect.
Consider the most popular Bangla expression meaning “I broke the dish.” But the blame for the incident is placed on the subject of the verb in English. Though, in Bangla, it says “দুর্ঘটনাক্রমে” or accidently, “I dropped the plate,” or “I broke the plate.” Yet the structure still shows who dropped the cup, it also communicates that the person who dropped the plate is the victim of the plate falling.
Bangla is my first language, and it is metaphorical, similar to British English. This is due to the British colonization of Bangladesh from 1700 to 1947.
So, Instead of expressing “my head is killing me,” we say “I’m having a headache” or “My head hurts.” This suggests that the body part is hurting us due to various illnesses, such as sinusitis or maybe work-related stress. She’s also a ticking time bomb, implying that she’s a hazardous individual who has to be avoided. However, in Bangladesh, people openly state that she is unsafe and can harm you anytime anywhere. So we would rather maintain a distance from her.
That is to say, language does more than merely communicate ideas; it also molds them, affecting how we perceive the world.
I defiantly agree with you. And I can relate to your post because I am also from Bangladesh. And my first language is Bangla. So In our culture we says that she accidently broke the plate or something. Which shows that in our culture we look at the person first then look at the incident. which means we are more like to remember the person than the event.
I agree that the primary language we speak can affect the way we do certain things. It’s funny to think when speaking another language other than English some words don’t exist or don’t make sense. Like my mom tells me there’s a saying that can’t really be translated from Spanish to English because it won’t make sense and I got confused when she said that.
I believe since the words are used differently in various nations. My head is killing me, too, like it was a sickness. In Bangladesh, the term “kill” is frequently used in a serious manner, yet it is never used for headaches. They’d rather claim I’m suffering from a headache or that my head is in excruciating pain.
Language has a huge impact in our life. Language is a way we communicate with one another. But we also know that what we are thinking may be totally different from the other person. And for each person it’s different, it depends on their primary language. The speaker of a different language experiences the same events differently. Language changes the way people see things. It may be even different for you and me. The way we use our language and the structure of our languages changes the whole thing, the whole event for us. Such as the phrase “my head is killing me” I wouldn’t use it like that while talking in my first language. I would instead say that I am having a bed or serious headache. Also in our culture we say that she accidently broke the plate or something. Which shows that in our culture we look at the person first then look at the incident. which means we are more likely to remember the person than the event. Even the way I think is different from the others. I might think of someone or something differently than a person in front of me. The way I think about the world is influenced by the grammar or vocabulary of the language I speak. Every person has their own different languages which is why every and each person thinks differently. Just because of different languages we people look at an event in different ways. So I think language makes a huge impact in our life.
I agree with your stand about how language can mold different perceptions, depending on the language that you were raised with. It is very telling on the culture and the certain behavioral customs that a person is familiar with. Just like how different cultures vary in customs, languages are one and the same in the way that the same language can be used in a variety of ways.
Language has a large impact in our daily life.Language is the best way we communicate with one another. But we are also aware of the thought that what we are thinking may be totally different from the other person. And for each person it may be different, it depends on their first language. The speaker of a different language experiences the same events differently. Language changes the whole way of people seeing things. It may be even different for me and my classmates. The way we use our language and the structure of our languages changes the whole thing, the whole event for us. Such as the phrase “my head is killing me” I wouldn’t use it like that while talking in my first language. I would instead say that I am having a bed or serious headache. Also in our culture we say that she accidently broke the plate or something. Which shows that in our culture we look at the person first then look at the incident. which means in our culture we are more likely to remember the person than the event. Even the way I think is different from the others, my classmates or the people around me. I might think of someone or something differently than a person with me right now. Every person has their own different languages and different culture which is why each and every person thinks differently.
I definitely agree with you. The language we speak changes how we view events and how we choose to interpret them. Language can also help people have a more open mind about things.
Completely agree here. This can serve as an example of how language can open us up to learning about new cultures because in order to know what to say to some people, we need to know what they grew up learning is acceptable and we need to learn what things might come across weird even though it might be normal to us
Agree with you, our words are so powerful but at the same time people’s language can interpret those words differently, and people think differently with certain words. But not only that language speaks on culture as well and different cultures embody different languages as well. So overall I agree that language along with culture is why each person thinks differently.
The phrase “she’s a ticking time bomb” tells me that that the person being talked about is trouble. FIgurative speech used in the English language assist in expressing ideas, feelings, and emotions. Some other languages don’t use these phrases and in turn, the speakers of those languages may not express themselves as well in certain instances as English speakers can. Differences in languages can bring differences in the way people think and communicate. An example Lera Boroditsky gives is how English speakers commonly use a certain way of counting that isn’t necessarily possible in other languages. This goes to show that there is more to the human mind than we know, and language can shape how our brains work.
I agree with you and how there is more to the human mind than we know. It also makes me wonder if the universal concepts we all share makes it easier for us to learn other languages. Do we just see other words in another language as a synonym. For example, rojo is red in Spanish. My brain knows it’s red but just in another language.
I agree with you and how there is more to the human mind ,and its mind blowing that we don’t the half of it.Its so interesting to see how linguistic diversity reveals how flexible and innovative the human mind really is.
I found your perception of the phrase “she’s a ticking time bomb” intriguing. Personally, I thought of coming across this phrase in a book and how it is very insightful and impactful to not only how we see a character but how we interpret the characterization. I also agree with the way you describe how specific languages include and exclude certain words, emphasizing how we can all learn from one another.
I totally agree with you.Its almost poetic how we use words to emotions ,feelings.Like the phrase “She’s a ticking time bomb” or
I agree with you that figurative speech used is useful for expressing ideas and emotions, and I also feel that other languages can interpret those types of phrases differently since they are not that familiar with the language itself, they may not be able to interpret those phrases to the best of their ability
My first language is English so it does assign blame on accidents and it doesn’t have grammatical gender. I also noticed the way I describe things I typically use color and texture or fabric of such object (vivid language) so if I were to describe it to a person that doesn’t include specific colors or textures in their language I thought it would be more of a challenge for me. However, there is this universal understanding of concepts even though we can’t translate word for word; if I use pictures of objects or visual signs with my hands (body language) to collectively make a sentence, the other person would know what I’m talking about. I guess that’s one of the reasons why they say a picture is worth a thousand words. For instance, if I want to tell someone something is expensive, I could rub my thumb on my index, middle and/or ring finger and 8/10, they would understand it. I feel like body language is the main way we communicate with animals too. To show a wild animal you mean no harm, you bow down to give them this idea that they are dominant in the situation. If you want to show them you’re dominant, you hover over them and raise your chest. Moreover, I use a lot of metaphorical language and sarcasm. In Jamaican Patois, to say a person has no money it’s “Yuh pocket dem bruk” which translates to “your pockets are broke” instead of calling the person broke themselves. In other languages, they probably wouldn’t even use “broke” as monetary value but rather as the other English definition of it which is a verb in the past tense. In day to day New York slang, someone can say “You’re dumb smart” or “I’m mad happy” which are oxymorons but it makes perfect sense to the native New Yorker. We use “dumb” and “mad” to describe extents of things such as feelings or even distances.
I agree with the remark since people in Bangladesh utilize sign language as well. They don’t always want to express things out loud in front of others. Not only that, but they occasionally employ a term that has a different meaning. When people spend a lot of money on someone they don’t know, they remark things like “you’re insane and courageous to do so.” People differ in terms of their communication styles.
I thought it was interesting that you brought up body language. I feel like body language is almost the universal language between people and animals as you mentioned. It doesn’t matter language you use to understand that crossing your arms can mean that you may be uncomfortable or that looking to the left means that you’re remembering something. As humans, we are one of the few animals that uses our mouths to communicate, and the only one able to communicate complex ideas (or so we think). But animals also use their body language to communicate with each other, and that is across species no matter the region. So it makes sense that we can understand body language as probably something we used before we developed vocal language. But gestures can be different, because I believe they can vary across a region. For example, I know the middle finger does not mean the same thing in other countries as it does here…
You gave many great examples of how language is used differently but I found particular interest in when you mentioned body language. Here all I could think of was the way we use language verbally but body language opens up a whole new conversation. Also, something I didn’t think of was that our body language can be understood by not only humans but animals. Great observation!
I found your examples of Jamaican Patois and New York slang extremely interesting. I think that people often regard slang as the “incorrect” way of speaking, despite the fact that every dialect is valid in of itself. More often than not, dialects that are widely spoken by black people are dismissed and looked down upon, due to white supremacy.
I find it truly interesting that the literal structure of a language can have such a profound effect on the perception of events around us. She mentions at the end of the video that most research and understanding of the human brain is limited not only to English but to a specific subcategory of students and professors. This obviously creates bias in knowledge not only based on the personal characteristic and biases of that person studying, for example race or ethnicity, but also by the English language and how language was taught to that person. Scientific accuracy may even be limited because of the lack of diversity in language. Like she accounted in the video that English, because of the way that we structure the subjects of our sentences, allows for remembrance of an event to be focused on the blame of something rather than the intention. This calls into question how languages have affected the true understanding of historical events in history books, and also whether these accounts are greater understood by a person that speaks the same language. These differences in language are hardly considered in any study, and as she mentioned with eye witnesses, probably can and should be considered to make a difference in understanding.
I missed this point in the video, but I do agree with what you’re saying. There must be tons of idioms or phrases throughout history that have been lost through European colonialism/imperialism to even through translations. I know some languages don’t have a writing system, only a speakable language. Naturally, their accounts have probably been lost throughout history.
Same here. I never really stopped to consider the fact that science could be flawed because of something like language bias but I just wonder how we would be able to fix it to be able to include a more well rounded, and therefore more accurate, account of data being collected
You made a good point. There are a lot of things we may not realize are affected by language. People who speak different languages can have a completely different way of understanding things or interpreting things, and as you said, this possibly has had an effect on science and history to name a few. Who knows how many things we may have wrong?
Language has a large impact on our daily life. Language is the best way we communicate with one another. But, we are also aware of the thought that what we are thinking is completely different from the other person. And for each person it may be different, it depends on their first language. The speaker of a different language experiences the same events differently. Language changed the whole way of people seeing things. It may be different for me, and my classmates. The way we use our language and the structure of our language changes the whole thing, the whole event for us. Such as the phrase “My head is killing me.”, I wouldn’t use it like that while talking in my first language, I would say that I am having a bad, or serious headache. Also in our culture we say that she accidentally broke the plate or something, which shows that in our culture, we look at the person first, then look at the event. Which means, in our culture, we are more likely to likely to remember the person than the event. Even the way I think is different from the others, my classmates, or the people around me. I might think of something or someone differently than the person with me right now. Every person has their own different language, and different culture, which is why each and every person thinks differently.
Its interesting to see that language can have multiple meanings and its not definitive .Language is subjective.Which is interesting because its language.Its what you say ,how you say.Theres no wrong answer.However ,there’s no right answer either.Language is art.In the video Ms.Boroditsky mention linguistic tricks such as numbers.For example ,she showed a picture of penguins and asked how many penguins are there.We would normally count them ,123 ,etc.But she mention that in some languages they don’t do this ,theres some that don’t have number words.People who speak these languages don’t count, so therefore have trouble keeping track of exact quantities. Folks who don’t have that linguistic trick of counting can’t don’t that.It never crossed my mind before that in some language it wasn’t normal or common you can say ,so I thought that the ligustic trick was interesting.Another thing kinda opened my eyes a little bit was people who speak different languages would pay attention to different things. Depending on what there language requires them too.
I agree language is a very flexible and almost subjective thing. Language can explain anything in unique ways, even through something as simple as direction. I was also taken aback when Ms. Boroditsky mentioned that some languages don’t even have numbers. To me, that’s almost incomprehensible.
I agree when you say there’s o right wrong answer for language, because is true there is none. Because languages aren’t meant to be precise, language is art because people shaped it to their needs and to their situations. For example the tribe that doesn’t use the words left, right, etc, they don’t use those words because is easier to them use the cardinal points due to the place they live in.
Yeah I agree, the different focuses that languages have are very intriguing. Its astonishing how we were never really aware of this to be a thing, as important as it might be. It reminds me of when people who’s first language isn’t english because they would try to ask me a question but would have a hard time trying to find a word or a way of explaining something the way they would explain it in their own language.
I completely agree with how you say that there is no wrong answer when it comes to language. I think that this diversity is heavily influenced by a cultural aspect, as we learn to adapt to our environment. That’s why we develop different uses of languages, provoking different reactions and ideas from person to person.
I want to add on to your statement of “language is art.” Which is a very true statement. We use language to portray our feelings and emotions. Some ways we can show how we feel are, using figures of speech like metaphors and hyperboles, which are my favorite things about using language. And lastly, language is always about perception. What you say and how you say it. For example, if I said, “The boy is crying” versus “The boy is drowning in his tears” you’d probably perceive each statement a little differently. Even though both statements are the same. One is just more exaggerated. And that’s the beauty of language. There are many ways to say one thing.
After watching the video, I came to understand that language is flexible and adaptable to any scenario. Even when centering a language around cardinal directions, the human mind can adapt and express universal ideas like time. My first language, Spanish, does include grammatical gender. However, it doesn’t necessarily differ from English. Both convey the same meaning, only that Spanish adds the gender through conjugation while English uses pronouns like him or her to do so. In Spanish, you might say, “Quiero ir a casa”. Whereas in English, you say, I want to go home. Both have the same meaning, but only one uses personal pronouns while the other conjugates it into the verb. One of the more interesting points in the video was the case of the broken vase. After watching the video, I realized how crucial subtle details like pronouns play in the overall meaning of a sentence. Spanish and English have a lot of commonalities because English partially derives from Latin. Because of that, Spanish is also a very metaphorical language and allows for clever use of words, possibly more than English does. For example, a phrase my Mom uses is haga te el loco translating to make yourself crazy. In English, you are probably thinking about going out partying or literally make yourself crazy. But the true meaning is actually more abstract. Consider the following situation: You are walking down the street, and a homeless man approaches you speaking belligerent nonsensical gibberish. Would you A. argue with the crazy man or B. agree with him and move on with your day. The sane answer is B. You don’t want to spend time arguing with a crazy person or give attention to people that hate you – just move on. That’s the meaning of the phrase. My thought process is vastly different than my mother’s or my American friends’ as we have different experiences that change our perception of humans. Whatever the case is, language can perfectly translate those emotions regardless of your culture/background.
That last sentence was really intriguing and something I never thought about before. Even though we speak differently languages and have different ways of conveying what we want to say, we all share the single language of emotions which would make it easier to convey our thoughts with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as us
I find this very interesting because I never thought to myself if a person with a different dialect could understand us, how would the interpret our language to be? Would we be considered uneducated or lesser to them? Would we be envied? Would they be intrigued? Would they befriend us or would they stay away from us? I’m not sure if that makes sense but your comment gave me a lot to think about.
This video has opened my eyes to how vast language can really be, and every time I watch videos like this, they continue to shock and intrigue me. I never thought that language could be used the way that the people in the tribe in Australia. Using cardinal directions all the time would honestly confuse me but it’s impressive that they can use it everyday. This video also reminds me of the couple of times that I heard people saying that English is one of the most challenging languages to learn, and it has also given me insight on why that might be. One reason she pointed was that language is installed in our brain from young because we learned it as kids, and even though that might seem obvious, its easy for me to forget because speaking English is more or less second nature for me to the point where sometimes I don’t take into account the fact that I actually had to learn this language before I could speak it as well as I do. Another reason that I never really considered was this idea of “structural quirks” like the grammatical gender she talked about or the categorization that was demonstrated by the Russians when it comes to the color blue. Grammatical gender really only stretches out as far as pronouns in the English language, which could confuse people who learned a language that uses grammatical genders, and the same applies to people like the Russians who sort colors out by shade. All in all languages seem to be really interesting which is why I want to learn a new language, which Japanese being at the top of the list
One question from the video that really caught my attention was, “Does the language we speak, shape the way we think?”. My answer for that question is yes, in my opinion our natal language does shape the way we think. An example that supports my thinking is when the women in the video said that the sun is Feminine for Germans, but the sun is Masculine for Spanish speakers. That happens because the idea that the Germans have of the sun adapts more to a female person, but Spanish speakers have an idea that the sun is strong and big, that it has a lot o power, and those characteristics mentioned are more compatible with masculine person (in a Spanish point of view). SO yes the language we speak shape the way we think, because if you speak Spanish you won’t think how a German person would think. It all depends in your language because all languages have different characteristics and those characteristics will make you think differently of different things.
I agree with you. Many people know that the way you grow up and the things you experience affect your views and way of thinking. Up until now, I’ve never really thought about the impact language can have on us as individuals. also think it can be tied with culture because our cultures can also make us think and perceive things differently, and can even create these differences in people who speak the same language. For example, someone from the united states may not understand some words or phrases a person from London may use.
I agree with you. I think language is so detrimental to shaping the way we think, because depending on what language you speak you may not always get the same meaning as a person who may speak a different language, some people may use some words that you may know but the interpretation of those words is what separates the way of thinking so I agree that language does shape the way we think
The language I use is shaped by my parents and siblings because of the epistemological experiences that originally taught me how I should act, and say things. This has effected my worldview in a number of ways because certain things I would say that I heard them say, would most likely get me in trouble since as a kid you aren’t allowed to say certain things because they are either curse words or too mean that other kids wouldn’t understand and cry about. It affected how I made friends, who I made friends with, and how I spent most of my time because although learning something for the first time is important in influencing you, repetition and making it a habit becomes life changing. In my case it allowed me to befriend more adults then kids my age and take on more responsibility then I can handle. This causes me to believe that maybe our influences to our language effects our worldview so much that it sets up our life vision and where we want to see ourselves in the future.
Wow! I never thought of how similar the commonalities are between Spanish and english and now that I think of it, you’re right. I also guess why people choose to learn Spanish as a second language because of how easy it is to understand to english speakers, whereas having to learn other languages would change a word that means one thing to a different word that can mean that same thing, or same word that can mean something different based on the context of the sentence, like Japanese or french.
Linguistics is explored through a broad lens as Boroditsky shares the different ways that language can influence the thoughts of a nation, as well as the individual. The talk exposes the biases that the mind subconsciously creates as the result of our understanding of language. Therefore, when one finds themselves describing an object or recounting a series of events, the ideas that one expresses can differ so drastically from the members of their audience simply because of the variety of perceptions that exist.
In one of Boroditsky’s examples, we learn that language can have a weighty effect on someone even if two people are witnessing the same thing. For example, if someone were to tell me that their “head is killing them,” I would acknowledge the intensity of their headache before suggesting a minuscule solution, like an Advil, because my subconscious bias is that they are describing a common discomfort. However, to a doctor, this can be followed up with a series of questions and a more hefty remedy, such as an MRI scan, because they are hard-wired to pay special attention to the sensations of others, leading to a more alert reaction to this expression.
This variety of perception is what allows us to connect different thoughts and ideas. No one way is correct. With this in mind, it is easier to see how language demonstrates the complexity of an individual’s thinking and how they perceive the world. These different understandings of topics is what keeps the mind flexible and open-minded to explore beyond the depths of our own knowledge.
I found it interesting that you brought up the difference between telling a doctor and someone who isn’t, that you have a headache. The person who isn’t a doctor would provide a quick fix, for example, take some Advil or some other remedy. The doctor will instead want to know what is causing the headache before giving you something to relieve the headache. I’m curious to know about what other elements affect our language. It’s something to think about for sure.
Does the language we speak shape the way we think? Short answer, yes. Also, if I were to choose a side on which argument to agree on, I would choose Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor’s statement, “To have a second language is to have a second soul.” Speaking or even being familiar with more than one language opens your mind to different cultures and perspectives. For example, in American English to say someone is “pissed” means that person is angry. In British English, to say someone is pissed means that person is drunk. Amazing right? It’s the same word but has a different meaning between American and British English. Another thing I would like to add is that several, if not, all languages have different ways to address people by age. You probably wouldn’t talk the same way you do to someone your senior than you would your friends or someone of your age group. With friends, we tend to use slang or are more relaxed with how we talk with each other. If you’re talking with your grandparents, for example, you’d probably speak more formally with them. Unless your grandparents are cool and they speak the same “lingo” as you. The last thing I want to talk about is that even American English has many different ways of saying things, depending on what part of the U.S. you are from. Let me ask you one question, “soda or pop?” If you’re from the south, the answer is Coke. If you’re from the Midwest, it’s Pop. If you’re from the Northeast, it’s soda. And if you’re from the West, you can flip-flop between pop or soda. So, the next time you wanna ask where someone is from, just ask them, “Soda or Pop?” You’ll get a general idea of where they’re from.
Marcus, you chose a topic when addressing regional language. It is so interesting to see how multiple people can speak the same language, but then again be talking about a completely different thing. I love how you manage to show that American and British English are the same language but because of regional context, certain words can be approached differently.
In my opinion Language does shape who we are. The usage of words and phrases significantly impacts individuals’ thoughts and character/personal identity. If you pronounce things with an accent or if you say certain words differently, other people may have a different perception of you. To carry out this process of reflection, individuals need to use language to communicate their ideas and thoughts to their peers. It has been a topic of conversation brought up based on all languages. Whether there is a certain way of communicating with others or a certain “lingo” used. People can see you and say that you are from a certain area or you hang with a certain crowd where this language is used profusely and often.
I completely agree with you, Jeremy. I would like to add that words can definitely have an impact on personal growth and self-actualization. We rely upon introspection to be able to understand ourselves, we use internal forms of communication to begin to push past certain difficulties. Sometimes our growth is stunted by the negativity attached to certain thoughts because of the language we use on ourselves.
English assigning blame for accidents is something I never would’ve thought had an impact on the way I view things, but as soon as Boroditsky put the image of the man on the screen I immediately thought, “He broke the vase.” I immediately placed the blame on the man, even though it was obvious that the vase breaking was an accident. Afterwards, when she mentioned the implications for eyewitness testimony as a result of this, it got me thinking that human bias compiled with assigning blame to the person rather than the event that occurred could be why punishments in America are so harsh for petty crimes.
Placing the blame onto the person rather than considering the circumstances of the event that led to it happening reminds me a lot of how our justice system often focuses on punishment rather than remediation. Of course, there are more obvious reasons behind the broken-ness (for lack of a better term) of today’s prison system, but it does beg the question of whether or not the English language itself is to blame for this.
In addition, the bias that humans have and inevitably gain from living in a world like ours might be contributed to by using metaphors such as “my head is killing me,” or “she’s a ticking time bomb,” despite not being meant to be taken seriously. Taking the meaning away from words and phrases like that might desensitize people to saying harsh things without thinking about what they actually mean.
The effect that language has on our cognition, is another reason why I am against eye-witness testimonies. Imagine being brought up using a language that automatically attaches blame to someone/something, rather than recognizing how it could’ve just been an accident. I believe another reason, can be removing blame from a particular person/thing. In a courtroom, an eye-witness can falsely accuse someone/thing of a crime without having any other sustainable evidence other than their own way of processing language. In addition, an eye-witness can relieve someone/thing from the justice of the law, all because of perception, again.
I was raised learning Spanish, I didn’t learn English until the ripe age of four. Before using my body to merge both languages, I didn’t yet recognize that Spanish is an extremely binary language. In the video, Lera Boroditsky mentioned the sun being masculine and the moon being feminine, which is correct; but even utensils are affected by this binary form of speaking. For instance, A spoon or cuchara is feminine, while a knife or cuchillo is masculine. Having most of your verbal expression be binary, with a small window of middle-ground, can really add perspective by possibly personifying objects and/or creating labels for other nouns.
To my understanding, Dominican Spanish uses detail as a resource to provide a better understanding to the other person. If I sincerely want you to adequately understand that someone might not be too good of a choice for you, then I would go into telling you about their toxic traits. I can maybe, even strategically, use only masculine characteristics because masculinity is often linked to negative things.
Honestly speaking, I wouldn’t befriend her. The word, bomb has now been associated with her, and sadly as a society, we do judge books by their cover. I would feel hesitant to want to address her or come in contact with her; I wouldn’t want to be mistreated. Words can have a large impact on you simply because of their connotation and in Spanish, is again connected to how binary the term is.
Think about the way you use language, and try to identify how that shapes your perception of an event or object.
Language is most essay and useful way to communicate with one and other. when I speak I use two Language at a same time body language and speaking Language. when I speak I use my body Language for express my feelings.
“have a second language is have second soul” The first language I learned is Urdu with Punjabi because these languages we use to speak in my house, before I start my teenage I was caring two souls. when I came to America I have to add one more soul for survive in this country.
I think we learn language for make our life easier otherwise we it will be hard to communicate.
Language is most essay and useful way to communicate with one and other. when I speak I use two Language at a same time body language and speaking Language. when I speak I use my body Language for express my feelings.
“have a second language is have second soul” The first language I learned is Urdu with Punjabi because these languages we use to speak in my house, before I start my teenage I was caring two souls. when I came to America I have to add one more soul for survive in this country.
I think we learn language for make our life easier otherwise we it will be hard to communicate.