In our last blog we discussed the history of the development of language. Obviously, there have been many, many languages over time and every language has a different way of expressing ideas, does this mean we may also think differently because of the language we think in? Read the following article from New York Times on how language shapes the way we think. This is a higher level college reading so take your time and use an online dictionary to look up words you do not know.
Does Language Shape How You Think? - NY Times
Now that you have read the article, post your initial post by addressing the following criteria:
1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
Remember to respond to others posts throughout the week.
1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeletea. disrepute: being held in low esteem by the public
b. glottis: the opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
"There has been heated debate about the interpretation of some of these experiments, but one conclusion that seems compelling is that while we are trained to ignore directional rotations when we commit information to memory, speakers of geographic languages are trained not to do so."
“…if you saw a Guugu Yimithirr speaker pointing at himself, you would naturally assume he meant to draw attention to himself. In fact, he is pointing at a cardinal direction that happens to be behind his back.”
- It is very intriguing to think that there are people who view the world where they are not at the center. It would be a very interesting experiment to attempt to train the mind to think of space not how it is relative to you, but rather geographically.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
Even though it does not restrict our understanding of things, our language does shape the way we present information. As it said in the article, English is an odd language because it does not assign gender to all nouns. We do not perceive chair as a female, but in Spanish the word chair is identified with a feminine ending (sill-a).
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
This article encouraged me to start trying to view direction not egocentrically (from my perspective), but geocentrically (direction in relation to the globe). I will come away from this article trying to figure out different ways others may view the world.
Opps, forgot to mention that those were the only two words that tripped me up. I hope I don't get points off :)
DeleteI also thought about the same question while reading this article to try and find out how people in different country's view the world.
DeleteKyle... the comment you made... "our language does shapethe way we present information", i felt, was very interesting. I personally felt that Language does not shape our thoughts and i do believe that. I thought that it was very "out of the box" that you made that connection because i do think that language shapes the way that we present things even though i dont think it shapes our thoughts. thank you for thinking out side of the box because now i understand what i've been thinking a little better... lol
DeleteHappy to help you with your thinking Kayleigh. :P
DeleteThe other day I was thinking about gender agreement, and I was thinking about how some people will assign a gender to a specific object. For example, an salty sea captain may refer to his vessel as a "she". I then thought about how I tend to refer to my guitar in the same way. Could this be residual of a language that does assign gender?
I missed a word after seeing everyone else's lists..
DeleteAugur (verb form): To conjecture from signs or omens; predict.
Kyle i agree with you on looking at things in a different perspective because a lot of people on look at it from their perspective. they don't realize that there may be other people in the situation. i feel like the people who only look at it from one perspective think they are the only one that matters and they really do not care about others which may rub a lot of people the wrong way.
Deletekyle... this comment you made, "The other day I was thinking about gender agreement, and I was thinking about how some people will assign a gender to a specific object. For example, an salty sea captain may refer to his vessel as a "she". I then thought about how I tend to refer to my guitar in the same way. Could this be residual of a language that does assign gender? "
Deletewas a very good thought provoking comment (as usual coming from you) i did also notice that and i do believe the question you asked was correct. we have plenty more examples of this theory you presented. my mom calls her car a girl, we refer to earth as a she, we also tend to think about a gender of a particular job position or a word or even an object like a guitar, car or vessel. so after clicking and reading some of the stuff from this link http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/whats-your-english-2011/gender-english i have made a connection to the article. i do believe you are correct that our language may be like the others that assign gender in some ways like your examples. another thing that i thought really stood out and made the idea that we may asocciate gender with our language is what one of the articles on the link said about us automatically assuming a certain thing is a certain gender like the example i used of a job. you hear the word nurs and most people think of a woman, or the word firefighter and we generally think of a man. so i think that even if we didnt name objects out loud a female or a male like the guitar or the car or vessel... we would still connect certain words and objects to a particular gender. this is another link that is to one of the articles on the link i posted just up above. i thought it was very interesting because it talks about how we dont only put a gender on those particular objects but that actual genders use different words more than others. i definiteally suggest that you check out this link. i enjoyed it
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Deletehttp://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/getting-cute-about-gender this is the link i meant to post that i was talking about in the last comment at the bottom. they are all really good but i think this article is my favorite on the link.
Delete1.
ReplyDelete1. Augur- to predict
2. Pithy- short, to the point, and effective
3. Equivocate- use words that hide the truth
4. Erratic- unpredictable or uneven pattern
5. Egocentric- A way of thinking where you view the world from your perspective
2. The following quote from the article intrigues me: “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.”. The quote is so interesting to me because it basically summarized the point of the whole article. While the article proves that a language can cause a person to think differently than people who don’t speak their language, it doesn’t say that people can’t learn to think a different way. Your thinking is first influenced by your original language, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate the thinking patterns of a second language into your thinking.
3. Language does shape our thoughts. Two examples of this are with languages that use direction and give genders to objects. In the Guugu Yimithirr language, direction is expressed using cardinal directions instead of directions like left and right. It would make sense for someone who spoke that language at one time to continue think in terms of cardinal directions, even if they only did it mentally. Other languages such as Spanish and German give objects genders, and although the author of the article speaks English now, he still views his bed as female. In other languages, tenses are important. Some colors don’t colors that exist in English are just shades of other colors in some languages. Every language has something distinctive about it that causes it’s speaker’s to pay attention to details (such as gender, direction, or time,) that people who speak other languages think twice about. You view the world paying attention to the details your language makes you pay attention to. This doesn’t mean that people’s thinking is hindered by their languages because people can learn another language, and they would think like speakers of both languages.
4. If Spanish and English are both based off of Latin and Greek prefixes and suffixes, why don’t both languages give objects genders?
Marissa I agree with your quote and what you said about even though language causes us to think differently from people who don't speak language that it doesn't mean we can't learn the way they think. I also picked gender and language of direction as examples of how language shapes our thoughts. We Spanish, German, or French speakers come across a masculine or feminine word they have a tendency to speak in a male or female voice without even thinking because genders have completely shaped the way they think. Also, language of direction is another good example of how language shapes our way of thinking.English speakers use egocentric coordinates to give directions and some other languages may use geographic directions, which makes it sometimes hard when we give directions to each other.This website may help you answer your question:
Deletehttp://ancienthistory.about.com/od/basicsoflatin1/qt/LatinGender.htm
1.)
ReplyDeletea) Augur – A Prophet.
b) Convey – To carry something or someone from one place to another.
c) Obliges – To require by law.
d) Obstruct – To block something with an object (as in an obstacle).
e) Epistemology – The field of philosophy that deals with nature.
2.) “’Gendered languages’ imprint gender traits for objects so strongly in the mind that these associations obstruct speakers’ ability to commit information to memory.” The reason this intrigued me is because I did not even realize that if something is presented in the opposite gender form then it could possibly be hard to memorize that particular object than if it was presented in its correct gender form.
3.) I do believe that language does shape our thoughts. It’s like if you are doing a new math problem and the teacher asks you how to do it, you are probably not going to answer the question correctly because you have not been taught how to solve the problem. So how can we think about something if our language does not know it and/or we have not been taught it? The way we speak might make us miss some things versus us not missing some things if we spoke another language. We might have a bigger imagination if we spoke another language because we could possibly be influenced by more things.
4.) This article is very long but also very thought-provoking. I will admit that some of the things in this article kind of “went over my head.” It made me think beyond what my mind could handle. I liked the fact that the article talked about how some languages use the “gender rule” even when talking about an object such as a bed. It got me wondering; since the English languages is the ONLY language that does not use the gender rule, does that make the English language “weird” or “wrong”? How/why did Whorf think that because of our tongues, we are not able to think certain thoughts? In the part of the article that talked about how the French and Spanish speakers tried an experiment, why did it make the words harder to remember if the voices were opposite of the gender presented in the object’s word?
After reading this article, I am very shocked. I never really thought about how other language speakers interpret things differently than us, English speakers do. I do not think I could speak in Guugu Yimithirr. I hardly know north from south (if I am standing) now. Ha-ha! If I did speak Guugu Yimithirr, would I literally see a piece of graph paper in my mind and have to pin-point every street, every object and every person on that piece of paper? That is so mind-boggling!
Amber, I dont think that english is garmaticaly incorrect because we dont use the gender rule, its just uniqueness. The english langauge may not use the gender rule but we have certain grammer rules that other langauges may not have. but that is what makes the english langauge the hardest to learn because we have so many rules that others arent use to or even use.
Deletehere is a short article that state we once did use gender rules.
http://hotword.dictionary.com/oldenglishgender/
Jamiah Keith
DeleteYes, Zoey I agree with what you are saying. Other languages may not have grammar rules that apply to them like we do, but they do have a certain techniques. My question was other than rules why is language such a hard kanguage to learn?
Jamiah; I really like your question! To answer your question, let's think back to the project that Ms. Hazelwood just assigned us. I do not know about you and your group, but my group and I had a very difficult coming up with new words for our new language. I believe learning a new language is hard because you have not adapted to the new sounds that come with those words that you are learning to say in a new way. Here is a link to an article that talks about why learning a second language is so hard: http://www.nytimes.com/uwire/uwire_PFAD021520072626509.html
DeleteI hope this answered your question, Jamiah!
-- Amber Elizabeth Goodyear
Zoey, thank you for the link to the article! I really liked the article and thought it was very useful! I never would have thought that the English language once contained gender articles. That was a complete shock to me! :) Thanks for the article, girl!
Delete-- Amber Elizabeth Goodyear
I agree with Zoey it just seems different because we are one of the only if not the only language that doesn't use the gender rule so that is why after learning about this you might think our language is grammatically incorrect.
DeleteI have the same judgement as Zoey about gender roles. Just because English does not use gender roles does not mean that English is wrong. In fact English is the ninth hardest language to learn in the world, which i found out in this article; http://www.lexiophiles.com/featured-articles/top-list-of-the-hardest-languages-to-learn
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ReplyDelete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeletea. Transpired: to be revealed or become known
b. Relegated: to send or consign to an inferior position, place, or condition
c. Disrepute: Damage to or loss of reputation
d. Fringe: an outer edge; margin; periphery
e. Maxim: an expression of a general truth or principle
f. Pithy: brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible
g. Habitually: of the nature of a habit; fixed by or resulting from habit
h. Perverse: contrary to the accepted or expected standard or practice
i. Glottis: the opening between the vocal cords at the upper part of the larynx.
j. Gravelly: deep and rough-sounding
k. Connotations: An idea or feeling that a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
l. Egocentric: having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things
2. “While we are always at the center of the world, and it would never occur to us that pointing in the direction of our chest could mean anything other than to draw attention to ourselves, a Guugu Yimithirr speaker points through himself, as if he were thin air and his own existence were irrelevant.”
This quote intrigued me because it made me realize an entirely different way of thinking. In America, our minds use our-self as a reference point to describe directions and to be orientated with our environment. This method of egocentric directions can be inaccurate, because this method relies solely on the direction the person is facing. For example, if two people were facing each other and they were asked to turn to their right they would turn the opposite way of each other. This is true because each person is basing their right and left on where their front of their body is and the back of their body is. Since the two people are facing each other the fronts of their body are opposite directions of each other, thus making each person’s right and left on opposite sides of the body. However, the method of geographic is highly accurate, because it is based of universal reference points. In the quote in mentions a Guugu Yimithirr may point at himself but not to bring self-recognition but to demonstrate a direction by pointing through himself. This means that that this group of people exclude themselves from the situation in order to show direction that is universal no matter which direction a person is facing. It is possible to do this because they are using north, south, east and west as their reference point (also known as geographical directions) and not themselves, which will always be the same for each person. Truly astounding that the Guugu Yimithirr people use this method for their entire lives and without hesitation will forget about their existence completely to show a direction that can be perceived universally.
3. Our language defiantly shapes our thoughts. In the article it describes a situation where a person is saying he visited his neighbor. The article then goes on to say that if you were to said “I was visiting your neighbor” in German or French the person who you talking to would know the neighbors gender simply because German and French incorporates gender into the language while English does not. If you wanted to keep it private that the neighbor was a woman it would be easily possible if you are speaking English because its words do not have different genders. However, to keep your neighbor’s gender a secret if you spoke German or French would result in not mentioning visiting your neighbor at all, because the word neighbor in German and French has masculine and feminine version. In conclusion, one way language shapes your thoughts by affecting how we wish to carry on a conversation.
ReplyDeleteLanguage also shapes our thoughts because of direction. When a population uses geographical direction in their language (such as the Guugu Yimithirr people) they use north, south, east and west as their reference points. These points will remain the same and are the same direction for everyone. If two people are facing back to back and each of them has a compass, then if they are told to go north both of them will head in the same direction. Moreover, if two people are using egocentric direction and are back to back and then told to walk forward they will walk in opposite directions. This is true because when using egocentric direction the person themself is the reference point and it is different for everybody. In summary language shapes our thoughts because a language may describe directions in different ways.
4. This article has enlightened me but has also left me with some questions that I wish for my fellow students to respond to and give their opinion. Since language shapes our thoughts, would diversity be significantly affected by if the world spoke one language? If so, what ways would diversity be affected and how would this change impact your life? Finally would any other characteristics that exist in humanity such as creativity, intelligence, motivation be affected by the globe speaking one language? Please try your best at answering the questions and feel free to ask me questions if you do not understand the question.
My opinion on your question is this. I don’t think diversity would be affected if we all spoke one language. The differences in thinking that comes from language don’t change the world itself and the cultural differences people have. Even if everyone spoke the same language, there would still be different cultures and different ways of life in different parts of the world. Whether a person says “I’m going to the store.”, “I’m going to the store that’s northwest from here.”, or “I’m going to the (insert gender) store.”, they are still saying that they’re going to the store. If two people are saying the same thing, the different words they use to say the same thing don’t change the fact that they’re saying the same thing. It’s not the languages we speak that make the word diverse. It’s the differences in our cultures and backgrounds. Also, people have their own thoughts regardless of the thought patterns of their language. For example, a person can view themself as the center of their universe, even if their language doesn’t make them do that. There are also people in languages that use the person as a directional guide who don’t think much of themselves.
DeleteGreat job Marissa and I thank you for participating. Your argument is strong, and your comment is precise and straight to the point with examples supporting your argument. However, I would like you consider the relationship between culture and language. Culture by definition is the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Based on the definition of culture, language is a part of culture, because it is a manifestation of human intellectual achievement. This means that if the world decided to speak one language the linguistic aspect of culture would become affected. If everyone is speaking the same language, then every person’s culture will have the same linguistic characteristic. In addition, here is a quote from an article called "What if everyone on Earth spoke the same language?":
Delete“Imagine losing the languages of the world to a dominant global one. According to Dan Fitzgerald, a Washington, D.C.-based French instructor, the costs to humanity would be huge. "Much of the culture that goes along with each of those languages would also disappear," he explains.”
In conclusion, culture would be affected if the world spoke one language.
P.S: Please feel free to comment or state a counter argument.
Link to “What if everyone on Earth spoke the same language?” article: http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-everyone-spoke-one-language2.htm
This is a very good question. At first when I read your question I thought everyone speaking one language would not affect diversity. I gave it further thought and found that it would greatly affect diversity. Diversity means the state of being different. Language is connected to culture and beliefs. If everyone were to speak one language they would most likely all have the same way of living and beliefs, of course until someone decides they want to be different. I read over Marissa’s comment and I think culture would not change if everybody spoke one language, they would be living in different parts of the world but I believe there would only be few ways lives would be lived based mostly on geographic features. For example the way people would get their food in the desert would be different than someone who lives in an animal abundant environment. I enjoyed the link you gave Marissa I agreed with most things on there and found many interesting for example. “English may well be the language of global communication at the moment, but it can certainly be displaced at any time due to shifting global demographics and priorities.”
DeleteGood comment Dulce and I liked that you used the definition of diversity in order to support your argument. In addition, I liked how you mentioned that a person’s environment affects their culture and that is a factor I did not consider when forming my argument. Now I would like you to answer a question pertaining to your comment. In your comment you state “Language is connected to culture and beliefs. If everyone were to speak one language they would most likely all have the same way of living and beliefs, of course until someone decides they want to be different.” In the last part of your statement you explain that we will all have the same lifestyle and beliefs, until an individual desires to be unlike the majority. Now what do you think would be the motivation for a person to decide to have a different lifestyle and beliefs than the majority?
DeleteP.S: Thank you for answering my questions and taking the time to state your opinion.
Good question. Well i think the motivation for someone to decide to be different might just start by wanting to have a secret language to speak with your friend for fun and from there it just grows. Of course i truly believe a motivation for someone to decide to have a different lifestyle and beliefs than the majority would be because someone had questioned their way of living. Someone can question if they truely belife in what everybody belifes in. If the person decides they don't then they may decide to sperate themselves from that lifestyle. That person may also take a few other people who belive the same thing, and from there comes a new language and/ or culture.
DeleteYou guys are discussing this as if people would be forced to live one way in a society that only spoke one language. I do believe that having only one language would affect diversity in some ways, but it would not dictate a person's ability to choose their own lifestyle. Also, It seems a bit unlikely that someone would create a language in order to rebel from their native language. Even if it did happen, the chances of it becoming an official language are even slimmer.
DeleteGreat comment Dulce and thank you for answering my question and have you ever heard of a language game called Pig Latin? To elaborate, Pig Latin is a language game of alterations and it can be used to communicate secretly to an individual. Pig Latin has been used since the sixteenth century but it was originally called “false Latin” according to a Straight Dope article called “What's the origin of pig Latin?”. The main rule to make an English word into a Pig Latin word is to take the first letter from the word (unless a vowel) and put it at the end and add “ay” to the end as well, for example the word trashcan would become “rashtay” in Pig Latin. The simplicity of the mechanics of Pig Latin allows it to be easily comprehended but when a word is pronounced in Pig Latin it can confuse eavesdroppers who are unfamiliar to the language game. This is just one of the examples of a secret form to communicate and there other simple secret languages based of English such as double-Dutch, Eggy-peggy, and Skimono Jive. Now this new information has me led to these questions, if your language shapes how you think, then how would a person think if the individual spoke only Pig Latin? In addition, how would a Pig Latin speaker and an English speaker think differently?
DeleteP.S: To learn more about the rules of Pig Latin, the origin of Pig Latin, and other simple secret languages go to the following links:
Rules of Pig Latin: http://www.piglatin.org/pig_latin_rules
“What's the origin of pig Latin?” Straight Dope article: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2163/whats-the-origin-of-pig-latin
Other simple secret languages based on English: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769354.html
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DeleteAwesome comment Devin and I liked how you were precise and straight to the point. Moreover, your comment has helped me think about my question with a different perspective specifically when you said: “You guys are discussing this as if people would be forced to live one way in a society that only spoke one language”. Furthermore, originally I was thinking that people would be forced or have a strong urge to conform to a singular way of life, but your comment has helped me realize that this is false. Therefore, people will live a different lifestyle than another person because simply we are human and each person is unique.
DeleteP.S: Thank you for stating your opinion and taking the time to answer my question.
1.
ReplyDeleteGlottis- Upper part of larynx
Schadenfreude- Satisfaction at someone's misfortune.
2.
"Chinese, on the other hand, does not oblige its speakers to specify the exact time of the action in this way, because the same verb form can be used for past, present or future actions"
I found this to be interesting because in English we use verb tense and we learn subject-verb agreement, without it we make nearly no sense or its hard to understand. While Chinese you do not have to do this because the way their language is, you will still make sense.
3. I don't think it shapes our thinking to the degree of a French speaker and a Spanish speaker will think differently about the steps of buying a drink from a soda machine, but i think it does affect the way we understand concepts. For example, Since the article says that Chinese doesn't use verb tense they wont grasp english subject verb agreement until its taught to them.
4. No questions or ideas were provoked in my original reading.
James i think your opinion makes sense. i think that the reason why you don think that it shapes our language is because you are so used to it. i think you should check this link out psychology.stanford.edu/~lera/papers/sci-am-2011.pd
DeleteWow then you must really be a smart person if you had no questions behind this really long article.
Delete1.) List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeleteOrthogonal- means straight angle.
Egocentric- poeple who regard themselves and their opinions or interests as being the most important.
Aboriginal- original or earliest known.
Pithy- Concise and forcefully expressive.
Epistemology- a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
Finickiest- difficult to please.
2.) Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
“But the joke would be lost on some: the Canadian-American musicologist Colin McPhee.............The boy would not have had the least trouble with these directions in his own village, but because the landscape in the new village was entirely unfamiliar, he became disoriented and confused.”
This quote interested me because it is basically saying that poeple around the world use direction (north, south, east, west) on a daily basis. I dont really pay any attention to the derection but more to the locations or land marks around the area that I am talking about. So why do they pay attention to the exact directions?
3.) After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
Yes language shapes our thoughts and the way we go about our every day lives. If we talk a certain way our brain thinks the way you are talking. Like if your using slang and you use it all the time, your mind will process in the mind frame that you are speaking. Language has a definate influence of our experince in the world because the way we speak can be effected by where we live (accents).
4.) Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
Why would poeple pay so much attention to the exact directions (north, south, east, west)?
Zoey, I really liked what you had to say about the article. To answer your question (number 4), I believe the people who pay "so" much attention to the exact directions speak in a proper tone and in a proper way. Do you know what I mean? It is like the word "y'all" in the South. "Y'all" is slang, but the proper way of saying it is "you all."
Delete-- Amber Elizabeth Goodyear
Zoey, I found it very interesting how you and I both wondered on the same question. "Why would people pay so much attention to the exact directions of North, South, East and West?". Amber that comment made so much sense to me. I never looked at it from that perspective. It is very true by the way, it's like how people from more up north they tend to have a northern accent than oppose to those maybe down south how may have acquired a more country accent.
DeleteSo, what you two are saying is that is all has to do with where we are from and that effects our way of speaking? well, that makes alot more sence because i just thought it was more of a mind frame of that person rather than where they come from. but even then how does the goegraphy effect our way of speaking (accents)? is it because of the spereations between countries that cause this? or is it somthing else?
DeleteYes, that is exactly what I am saying (Zoey)! I am not sure what you mean by the first question that you presented in your last comment. Could you please elaborate on it?
Delete-- Amber Elizabeth Goodyear
Yes Zoey that is exactly how I took in what amber was saying as well. I believe you and I may have looked at this question to hard and was trying to think more specific rather than just simple. This website i am providing may help in some way of understanding. If not please tell me because I can and will provide as much help and guidance as I need.
Deletehttps://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=images&sclient=psy-ab&q=+northern+southern+western+or+eastern+accent&oq=+northern+southern+western+or+eastern+accent&gs_l=serp.3...13550.13550.0.13887.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.W7NqbqhRvjc&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=a1280f3311a2bdd5&biw=1280&bih=709
Sorry Zoey that was the wrong website it is sorry.
Deletehttp://lsadc.org/info/ling-faqs-accent.cfm
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DeleteAmber, I think what Zoey was trying to say was that she isn't sure how the location of where you live in the world has any affect on the way you speak tone wise. I hope that makes sence. And Zoey, I think that question really provoked thoughts in my head. I tried looking up and article to read more into it and nothing really popped up. If you find one will you please post it? I am now really interested in it.
Delete~Lexi Duley (please ignore my username... I don't even know why that happened. :3)
Lexi; I think I now understand what Zoey was trying to say in her question earlier but I would like to get reassurance to make sure I am thinking the right thing here. Zoey, were you trying to say that if you are from the South, then you will most likely speak with a Southern accent and use southern slang? But if you are from the North, you will have a Northern accent and use the Northern slang?
Delete-- Amber Eizabeth Goodyear
Ok, I see what you're saying now. I'm not sure where accent's like southern and northern come from. I actually had that as one of my questions because I was curious about it as well. I tried looking it up but wasn't able to find any articles relating to it.
Delete~Lexi Duley
Lexi; I tried looking for some articles that would help answer your question but I had the same problem you had; I could not find any. The only things that (sorta) help out in answering your question were part of question and answer web-site and I do not count those sites as reliable. Sorry.
Delete-- Amber Elizabeth Goodyear
Amber, thank you for looking for me. It kind of stinks that we couldn't find any. I was really looking forward to learning more about it. (I'm such a nerd with this stuff.) Maybe we could ask Ms. Strawn tomorrow.
Delete~Lexi Duley
Hey Zoey I had two comments that are not being shown because they are blocked. In one of them I offered an website that could maybe help you with your questions. Take a look at it maybe it will help. http://lsadc.org/info/ling-faqs-accent.cfm
DeleteHave you guys ever thought about the fact that maybe cardinal directions were around before words like "right" or "left"? As for your question about accents, think about it like this. New languages were developed in different areas of the world, so maybe the same goes for accents. Although it is the same language, people in a different part of the country may have different slang terms or pronunciation.
DeleteZoey i agree with you about language affecting the way we think, even if we do not think about it when someone uses slang and we understand it, we do not seem to care but with someone who does not understand slang will feel out of place or an outcast. Which goes back to what Lexi had said in her argument towards this, when someone speaks a different language other than English around you, you will probably feel a bit offended. Heres is a link for that; http://theclassywoman.blogspot.com/2011/08/manners-monday-avoid-speaking-another.html
Delete1) List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition.
ReplyDelete1.Augur- One of a group of Ancient roman religious officials who foretold events by observing and interpreting signs and omens
2.Pithy- Concise and forcefully expressive
3.Maxim- Succinct formulation of a fundamental principle, general truth, or rule of conduct
4.Perverse- Directed away from what is right or good
5.Egocentric- A left-right axis and a front-back axis orthogonal to it
6. Chagall- Russian-born artist noted for his dreamlike, fanciful imagery
7.Epistemology- A branch of philosophy that investigates the human knowledge
8.Finickiest- Difficult to please
2) "And in the last few years, new research has revealed that when we learn our mother tongue, we do after all acquire certain habits of thought that shape our experience in significant and often surprising ways."
This quote interested me because what it is mostly saying is that when every we learn a new language "mother tongue", we will start to acquire habits of thinking. These habits of thought will then change the way we think and will be very surprising to us. I find that this is very similar to the language of English. Over the years we have grasped certain habits with our language. Eventhough English has grew from what it use to be into a language of more sophistication, we as foreign English speakers have now grasped onto certain habits.
Cont.
ReplyDelete3) After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
Personally, after reading this article yes I do believe that language shapes our thoughts. In the article it states how if you were to say "I was visiting your neighbor" in French and German they would be able to tell if you were a male of female this is because those two languages includes gender into their language as for English who doesn't. Another way language shapes our thoughts is by direction. North, South, East and West is used by the Guugu Yimithirr people, they use geographical direction in their language as their reference point. These points will stay the same are the same direction for everyone.
4)Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
For my question I as well wanted to know why individuals payed so much close attention the the four directions? (N,S,E&W)
Bradon, I really liked your choice of quote you got from the article. I also agree that “mother tounge” shapes our thoughts as well. The language we speak definitely has a great affect on how we think because for an example English speakers tend to say things such as,”hand me paper” rather than saying,”hand me the paper”. In the Spanish language they use definite articles were you would have to say,”hand me the paper”. If we were to speak to them without using definite articles then they will think we sound gramatically incorrect, but in fact we don’t it is just that the English language has shaped our way of thinking just like it has shaped their way of thinking.
DeleteThat is totally correct I fully understand now exactly the difference between a person who is from the North, South, East, or West. After talking with Amber and you I was able to pick on the similar points you guys mentioned, thank you so much.
DeleteActually, the English language has definite and indefinite aticles too. In addition to this, English is not the only language that has slang. There are grammatically incorrect speaking Hispanic people as well.
Delete1.
ReplyDeleteA. Glottis: the opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
B. Egocentric: having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things.
C. Pithy- short, to the point, and strongly effective.
d. Maxim: an expression of a general truth or principle.
e. Obliges – To require by law.
2.“Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.” I like this quote because it says that language can be learned but the people who know the language think differently then the people who don't know that particular language.
3. yes language does shape our thoughts because of the different patterns of language read differently in our mind and when you can process it you can speak the language. People who speak at English look at the language as if it were the same gender or asexual because we do not have different spellings for words that talk about one specific gender like some other languages do.
4. how did English become so different from other languages like Spanish if it derived from some of the same languages?
Alex, I was wondering about the same question, so I looked it up. I found this website:
Deletehttp://hotword.dictionary.com/oldenglishgender/
I learned that the term for giving objects genders is called gendered nouns. English originally did have gendered nouns, but that part of the language died in the 1100’s. Nobody knows exactly why, but most experts think it’s because the Old Norse and Old English languages mixed when the Vikings started living in northern England. Although both languages used gendered nouns, they had different genders for the same nouns, so people in that area stopped using gendered nouns. That’s why modern English doesn’t have gendered nouns. At the same time, I think that gendered nouns aren’t completely gone from English. They’re just used a lot less, and only in specific situations. For example, sometimes cars or boats are referred to as she, but that’s really the only time gendered nouns are used in our language anymore. Learning that English (one of the few languages that doesn’t have gendered nouns) originally did have gendered nouns make me wonder if all languages originally had gendered nouns. If this is true, I wonder why. Maybe it’s just because I’ve always spoken English, but giving nouns a random gender just seems so confusing and unnecessary to me.
English was evolved longer and traveled around getting mixed with different dialect and such.
Deletehttp://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm
That website has graphs and maps explaining the where and why of the history of the English language.
1.)
ReplyDeleteAmenable-
1.(of a person) Open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded or controlled.
2.(of a thing) Capable of being acted upon in a particular way; susceptible.
Empirical-
1.derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
2. depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, especially as in medicine.
3. provable or verifiable by experience or experiment.
Epistemology-
(Noun): a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
Oblige-
verb (used with object)
1. to require or constrain, as by law, command, conscience, or force of necessity.
2. to bind morally or legally, as by a promise or contract.
3. to place under a debt of gratitude for some benefit, favor, or service.
4. to put (one) in a debt of gratitude, as by a favor or accommodation.
5. to make (an action, policy, etc.) necessary or obligatory.
Dejected-
(Adjective): depressed in spirits; disheartened; low-spirited.
Orthogonal-
(Adjective): relating to, consisting of, or involving right angles; perpendicular
Egocentric-
(Adjective):
1. having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things: an egocentric philosophy that ignores social causes.
2. having little or no regard for interests, beliefs, or attitudes other than one's own; self-centered: an egocentric person; egocentric demands upon the time and patience of others.
Lamented-
(Adjective):
mourned for, as a person who is dead:
Relishing-
(Noun):
1. liking or enjoyment of the taste of something.
2. pleasurable appreciation of anything; liking.
3. Cookery .
a. something savory or appetizing added to a meal, as pickles or olives.
b. a sweet pickle made of various vegetables, usually chopped or minced.
c. an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre.
4. a pleasing or appetizing flavor.
5. a pleasing or enjoyable quality.
Relegated-
verb (used with object):
1. to send or consign to an inferior position, place, or condition.
2. to consign or commit (a matter, task, etc.), as to a person.
3. to assign or refer (something) to a particular class or kind.
4. to send into exile; banish.
Anthropology-
(Noun):
1. the science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.
2. the study of human beings' similarity to and divergence from other animals.
3. the science of humans and their works.
4. Also called philosophical anthropology. the study of the nature and essence of humankind.
2.)
ReplyDelete“Regardless of visibility conditions, regardless of whether they are in thick forest or on an open plain, whether outside or indoors or even in caves, whether stationary or moving, they have a spot-on sense of direction. They don’t look at the sun and pause for a moment of calculation before they say, “There’s an ant just north of your foot.” They simply feel where north, south, west and east are, just as people with perfect pitch feel what each note is without having to calculate intervals. There is a wealth of stories about what to us may seem like incredible feats of orientation but for speakers of geographic languages are just a matter of course.”
This quote from the article was very intruging for me because i thought that it was so abnormal for people these days or at least in this country to be so observant and to have a trait such as this. And also i thought it was interesting that these people think that having this trait is normal and just a part of life when people like me might think that it is as the article states.... “ an incredible feat”...
Personally i do not think that our language shapes our thoughts. I do think that it may sometimes guide us to think a certain way because of what our society tells us but i do not think it enables us to be able to think a certain way. Personally i found this article a bit hard to follow and understand until i really focused on it and started to see how people saw this idea. As i said before about the society... i do think it effects and puts influence on how we think and what we think but i also think that it does indeed effect the way we may see the world. As we saw in the video about the other 9/11, america has programmed us only to see the things that we are proud of so it does effect the way we may view the world. But i think more than anything, it is society that enables us to think certain waysas i said before, and when i say that i do not mean that it enables us to think certain things because everyone has the free will to think anything, people are just sometimes blindsided but what thoughts are forced into theyre head.
For my thesis i must say that i do believe that the man Benjamin Lee Whorf was on to something... i just dont think he hit the nail right on its head exactly.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJamiah Keith
ReplyDelete1.Maxim- statement expresin general truth
Augur- a good or bad outcome.
Schadenfreude- Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.
Egocentric- thinking of oneself, regarding feelings and desires of others.
Orthogonal- involving rights angles and triangles.
2.“Language differ essentially in what they must convey and not what they may convey”. I found this article intriguing because its basically saying that for example; a foreigner learning English may think of the process of learning English differntly than the way that a person who already knows English. I think that learning is influenced by your language personally, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn a language by thinking differently.
3. After reading the article i think that language does influence our thoughts. I think that the way we think reflects to the language we speak. Everyone already has their own way of thinking, but i think the biggest influence on thinking refers to language. I understand why many people say that English is a hardest language to learn because all of the grammar rules.
4.When reading the article and inferring my thoughts, how does it feel to be a foreigner learning English,and why is it so hard for them if we all learned it as a baby growing up besides the rules?
Amazingly, shadenfreude was one of the words I actually knew because I saw a play that had a song about the word in it! And about your question, the grammar is one of the most difficult parts of English. Also, consider that quite a few languages always use the same sounds for their vowels (e.g. in Spanish, "a" is pronounced ah, "i" is pronounced ee, etc.). In English, a single vowel can be pronounced in multiple ways (e.g. the letter "a" sounds different in car, apple, and lake.). Furthermore, words that are homographs and homophones make it even more complicated to understand English. Here is a site about homographs (words that are spelled the same but have different meanings): http://www.dailywritingtips.com/homograph-examples/
DeleteAnd here is a site with examples of homophones (words that are spelled differently but sound the same): http://homeworktips.about.com/od/englishhomework/a/homonyms.htm
Hopefully, this helps!
Jamiah I cannot answer your first question accurately because English is my native language. However, I would imagine learning English as a person from a foreign country would feel similar to a person whose native language is English trying to learn a foreign language (i.e. think about your experience in Spanish 1). Moreover, I can give you an answer to why it is easier to learn a language when you are an infant rather than when you are an adult. In the article “Why Is It Easier for Young Children to Learn a New Language?” in mentions that before age one a human’s brain has a critical period of cortex development which means that during that period a person can learn any language almost effortlessly. The article also explains that during this period an infant can learn multiple languages easily. This is all possible because a part of the brain called the nucleus basilis is active which enables for this accelerated learning to occur. Unfortunately after age one which is when the critical period of cortex development ends and the nucleus basilis shuts down it becomes progressively more difficult to learn a new language as an individual ages. In summary, we as babies were able to learn English because the nucleus basilis was active which gave us the ability to learn English easily.
DeleteFor information see the link to the article “Why Is It Easier for Young Children to Learn a New Language?”: http://www.eldr.com/article/brain-power/why-it-easier-young-children-learn-new-language
Jamiah I liked your question when you asked about why it was so easy for us to learn English and not native speakers. Correct me if I'm wrong but it could possibly be because the people that surround us at home are English speakers so they can understand and help us more. Think about it this way, if you were a native Spanish speaker it might be harder for your parents to help you learn the language if you yourself have a hard time speaking it. I hope that makes sense.
Delete~Lexi Duley
I agree with Matt, learning a different language is quite a challenge especially if it's not your native language. In my initial post i talked a little about this. Some people know and some don't, but english is not my native language, though I think I can handle it pretty well :) anyways, since I had been raised in a spanish household, I got used to the grammar rules so learning a whole new set of english grammar rules was a bit hard. But it just takes practice and adapting. However, about the second part of your question...um.....There's no way Matt's definition can get any fancier....all I can say is, when you're little, you're brain is like a sponge and you absorb things easily.
Deletethe 5 words
ReplyDeletedisrepute- being held in low esteem by the public
Augur- a good or bad outcome
Pithy- short, to the point, and strongly effective
Orthogonal- involving rights angles and triangles
Schadenfreude- Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune
The quote "Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.” caught my eye becasue i thaught that it was a very interesting quote. its says that language can be learned but the people who know the language think differently then the people who don't know that particular language. its saying you can learn but the people that speak will now it better
and it time to go so i will finishlater
i agree with you cody because its seems easier for students who speak the e langauge that want to get a better understanding of it than students who dont know it at all.typically thats true all the time. when it comes down to it people who speak it will know it better than those who dont.
DeleteTo finish where i let off.
Delete3) i do think that language shapes our thoughts through its rules and structure. If you consider different languages, your language is burnt into your brain and the first time you look at a foreign language it all weird looking and you dont know how to say and it all funny looking too but i do
1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeleteA. Augur- Portend a good or bad outcome.
B. Moonlighted- Have a second job in addition to one's regular employment.
C. Assertion- A confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.
D. Fringes- An ornamental border of threads left loose or formed into tassels or twists, used to edge clothing or material.
E. Disrepute- The state of being held in low esteem by the public.
F. Glottis- The opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
G. Egocentric -Having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things.
H. Maxim- An expression of a general truth or principle.
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
“In a different experiment, French and Spanish speakers were asked to assign human voices to various objects in a cartoon. When French speakers saw a picture of a fork (la fourchette), most of them wanted it to speak in a woman’s voice, but Spanish speakers, for whom el tenedor is masculine, preferred a gravelly male voice for it.”
This quote intrigued me because for English speakers, males and females say fork the same way. Spanish and French speakers add gender on the word fork. French speakers add a feminine voice to the word fork and Spanish speakers add a masculine voice to the word fork. It is intriguing how Spanish and French speakers add gender to their words.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? How? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
I do believe that language shapes our thoughts. Language shapes our thought because language is our thoughts. If you consider different languages, you language is burnt into your brain and the first time you look at a foreign language, you will think that it is Gibberish. Also, if you can understand some of a foreign language, the gender rule will mess you up because in Spanish and French, people and in gender when the speak.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
Why do Spanish and French speakers add gender to their words? If you have an answer, can you please provide an article or video?
(My five words: voisine, Nachbarin, Glottis, disrepute)
ReplyDeleteThe New York Time’s artless we had to read for this blog was actually interesting. At first when i read what the topic was about I was in no way interested because I didn't fully grasp the concept that language could shape the way a person thinks. Now I can actually say that understand how it can shape the way a person thinks. For example in the article when it says "If a language has no future tense, for instance, its speakers would simply not be able to grasp our notion of future time."
That one sentence pretty much explained everything to me, but just to make sure does that mean that if a language did not have words pertaining to the future then they wouldn't understand if I said "I will do that later"?
So, yes I do think language can influence they way a person thinks. Let’s say a language doesn't have anything pertaining to blasphemy so the people who speak that language would be less likely to commit blasphemy.
Nadia, I agree with the quote you got from the article, "If a language has no future tense, for instance, its speakers would simply not be able to grasp our notion of future time.” To me this means that if one language teaches specific concepts that other languages does not teach, then they will have a hard time understanding what they mean. For example, if we were to give egocentric coordinate directions to a person who speakes Guugu Yimithirr, it would be like we were speaking some kind of wierd alien language to them because egocentric coordinate does not exist in their languge. Even though egocentric coordinates exist in in our language and in our mind, does not mean it does for all native speakers because that is just how language shapes our mind; believing what’s right and what’s wrong when there is not a really wrong or right way of language.
Deletehere is an article about how language may shape our language:
Deletehttp://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=does-language-shape-what
I like how in your last sentence you talked about how a person would be less likely to commit blasphemy if they speak a certain language that has nothing to do with blasphemy.i also liked the quote you chose a lot because it explains alot without being very long.
Delete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition.
ReplyDelete• Augur- indicate
• Pithy- concise
• Inculcated- taught
• Epistemology- the study of knowledge and justified belief
• Amenable- open to
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
“There are radical variations in the way languages carve up the spectrum of visible light; for example, green and blue are distinct colors in English but are considered shades of the same color in many languages.”
I thought this was interesting because I was not aware that different groups considered color differently. It would definitely change the way people looked at things if certain colors were grouped together.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
I do think that language shapes our thoughts through its rules and structure. Whether a language requires speakers to assign gender to inanimate objects or use geographical directions, language can alter our perception of the world. It is clear that speakers of different languages can comprehend foreign ideas presented by one another; however, languages do affect the way we think, feel, perceive, and behave.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
I think that the psychological and sociological aspects of language are fascinating. It is intriguing to think about how the way we talk can influence our entire lives. I would like to know what parts of the brain are stimulated when speakers of geographical languages are identifying direction and if it is simply a matter of memory regarding familiar, native environments or an extra sense that can be applied to foreign environments (i.e. the sense of direction was compared to perfect pitch; someone with perfect pitch could apply their ability in any environment, so can someone with the sense of direction do this? I was wandering because of the story about the dancer boy from Bali in which he became confused and frustrated in his new environment.).
Zach, I feel a lot of people may have been a little to intimidated to comment to your post, but being the person I am I'll try to take it head on. lol :) On that note I agree with you on how interesting your quote was. I didn't really notice it until I seen it in your blog. I also never knew that different groups saw certain colors differently, so that was interesting to learn about. On another note, I really liked your question and how you connected the article to the brain. I personally know that you are in psychology along with me, so lastly I have found myself trying to connect things to the brain as well. lol After reading your question, I actually tryed to research it. I didnt find much, but I did find out that the left side of the brain is stimulated when speakers of geographical languages are identifying direction. We actally just started learning about this in class, so I no this because the left hemisphere of the brain is usually connected to how you think logially, scientificly, and literally. While the right side of your brain is usually your creative side. Heres something to help. Its not much, but it has a few good points. http://tasneemsayeed.hubpages.com/hub/Left_Right_Brain
DeleteZach, I think you raise an interesting point concerning the "inner compass" idea. I assumed that somebody's internal compass would always be active, but maybe it would defect if the person went to another country or experienced a radical change in environment. I also found the concept of colors as groups of shades interesting.
DeleteDestiny and Quinn, thanks for responding! It does seem like people don't like to respond to my posts. And thanks for connecting the response to psychology class! Anytime a subject relates to psychology it is intriguing to me.
DeleteYour very welcome :)
DeleteRegarding your last question, the article made it sound as though people who speak Guugu Yimithirr have an ingrained memory of each direction from childhood, rather than an extra sense. I say this because of the story about the dancer who didn’t know which foot his teacher meant after moving to a new village. Anyone who can see the sun and knows what the time of day is (approximately) should be able to tell which direction they are facing; however, people who speak a non-egocentric language have much better accuracy and I believe it is because they are familiar with their surroundings.
Delete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeletea) Egocentric- having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things
b) Maxim- an expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or sententious one
c) Disrepute- low regard
d) Glottis- the opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
e) Aboriginal- original or earliest known; native; indigenous
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
a) " Some 50 years ago, the renowned linguist Roman Jakobson pointed out a crucial fact about differences between languages in a pithy maxim: “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.” This maxim offers us the key to unlocking the real force of the mother tongue: if different languages influence our minds in different ways, this is not because of what our language allows us to think but rather because of what it habitually obliges us to think about."
- This quote intrigues me because I never thought of language in this way and because it makes a complex point very simple. The quote is saying that language is used to communicate to others what we need and that makes each language unique to the people who speak it. People aren’t able to translate other languages with 100% accuracy because the true context is only known by the original speakers of said language.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
a) After reading this article, my opinion on language has not changed. I do not personally believe that language shapes the way we think, I believe that the way people thought, even before language was created, shaped language into what it is now. Over time human’s needs have really changed and thus, the language has also changed. With this in mind, it is easy to see the correlation between language and thought patterns.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
a) The only question I have is, “How could Whorf”s theory have seen such massive success without someone noticing that he didn’t have evidence sooner?”
I really like your question i was thinking the exact same thing. I think the reason for this is because people didn't really give it much further thought other than the examples he gives to support his claim, which if you dont really think about it makes sense. Until someone had the mind to challenge his claim did it get further recognition and thought.
DeleteWell I think its kind of difficult to have evidence for that type of theory, I didn't think about that question because i just understood it, I guess its just one of those theories that are easy to understand and only need lots of evidence if your trying to argue against it. Example gravity, people just understood it.
DeleteI agree James. People probably didn't see much of a reason to argue against it. There are many things that people believe based on what they are told by figures of authority.
Delete1. Finickiest- difficult to please
ReplyDeletecorridor- hallways
missionary- a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities
inculcated- to teach persistantly and earnestly
feats- a noteworthy or extraordinary act or achievement
2. "The convention of communicating with geographic coordinates compels speakers from the youngest age to pay attention to the clues from the physical environment (the position of the sun, wind and so on) every second of their lives, and to develop an accurate memory of their own changing orientations at any given moment" this quote interest me because i had never known that children are so interested in learning how to communicate with geographic coordinates and that they start at least at age 5 and then by the time they are age 7-8 they have practically mastered the communication of geographical coordinates. once the people have mastered the communication of geographic coordinates it becomes like their second nature when they speak it.
3. i do believe that the language we speak shapes our thoughts because in the article how it talked about the people that use geographic communication they just imagine were an object would be and that is how they would shape there thoughts. Usually in the language we speak the words can make thoughts into our minds and that just happens without us really doing it on purpose for example when someone mentions a dog you attimatically think of a dog and not a horse or some other animal that is not a dog. The language people speak are all different which tells you that although some languages may seem familiar they can also be very distinctive for example English in the U.S would sound different to the english from Great Britain, the same would go for spanish that is spoken in Mexico compared to the spanish spoken in El Salvador although some words may sound the same they could also have different meanings.
4. When i started reading about the geographic communication it made me think that how could geographic communication be any different from saying left, right, forward, and backward because i think that east would be considered right and west would be considered left and forward would be north and backwords would be south. Also when reading about how Spanish and German both gave objects gender when speaking about them it made me think is it possibly for other languages to try and do the same or if the languages that give objects gender try and not give them genders?
Wow that is a very interesting question about if the languages that give objects gender try and not give them genders or the language that does not give them gender try to give them genders. i think that it is possible but it would be very confusing and hard because the language and its grammar rules have already been etched into the people's brains and would take time to adapt to the new "rules".
DeleteTo answer your first question about the directions, geographic communication is different from just saying left, right, forward, and backward because Geographic communication is based on the geographic layout... so where you are in the world. Just saying left, right, forward, and backward would depend on your body, so which way you are facing. for example you have two people back to back you give them geographic communication directions to go north that would not be the same as telling them to go forward because one of them would have to turn around and go the same direction as the other person. by just telling them to go forward they would go in different directions because of the way their body are facing.
Hopefully this helped you understand, instead of confuse you even further, the difference between geographical directions and egocentric coordinates (which is what saying left, right, forward, or backwards means).
thank you Dulce your response has enlighted me and you had made me think about my question in a different perspective so i thank you for that.
DeleteDisrepute - low regard; disfavor
ReplyDeletePithy - brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression
Maxim - an expression of a general truth or principle
Obliged - to require or force of necessity.
Neuter - noting or pertaining to a gender that refers to things classed as neither masculine nor feminine.
Epistemology - branch of philosophy that investigates origin, nature, and methods of human knowledge.
“…all this does not mean that speakers of Spanish or French or German fail to understand that inanimate objects do not really have biological sex…”, “Nonetheless, once gender connotations have been imposed on impressionable young minds, they lead those with a gendered mother tongue to see the inanimate world through lenses tinted with associations and emotional responses that English speakers — stuck in their monochrome desert of “its” — are entirely oblivious to”. I found this part of the article very interesting because until the subject came up in class it had never come across to me that I say inanimate objects with genders when speaking Spanish. This part really connected to me because I had learned to just accept that we give genders to almost everything. I don’t know why we do or how we determined whether an object is masculine or famine but we do and this has not affected the way I think when speaking English. I do think language shapes our thoughts. I believe your mind always reshapes when learning a new language because of the way it processes foreign words based on grammar rules that applies when speaking. Although this may be true I agree with the article that a bridge is a bridge whether you are in Germany or Mexico and does not affect our everyday lives or the way we think even if the words are in slang in any language. I don’t think there are any ways that the language we speak might influence our experience of the world any differently then other languages because everything means the same thing. It is the way we speak it that is different and I don’t think this changes the way we see the world.
http://www.psfk.com/2010/07/how-language-influences-the-way-we-view-the-world.html
this article sums up they way we supposedly view the world for a bilingual person or any person for that matter. I still stick to my believe that we do not see the world any differently the way we process the information? yes. What is your input on my comment? I would like to hear any arguments that will persuade me that I may be wrong.
In the article it had said “Eventually, Whorf’s theory crash-landed on hard facts and solid common sense, when it transpired that there had never actually been any evidence to support his fantastic claims.” Why is his claim considered a fantastic claim? Who or what type of group of people do you think figured his claim was wrong? What I mean by this is did researchers or regular people find out first? As it continued it said “The reaction was so severe that for decades, any attempts to explore the influence of the mother tongue on our thoughts were relegated to the loony fringes of disrepute” why were people still arguing about this? Is it that some people agreed that his claim was right?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTranspired- to be revealed or become known
Monochrome-being made in the shades of a single color
Aboriginal-existing in a place from the earliest known period; indigenous; autochthonous
Inculcate- to cause or influence to accept an idea or feeling
Something from the article that I found intriguing was the section about the “Guugu Yimithirr”. I found it interesting that they use cardinal directions rather than words like “left” or “right”. The fact that they learn to fluently use cardinal directions at such an early age is really quite impressive. I personally do not know cardinal directions very well to this day. It seems that using this method of direction would be beneficial in a way. Because cardinal directions don’t change based on the direction you are facing, it would be more accurate to describe the position of objects this way. Rather than saying “your left” or “my right”, you would simply use the same direction no matter which way you were facing.
After reading the article, I believe that language does shape our thoughts in a way. It affects what comes to mind when talking about certain things. For example, someone who speaks a language that labels certain objects as masculine or feminine might have a different perception of that object than someone else whose language does not assign gender to inanimate objects. However, I do not believe that it restricts us from understanding things or thinking certain thoughts. Just because there is not a word for something does not mean that we are incapable of understanding it. The Chinese language does not have past or future tenses, but that doesn’t mean that the Chinese do not understand the difference between something that is going to happen and something that already happened.
One thing that the article caused me to have questions about was assigning gender to inanimate objects. When and how did this start happening? Why? It just seems strange to me how randomly gender is assigned to things such as a beard being feminine in French or a clock being masculine in Spanish.
http://cogsciblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/classic-article-science-and-linguistics-by-benjamin-l-whorf/
This website contains a link to a PDF of Whorf’s original article, “Science and Linguistics”. He actually has some pretty interesting ideas. It is a bit long, but it is worth a skim.
I was wondering the same thing about the assigning gender to Objects but i just learned to accept it. I do not know when it started either, probably the time the language was created specifically when? I do not know. I think the reason it seems strange is because of the language you currently speak. Your mind is just set on only the grammar rules of your language so any other language would seem strange. But do not worry the world will still keep rotating even if a beard is feminine in French or a clock is masculine in Spanish.:)
Deletehttp://hotword.dictionary.com/oldenglishgender/
If you go to this link it will take you to an article about English once having gender nouns!!
This article explains a little on the question you had Devin. Doesn't answer it completely but It's pretty interesting. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/supplement2.html
Delete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeletea) Augur- a good or bad outcome
b) Glottis: the opening between the vocal cords at the upper part of the larynx.
c) Disrepute: Damage to or loss of reputation
d) Epistemology – The field of philosophy that deals with nature.
e) Egocentric- A way of thinking where you view the world from your perspective
f) Assertion- A confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.
g) Empirical- derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
h) Dejected- having little or no regard for interests, beliefs, or attitudes other than one's own; self-centered: an egocentric person
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
a) “Whorf, we now know, made many mistakes. The most serious one was to assume that our mother tongue constrains our minds and prevents us from being able to think certain thoughts.” - This intrigued me because I don’t understand why Whorf would believe that your tongue can prevent us from thinking certain thoughts. Your brain does all the thinking, and your tongue has nothing to do with that.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
a) After reading this article, I do think that language shapes the way we think because some languages require you to say the gender of what you are talking about. Stating the gender of what you are talking about can shape the way you think because you’ll think about the gender when you’re saying something unlike the languages that don’t require you to say the gender.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
a) One question that I obtained from reading the article is what drove Whorf to think that the tongue constrains our minds and prevents us from being able to think certain thoughts?
Romelle that was a very good question you had at the end... that particular question was one i had myself.... i found a webpage on line that says.... "In particular, Whorf announced, Native American languages impose on their speakers a picture of reality that is totally different from ours, so their speakers would simply not be able to understand some of our most basic concepts, like the flow of time or the distinction between objects (like “stone”) and actions (like “fall”). For decades, Whorf’s theory dazzled both academics and the general public alike. In his shadow, others made a whole range of imaginative claims about the supposed power of language, from the assertion that Native American languages instill in their speakers an intuitive understanding of Einstein’s concept of time as a fourth dimension to the theory that the nature of the Jewish religion was determined by the tense system of ancient Hebrew." at this link... http://philosophyonthemesa.com/tag/benjamin-lee-whorf/
Deletei suggest you read it because i found it to be rather interesting and it also relates to the article we read rather well. and after thinking about this for a while i think i may have in a way answered your question as well as mine... i do not think that whorf meant to say that we could not think certain thoughts but maybe, what he meant to say was that we are not programmed to think certain ways and that in a way might be a little confusing... an example that backs up my hypothosis is one i actually got from the article this blog is on... in the article it states that "When Guugu Yimithirr speakers were asked how they knew where north is, they couldn’t explain it any more than you can explain how you know where “behind” is." this i think is a great example of what whorf was trying to say. other little blerbs like “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.” convey meaning to Make (an idea, impression, or feeling) known or understandable to someone. also explain rather when what his hypothosis may be trying to say. And to tie the two hypothosis' both his and mine together this statement made in the article says it best...if different languages influence our minds in different ways, this is not because of what our language allows us to think but rather because of what it habitually obliges us to think about. and if you go to my initial post you can see where i tied this last quote in and connected it to my idea that society is maybe what whorf was really relating his main idea to.
I had that question as well. I suppose that many theories are based solely on daring and intriguing thoughts. I don't suppose he just woke up and said "Today I'll create a theory". The thought most likely something that coincidentally popped into his brain. It's amazing what one can come up with when they simply dare to think.
DeleteRomello your perfectly justifiable in not understanding the quote that you chose but what they meant by tounge is language not the actual muscle in your mouth!!!
DeleteThat was also a ques tion of mine . I agree with kianna that most theories are based on intreging ideas. I think he thought about but he couldnt find any information to back up his theory.there are a number of reasons.
DeleteSpeech is a process of the brain, so it is very much connected to the brain. However, the ability to think about things outside of your norm is something that can transcend some of the limitations our languages provide us. It is very understandable that Whorf could theorize such things as the limitation of thinking due to language. Just think of how many scientists, philosophers, etc. got things wrong throughout history. But it was their mistakes that led to the pioneering of new ideas, theories, and technology. I agree with Kianna about the results of thinking. If it weren't for people like Whorf examining these ideas, we wouldn't know what we know today.
Delete1.)
ReplyDelete Obliges: to contain by physical, legal, social, or moral means.
Equivocate: to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid comminication or in order to mislead; prevaricate or heedge.
Intuitive: perceived by intuition, as a person or the mind.
Disrepute: a loss or lack of credit or repute.
Augur: to predict
2.) The quote that mostly intriged me was; “gendered languages”. This quote intriged me because it basically states one of the examples of how language shapes our way of thinking. For example, in the article it talked about an exsperiment were French and Spanish speakers were assign human voices to objects in a cartoon. When French speakers saw a picture of a fork they spoke in a female’s voice, but when Spanish speakers saw the picture of the fork they spoke in a males voice. This action is involuntary because changing their voices is not something that have to think about when coming across genders because it is installed in their languages and in their way of thinking. This is completly different from our language because for one we do not have genders, and becuase when we are speaking about a male or female our voices does not change. For example, if we say “Brad and Ammy went walking”, we will not say Brad in a manly voice and we will not say Ammy in a women’s voice.
3.) Language defenitly shapes our thoughts. To examples that caught my eye in the article is gender and the language of space. Languages such as French, German, and Spanish all of genders in their language. Inanimate objects in their language are either given a male or female gender. In English, when we say sentences such as,”I went to the park with my friend” we do not clarify that our friend was a boy or a girl, but for them it is oblige. Genders shapes the way people think because if a German, French, or Spanish speaker were to speak to us using genders we will would have to think twice before fully understanding what they are talking about. For example, in the article it said that when we refer to a bed being too soft we say,”it is too soft”, but a nativespeaker would say,” I actually feel she is too soft”. We as English speakes may look at the strange because they refer to inanimate obects as a he or a she. Same as if we were to talk to thim without using genders when saying sentences such as,”me and my friend went on a date” they will wonder if that friend was a girl or a boy because the understand the importance of knowing whether or not that friend was a girl or boy. Languge of space is another exapmple of how language shapes our way of thinking. In English we use egocentric coordinates, which uses our own bodies such as left, right,front, and back. Some other languages use geographic directions, which do not relate to our bodies such as north, south, east, and west. When we give direction we usually say,” first turn right and take the first turn on your left”, while s0ome other languages may say,”first turn west and take the first turn east”. If we were to give them direction they would probrally get lost, and if they gave us directions we would have to think a little bit more aabout our next moves. Language of space basically shapes the way people think because some people for examople from remote Australia already have geographic directions intalled in their mind and probrally would not under stand directions such as left, right, behind, or in front. Same goes for English speakers exept we know were north, south, east, and west are located, it is that we just have egocentric coordinates intalled in our minds which means we put aside geographic directions for geography and use left, right, behind, or in front of in everday life.
4.)The question that I would like to know is when did the use of genders become effective?
Do you mean when they were created or if you think that they are needed?
DeleteI mean when they were created.
DeleteHere is a website about genders in language:
Deletehttp://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/genderfairuseoflang
I liked your question on when genders in language were created so I looked it up. It didn't really say when gender first started to appear in language but I di find this article on why it is used. You should check it out. Here's the link: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/gender-sensitive-language/
Delete~Lexi Duley
I also like the quote that you picked, but before I finished reading the sentence the first thing that popped to mind about gender languages was how the spanish language is greatly influenced by Arabic; due to the fact that Spain was ruled by the Turks for over 600 years, and how the Arabic language has feminine and Masculine words as does spanish.
Delete1. Relishing: to have joy from other misfortune or misery.
ReplyDeletehttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/relishing?s=t
2. “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not what they may convey.” This quote interested me the most because I couldn’t figure out what it meant. When I researched it I got a better understanding for what Guy Deutscher’s quote meant. I believe that his well-spoken quote means that languages can express anything but it is what each language commands and requires the speakers to express.
3. I think that language shapes the way our minds work, not directly our opinions. For example the Guugu Yimithirr language uses cardinal directions meaning they use north south east and west, instead of the way we use directions left right behind or in front of. I thought that it was interesting that a study was shown that Spanish speakers had to give voice to lifeless objects, and if in their language the object was feminine for example la mapa, than they would give the map a woman’s voice. So therefore in some ways language can affect the way you think but not your opinions.
4. What do you think the quote “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not what they may convey” means?
I like what you did for number two how you said you picked it because you didn't really know what it meant so you went and did more research about it and now you understand it more.
DeleteI think the quote means this: Languages have rules, so there are some things that your language forces you to include in what you say. At the same time, your language doesn’t stop you from expressing things that it doesn’t make you convey. Regardless of the rules of the language you speak, a person can use that language to convey any idea they want to. Also, a person can learn another languages, so they aren’t hindered by the rules of their first language. Your language forces you to express certain things, but your language doesn’t hinder you from expressing ideas that go beyond what it forces you to express.
DeleteMarissa your point is very good. A language does not necessarily "hender" a persons thoughts because if someone puts there mind to it they can learn a language that allows them to express what there really trying to say.
Delete1. 5 words
ReplyDelete- Comprehensible: To be able to understand, intelligible.
- Convey: Transport or carry to a place.
- Oblige: Make (someone) legally or morally bound to an action or course of action.
- Inculcated: Instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction.
- Corridor: A long passage in a building from which doors lead into rooms.
2. The quote that intrigued me the most was "I say to you in English that I spent yesterday evening with a neighbor. You may well wonder whether my companion was male or female, but I have the right to tell you politely that it’s none of your business. But if we were speaking French or German, I wouldn’t have the privilege to equivocate in this way, because I would be obliged by the grammar of language to choose between voisin or voisine; Nachbar or Nachbarin." The reason why this intrigued me is because that it is crazy how in different languages they are required to tell you for it to be grammatically correct.
3. Yes I think language shapes our thoughts because in America speaking English we have to think about what we say because in America it could mean something completely different than it does in another country. The language we speak influences the way we experience the world because as you all know not all country's speak the same language so therefore we view things differently from the way our language is when we compare it to other country's languages.
4. Some questions I came up with while reading this article is to research and try and find out more about how languages came along and to try and find out how other language speaking country's views are different from ours.
Julia, in reply to your number two, I like your quote because my was a little bit similar. I think that it is intriguing that most languages add gender towards their words but English does not.
DeleteThis site has helped me and I hope it will help you. http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/loss_of_gender_in_english/
There have been many people who have asked the question 'why do some languages give gender to their words?’. I really am not sure why and i don't think anyone does. i was trying to look for this answer but could not, even with the great help (usually) of Google. there have been theories for example someone had said that it is a way of being understood. Even though we do not know the reason for gender related words it still affects the way we think and see the world. As the article had said “In recent years, various experiments have shown that grammatical genders can shape the feelings and associations of speakers toward objects around them.” Which is why I like this link I have found of a radio station that talks exactly why language has grammatical gender and how it affects the way we think and perceive the world. http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2012/04/lexicon_valley_what_it_means_for_a_language_to_have_grammatical_gender_.html
ReplyDeleteIt is a bit long but it is worth listening .
A question that I have acquired as I was typing this post is are there any words in English that are assigned genders even if indirectly? Any comments or criticism is welcome maybe you could help me understand or blow my mind!
I agree with you, Dulce. I never knew that Spanish had gender until taking this class,so when I heard about it I found it difficult to understand why,especially when some words in Spanish seem like they shouldnt be the gender that they are. For example vestido (dress) is masculine. That is a good question, The only words I can think of are words like Miss and Mister, but even then it's not quite the same thing.
DeleteI agree with both of you. Why do they have gender? Is it to specify what they are talking about? We don't have gender in English because we have a lot of different words and phrases we use compared to different languages. I also thought it was interesting, Kiyah, how you said that some words have the el or la before them and some don't even follow the gender rule. Why don't they follow the gender rule? Why must languages use gender? I think that is a very general and popular question when learning a language that uses gender.
DeleteI agree with you all. I never understood the whole gender situation. I never understood how some things that you think of as masculine or feminine could really be opposite to someone else. In the English language we don't typically give inanimate objects a gender, although some people refer to objects such as cars with female pronouns. I wonder why that is.
DeleteWe really don’t have any gendered nouns in English, but occasionally there are things that are similar to gendered nouns. For example, it’s very rare, but sometimes you hear people referring to cars, boats, and motorcycles as she. However, most of the time you hear that it’s on a movie, and they are usually older movies.
DeleteI agree with you Dulce because because i did not see a point with gender in the language because it was harder to learn to say the right way because you might insult someone by misspeaking and saying one letter wrong. That's why it is easy to speak English because its as if we spoke asexually and including everyone.
DeleteI love all your resposes!! I guess we will never know why some languages have gender base words. Marissa and Kianna, i agree i have heard of some people, rarely, refer to cars, boats, and motorcycles as she. Thank you for your comments i have enjoyed knowing what you think and know on the topic.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeletePersonally, I am not satisfied with leaving the gender question unanswered. I refuse to believe that someone just decided to randomly assign gender to inanimate objects. I have come across a couple of theories while researching this topic. The one that sounded the most logical to me was the belief that gender is assigned to objects based on how the word for that object is spelled. This would explain why the gender assigned to some objects does not accurately fit the characteristics of that object.
DeleteMarissa, you make an interesting point. I have read that a lot of times people refer to objects as "she" or "he" because the language they originally spoke had that gender article assigned to the object. As for people who have never spoken a language other than English, I am really not sure. Perhaps they picked it up from people who did not learn English as their first language.
DeleteDevin, In a way you could be an example on how language affect the way we think because oh how you feel that inanimate object having a gender assigned to them. Growing up speaking Spanish i would wonder why English did not assign gender roles to things i would find it a but of a pet-peeve but eventually i learned to accept it. This is why i believe that language does affect our way of thinking.
DeleteTo answer you question Dulce, I can think of words that you call you family that have been assigned genders. It seems quite simple, but take brother and sister for example. They are both siblings of yours, but the way we’ve grown up, the brother is always the guy and the sister is always the girl sibling. Same goes for mom and dad, mom is the female and dad is always the male, but they are still both your parents. But, if you want to view some more words, I have found a list of some examples for you although some words included are more commonly used for both masculine and feminine as oppose to a particular one.
Deletehttp://engengenglish.blogspot.com/2009/11/list-of-genders.html
thank you every one for your comments. thank you loan for the link, it helped me with my question.
Deletehttp://rachitamisra.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/which-language-do-you-think-in/ check out this link.... i thought it was very intersting and educational since we are on the topic...
ReplyDeleteIt takes quite a bit of high level thinking to follow this article. I found the following sentence to be particularly intriguing: The general structure of his arguments was to claim that if a language has no word for a certain concept, then its speakers would not be able to understand this concept. I found this most intriguing and also very controversial. This is a very interesting theory that Whorf had. When it comes to language shaping our thoughts, I am very conflicted. Part of me wants to think that language does not affect how we think but another part of me wants to agree with the theory. The evidence though not very well supported; still has some weight with me.
ReplyDeleteI have a theory of my own to present. Suppose children were the same way. The theory presented in the article is that if a country does not have a word for a certain concept then they simply will not be able to comprehend the concept. When children first learn to talk they do not automatically understand quantum theory. They take time to learn new words. Each new word to them seems to have just been invented a minute ago. They have no comprehension of certain concepts simply because they don't know they exist.
http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/01/07/language-doesnt-influence-our/
Egocentric: Thinking only of oneself, without regard for the feelings or desires of others; self-centered
Glottis: The part of the larynx consisting of the vocal cords and the slit like opening between them. It affects voice modulation through expansion or contraction
Orthogonal: Relating to or composed of right angles
Relegated: Consign or dismiss to an inferior rank or position.
Disrepute: The state of being held in low esteem by the public.
Kianna, I agree with your comment about how it could be intriguing, as well as controversial. I was thinking in depth about that comment, and I was wondering if anyone else had thought about it like I did. I see that Whorf had a very interesting theory, but I don't know if I agree with it fully. I feel the same way about the language shaping our thoughts, I am also conflicted. The evidence was not well supported, so I do not know if I should agree or agree to disagree. I will look into more of Whorf's theory, and I will see what I can find. I am glad that you feel the same way, and we are on the same page.
Delete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDelete• Intuitive-Easy to use and understand.
• Disrepute- The state of being held in low esteem by the public.
• Erratic-Not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable.
• Connotations-An idea or feeling that a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
• Egocentric- Thinking only of oneself, without regard for the feelings or desires of others; self-centered.
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
-“The anthropologist John Haviland and later the linguist Stephen Levinson have shown that Guugu Yimithirr does not use words like “left” or “right,” “in front of” or “behind,” to describe the position of objects.”
* I found this quote interesting because I know by not using the words “left” or “right” etc. It would be hard to explain where things are exactly. For example instead of saying “ Turn left on Market” you would say “ Turn west on Market” Being that most people today people lack sense of direction I would imagine it would be harder to navigate with those types of instructions.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? How? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
*Yes because we use language to communicate and without language your thought processes wouldn’t make sense. If you can’t comprehend language then you wouldn’t be able to comprehend a simple thought. The language we speak influences the experiences we have in world in many ways. By being able to speak and understand the languages we know we have a better understand of what’s going on around us in today’s society.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
*How does grammatical gender shape the feelings and associations of speakers toward objects around them? I didn’t get that part
Lexi Duley
ReplyDelete~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
A. disrepute- The state of being held in low esteem by the public.
B. glottis- The part of the larynx consisting of the vocal cords and the slitlike opening between them. It affects voice modulation through expansion or contraction
C. orthogonal- Of or involving right angles; at right angles,(of variates) Statistically independent,(of an experiment) Having variates that can be treated as statistically independent
D. egocentric- Centered in or arising from a person's own existence or perspective
E. spatial- Of or relating to space
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
"If a statement is reported with the incorrect “evidentiality,” it is considered a lie. So if, for instance, you ask a Matses man how many wives he has, unless he can actually see his wives at that very moment, he would have to answer in the past tense and would say something like “There were two last time I checked.” After all, given that the wives are not present, he cannot be absolutely certain that one of them hasn’t died or run off with another man since he last saw them, even if this was only five minutes ago. So he cannot report it as a certain fact in the present tense." I found this to be incredibly intriguing because when I was reading I had to do a double take and look back on it because I wasn't sure if I was reading it right. Sure enough, it said that in Peru you have to be incredibly specific or else your statment may be taken the wrong way. I also found it to be incredibly humorous and I really enjoyed the quote.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
Yes, I feel that language shapes our thoughts. I feel that language has a massive impact on our thoughts. If someone speaks differently than us we might be quick to think of them as an outcast when actually to them they might feel the same about us. Where we live in the world impacts how we speak grammatically, fluently, the language we speak and how we interpret other languages.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
If we all live on the same planet why don’t we speak the same language? How did it get to the point to where language is different around the world? Why do people in America have different accents (southern, northern, ect.) even if they live in the same country?
I agree with you on how speaking a different language from the people who surround you in your daily life can make you an outcast making the way you think differently. I have been in that situation before and im sure many other have too. Though the people may not be trying to be rude by speaking a different language in front of one, we usually tend to assume that they are talking about us. I found a link where it talks about how people can find it offensive, rude or feel like an outcast when you speak in a different language in front of them; http://theclassywoman.blogspot.com/2011/08/manners-monday-avoid-speaking-another.html
Deletea. Augur : one of a group of ancient Roman officials charged with observing and interpreting omens for guidance in public affairs.
ReplyDeleteb. Relegated : to send or consign to an inferior position, place, or condition
c. Pithy: brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible
d. Lamented: mourned for, as a person who is dead
e. Perverse: willfully determined or disposed to go counter to what is expected or desired; contrary.
“Now raise your north hand and move your south leg eastward.” I found it intriguing because it sounds weird. Its not like our normal language. normally they would say raise your hand and move your hand a certain way. I feel like we don’t understand other people’s perspective of language because we have been taught one way for as long as we can remember.
I think that our language does shape how we think because we have been raised on this way for so long. If we were raise a different way on another language then our mind set would most definitely be different. I feel like the language we were raised on basically dictates our mind set and how we think.I feel as though we should study other languages and talk to people from other countries to understand how they were raised to speak.
1.
ReplyDeleteRenowned-(adjective)celebrated; famous.
Lamented-(adjective)mourned for, as a person who is dead
Erratic-(adjective)deviating from the usual or proper course in conduct or opinion
Neuter-(adjective)noting or pertaining to a gender that refers to things classed as neither masculine nor feminine.
Glottis-(noun)the opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
2. Towards the end of the article, there was this statement that just really provoked my thinking: For many years, our mother tongue was claimed to be a “prison house” that constrained our capacity to reason. This literally means that years ago, people actually thought that our tongue prevented us from thinking, or I guess by reasoning it meant making the right decisions. I wasn't able to find another source that explained about this though. But this statement does not prove the fact that we all think the same.
3. I do think language shapes our thoughts. Not only language but culture as well. I know how difficult it may be to learn another language specially when you've already been taught one. Like I remember when I first learned English. I could never understand why there weren't gendered nouns or such things like that. But I also understand that there may think the grammar rules for Spanish are silly. I hear other students saying in our spanish class "oh why can't it be like english?" or "this is so stupid" and you know I get it, but it all goes back to culture.
4. I had the same question another student posted: WHY did it so long for people to actually realize that Whorf's theory had no evidence behind it??
Vanessa, I understand what you mean about thinking English rules were strange when you had already learned a language that is so different. When I first learned that Spanish had gender I didn't understand it. I understand that it is just something I have to accept to learn Spanish. I also agree that it did take way to long for people to understand that his theory had no evidence. It seems like looking for evidence would be the first thing people should have done. Maybe it was because they didn't know how to test the theory?
DeleteVanessa, I agree with your question, but I might have a reason for why it took people so long to realize that Whorf's theory had no evidence behind it. Language has been a mystery from the very beginning. Since we do not know much about language, or how it began, we have been considering every possibility there was to the start of languages and theorys that were proposed for language. I hope that you understood that, but I do think that many people have wondered about the start of language. At a certain time, I think any theory or thought on language was considered, even if there was no evidence to back it up.
DeleteIt does shape our thoughts Vanessa, and yes culture as well. And you and have been in a situation in which you come into a new ‘world’ new learning habits and classroom rules. And it was hard. All the explanation behind the question was never answered when the teacher asked another student. Whenever I used to get into a conversation with someone they would look at me funny. And it all goes back to culture like you said I mean if I had to move to china and learn new places, education and culture. I would [probably not learn it as fast I did.
Deletepithy maxim- a short, pithy statement that serves as a motto
ReplyDeleteequivocate-Use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.
connotations- An idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing
egocentric-having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things
orthogonal-pertaining to or involving right angles or perpendiculars
I think that it is difficult for me to understand how language shapes the way I think because I only speak English fluently.Although, I am sure that language does shape our thoughts. One example that really made me belive this is "As strange as it may sound, our experience of a Chagall painting actually depends to some extent on whether our language has a word for blue." In english blue has always been a very prominent color so it is odd to think that some languages might not have a word for blue. Many english speakers would interpret a painting with alot of blue to be sad because we associate feelings with colors. Therefore someone who speaks another language might interpret the painting in a completely different way just because they do not really know the difference between green and blue.
One question I have is why is English one of the most complicated languages?
Website that lists the top 10 hardest languages to learn:
http://www.lexiophiles.com/featured-articles/top-list-of-the-hardest-languages-to-learn
I think that English is one of the most complicated languages because of all of our rules, rules that we don't necessarily always follow. The English language also have words that are spelled the same that have different meanings or words that sound the same but are spelled and mean something different. i hope that somewhat answers your question!
DeleteList at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDelete1. Pithy- Concise and forcefully expressive.
2. Egocentric- Thinking only of oneself, without regard for the feelings or desires of others; self-centered.
3. Maxim- A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.
4. Epistemology- The study of knowledge or a justified belief.
5. Disrepute- The state of being held in low esteem by the public.
Quote:
"The general structure of his arguments was to claim that if a language has no word for a certain concept, then its speakers would not be able to understand this concept. If a language has no future tense, for instance, its speakers would simply not be able to grasp our notion of future time."
This brought up a lot of different thoughts on how language shapes my personal thinking. I had never thought as though we could be speaking a language that we don't understand. Now, I am considering that our language was brought up by seeing actions, like "falling." I might be wrong, but it has brought up certain thoughts on how language came to be. Now that this has been brought to my attention, it has brought up many questions of how people communicated when the first actions were noticed, and how they "named" the actions. Any thoughts?
After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? Well, now that I think about language and culture, I think there are certain thoughts that can be controlled by our language. Yes, we have our own thoughts and we think things that we would like to believe. But language gives us a description, and an understanding of our actions and others. If we did not understand the actions of ourselves or others, then how would we speak, think or feel about them? There is a very big gap between thought and language, but do they really come together? I think that they do, but we are not as aware of it as we should be. I also think that many of our experiences in life and throughout the world are influenced by our language. It does not seem as if it would be, but I see that different languages look at things differently, describe things differently, and they also have different meanings to words that we might not have in our language. Therefore, we might see something completely different than someone with another language.
Julia, I agree with you and your opinion on if you think language shapes our thoughts. I found it interesting how you stated that "language gives us an description, and a understanding of our actions and of others". When I read this I automatically understood what you meant by it. What I took from your statement was that without our language we could not process things, we would not be able to communicate or have actions and without actions we wouldn't be able to think about what actions others would be making. After experiencing an unsuccessful research of your question I came up with a question of my own. With out understanding individuals actions and language how would we be able to think?
DeleteJulia, I literally just found this great article maybe it will help.
Deletehttp://bstucki.hubpages.com/hub/Affect-of-Language-on-Thought
1. Words and Definitions:
ReplyDeletea. Augur: to predict
b. Equivocate:to be deliberately vague
c. Epistemology:theory of knowledge
d. Orthogonal:relating to right angles
e. Glottis:opening between vocal cords
2. This is not really a quote, but when they were mentioning the languages that used grammatical gender, it made me wonder if English was once the same way. So, I did a little bit of research and found these article:
a. http://blog.smartling.com/blog/bid/126044/He-She-It-The-Long-Forgotten-Grammatical-Gender-of-English
b. http://hotword.dictionary.com/oldenglishgender/
It turns out that English did in fact once assign their nouns with genders. An example mentioned on this site is that in old English, “the moon” was referred to as “se mona”. “Se” is the masculine version of “the”, and “mona” is the masculine noun. The sun was feminine and was referred to as “seo sunne”. “Seo” is the feminine version of “the”, and “sunne” is a feminine noun. According to a book written by Anne Curzan, grammatical gender of the English language started to diminish between the 11th and 13th centuries. Changes started happening in the 11th century. As an example in the article, a “woman” is a neuter noun in Old English, meaning that a “woman” was being referred to as an “it”, but people started ignoring the rule and calling a woman by the female noun instead. Anne Curzan suggested in her book that grammatical gender started disappearing because of the mixing of languages in Northern England during that time. There were two languages that had gender, Old English and Old Norse. Both had genders, but it is said that their rules often contradicted each other and to make communication much more simple, grammatical gender disappeared altogether.
3. I do think that language shapes our thought. I think that the language that is native to you generally effects the way you view things around you. Oppose to the English language, other language speakers like German and Spanish speakers assign genders to their objects. If you are talking about an object, English usually refer to an object as “it”, but to others, they look at the characteristics of the object to determine whether it is a “he” or “she”. As they stated in the article, a Spanish person sees a bridge, clock and violin as a “he” because of its “manly properties” like strength, but a German person sees it entirely different. Different languages allows someone to view objects in a different angle. A German sees the bridge, clock, and violin as slender and elegant, therefore, referring to it as a “she”. When a language wants you to specify certain aspects of something, it causes the native speaker to be more considerate of certain details, while others don’t because they are not required to and have not grown up learning to do so.
4. After reading this incredibly long article, I was thinking to myself “ Who came up with the bright idea to include grammatical gender in languages and why?!”. Also, why is it considered hard to learn English when you don’t have to memorize which nouns are feminine and masculine? I don’t know if it is just me, but grammatical gender seems more “random” and a more complex concept to grasp rather than learning letters that has multiple sounds.
1.
ReplyDeleteAugur - A tool with a helical bit for boring holes in wood.
Prose- Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure
Connotations- The implication of such ideas or feelings
Egocentric - self-centered
Dejected-Sad and depressed
2. “if you saw a Guugu Yimithirr speaker pointing at himself, you would naturally assume he meant to draw attention to himself. In fact, he is pointing at a cardinal direction that happens to be behind his back. While we are always at the center of the world, and it would never occur to us that pointing in the direction of our chest could mean anything other than to draw attention to ourselves, a Guugu Yimithirr speaker points through himself, as if he were thin air and his own existence were irrelevant.”
I found this interesting because it shows how many cultures are different. The Guugu Yimithirr speaker does not point at himself to draw attention like Americans do. He thinks of himself as just a person living life just like any other human in this world. This is not saying that all Americans are selfish; it is just a change in culture.
3. Yes, I think language shapes our thoughts in some ways. The article even stated that there are languages that require you to have a “compass” in your head at all times so you would not get lost in everyday directions. Their language is shaping there sense of direction with thoughts of; East, West, North, South, and so on. It also shows how we think of ourselves. In the quote I chose, a speaker of Guugu Yimithirr points to him not to talk about himself but to point behind him.
4. why do many languages have genders for everything?
I agree with you about the part where you said "This is not saying that all Americans are selfish; it is just a change in culture." because culture also has a link on the way that we handle things in life. I remember how Ms. Strawn had told us about how when she went to spain everyone was very touchy-and-feely unlike the United States how every just kept to themselves and had their personal bubble. I found a great link that explains this; http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2191
DeleteI found the Guugu Yimithirr language interesting also. It kinda makes me think that they are really smart, maybe even smarter than Americans, because they drill this compass into their brains starting when they are two years old!! Do they ever forget this compass if they don't use it?
DeleteI understand where you stand Alexis and get you point. And I like that you put in your values for what they say. Yes they are languages that help you in direction and many other things like for example Native Americans ‘Maya’s, Incas and many more’ have belief and language together. They communicate with nature and talk to the wind and other nature creations. They belief that everything has a life that everything should be respected, that would change their language from ours. To answer your question all languages do have genders but they are not what you would think as in for examples sex either female or male is not counted for in the language. It takes into account what the object sounds better with what would go good with the sentence and other grammatical rules to it. I hope that answer helped you out.
DeleteAww alexis this is off topic, but i love your profile picture :D
Delete1)
ReplyDeleteAugur- to predict
Maxim- A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.
Epistemology- The study of knowledge or a justified belief.
Pithy- short, effective, and to the point
Equivocate- use words that hide the truth
Notion-belief about something.
Intuitive: perceived by intuition, as a person or the mind.
Empirical- derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
Glottis- Upper part of larynx
2) “Whorf, we now know, made many mistakes. The most serious one was to assume that our mother tongue constrains our minds and prevents us from being able to think certain thoughts.”
This quote was caught my eye because as humans we make many mistakes, but we also have to make sure what we have said are facts. The reason is because once you have said something about someone or something some people will believe you and then those people will tell others and those people will tell more people causing a chain. Breaking the chain is hard when so many people have heard it and many of them will still believe it. I learned that people will most likely believe what you say if what one says is short and simple. The link to the article is here; http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/myth-making-people-doubt-global-climate-change-evolution/story?id=14414910#.UFvI46S3C18
3) I believe that language does play a part on the way that we think because of the way that we speak and refer to people. Like in Spanish there are masculine and feminine ways to say the, a, or some. This is very interesting because in English there is not a feminine or masculine way of saying or referring to things. This makes Spanish very hard to learn for English speakers because many get confused over the way of having gender-roles having a large part in a language. The way that the language we speak may influence the world is by changing the point of view we have towards our surroundings. The reason i think that is because we all have different forms of thinking not only because of our language but because of the different experiences we have had in life. I also found another link explaining on how language does affect our thinking based on the use of language and direction, time, color and gender. All of which seem to demonstrate that language does seem to change the way we think. Here is the link; http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/06/does-language-shape-our-thinking.html
4) The question that this article provoked me was; What would be the outcome if we took everyone from our school and made them take a test on world, would the people who speak two languages have a middle point perspective?
Arely, I disagree with your statement "I believe that language does play a part on the way that we think because of the way that we speak and refer to people." I disagree with this statement because for example if you soeak of an object in spanish, you have to state if it's masculine or feminine. In English, you don't have to do that, and I believe that can affect the way you think.
DeleteHere's an article that might help you to understand my point a little better
http://longnow.org/seminars/02010/oct/26/how-language-shapes-thought/
Romello, I agree with you about having to state things in a feminine and masculine way. In English, everyone says it the same way. Do you know why we do not add masculine and feminine to the words of our language? Do you think that English had gender in their words but we evolved into not saying gender? This site is very helpful: http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/loss_of_gender_in_english/
Deleteaugur - to divine or predict
ReplyDeletemoonlighted - to work at an additional job after one's regular, full-time employment, as at night
disrepute - a loss or lack of credit or repute
equivocate - to use ambiguous or unclear expressions
whim - a sudden, passing, and often fanciful idea; impulsive or irrational thought
I thought it was really interesting when the article said that in the English language we have a choice on whether or not we say whether the person is male or female. In other places, you don't have a choice. You have to say male or female. Why do they have to or why don't we have to?
I also thought it was interesting when they were talking about the different verbs. We have to use the past, present, or future while the Chinese only use one tense of the verb. They do not have to describe the action.
Why do some languages refer to inanimate objects as a she or he? I thought people just used the article as an article. I now know that they actually refer to the inanimate object as a person.
What does this sentence mean from the article, "“She” stays feminine all the way from the lungs up to the glottis and is neutered only when she reaches the tip of the tongue."?
I thought it was really interesting and cool when I read about the Guugu Yimithirr. I tried to imagine what it would be like to respond to people giving the directions of north, south, eas, west, etc even when in a house or small area. I would get so confused!!
After reading the article, I think that language does shape our thoughts because based on the way we talk, we will think it in our head. If we were to say something one way, then we would think the same thing in the same way. The language we speak may influence our experience of the world by how we look at things. We use different words, phrases, verbs, etc differently than someone else does and we experience the difference between us and someone else.
I liked what you said about how different languages have different phrases, that is very true because a phrase that might make sense in one language might not make sense in anther. For example in the Turkish language there is a phase that basically means dont run before you walk, but when you translate it into english word by word it says "the bear fell before run" when translating that to enlish it doesnt make sense and it sounds kind of funny.
Deleteinitail post 1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeleteA. disrepute- The state of being held in low esteem by the public.
B. Inculcated: Instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persist
C. Relishing: to have joy from other misfortune or misery.
D. Augur: to predict
E. Egocentric- A way of thinking where you view the world from your perspective
2. Whorf, we now know, made many mistakes. Whorf’s mistake was he didn’t give any evidence to prove his theory. Without evidence it was just false accusations. Whorf assumed that our mother tongue was confining our minds and we weren’t able to think certain thoughts in our mind. This intrigued` me because you can’t think with your tongue.
3. I would say most languages require you to think. In most languages you have to figure out the plural word or the sex of the word. You have to think when you actually make a language.
4.when did genders in language become so important in languge.
Aquil, I really like how you were straight to the point with your answers. They're very true and with the question you asked, "4.when did genders in language become so important in language," was a question that arose in my mind as well. When did we start labeling nonliving items as mannish or feminish? if that is a word. But I don't see the point in it.
DeleteI agree about Whorf, he seemed to just go to a assumption. I think Wholf may have had this problem or more specificaly i think he had trouble learning other languages. So i think he tried to comapre a general population to himself maybe
Delete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDelete1- Augur- one of a group of ancient Roman officials charged with observing and interpreting omens for guidance in public affairs.
2- Transpired- to occur; happen; take place
3- Connotations- an act or instance of connoting
4- Inculcated- to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly
5- Corridor- a gallery or passage connecting parts of a building; hallway.
6- Egocentric- having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
One quote I found intriguing in this article is "if a language has no word for a certain concept, then its speakers would not be able to understand this concept". I like this comment because its one of the main reasons why Whorf's beliefs about language were outlawed. We would have never realized hat we know about language if we would not have picked up on his wrong beliefs.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
I think language shapes our thoughts to a certain border. I think this because the language you speak can manage the way you think when you speak a gender type language because you would think of items in a male or female way. But I do not think language shapes our thoughts in other languages, such as, english, when speaking english I do not think words being said in a certain way makes you think something. The language you speak can influence the experiences you have in the world because it can be help and connection to othr people in many different ways. The language you speak can be a benefit, because you can teach people your language.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
I would like to know how some words make you think but other words don't? for example, "the" does not make me think but "mean" does.
I think that some words are more alluring than others, for example instead of saying that "Mary hair is brown" you could say "Mary's hair is a chestnut brown"
DeleteI think the second one sounds better. Dont you think?
I think that is a great question. I agree with Misha as well. I think some words just trigger the brain more than something really simple.
Delete1) Disrepute- Unfavorable or lacking repute. Otherwise, I didn't find any word I didnt understand.
ReplyDelete2) I found it interesting that the aboriginals refer to location using the cardinal directions rather than its relation to the individual.
3) Something occured to me. If you think in your mother language and form ideas with it, how to individuals that were born deaf think? Do they think in pictures?
4)If English has so many similarities to the "gendered languages" why doesn't it also have genders for inanimate objects or words in general.
Some words are:
ReplyDeleteConnotations-An act or instance of connoting.
Disrepute-Low regard; disfavor
Glottis-The opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
Habitually-according to habit or custom
Futurity-The future time, a future event.
Quote
“Eventually, Whorf’s theory crash-landed on hard facts and solid common sense, when it transpired that there had never actually been any evidence to support his fantastic claims. The reaction was so severe that for decades, any attempts to explore the influence of the mother tongue on our thoughts were relegated to the loony fringes of disrepute. But 70 years on, it is surely time to put the trauma of Whorf behind us. And in the last few years, new research has revealed that when we learn our mother tongue, we do after all acquire certain habits of thought that shape our experience in significant and often surprising ways.”
I understand this article but if we have left behind this theory then why are we studying it again? Did they not say that this theory went down the drain latter on when scientist explored it some more? The way he view things makes us all wonder why it been like that, and probably in that time it was something to think about. In the 1940’s people still believe that white is white and that black is black (as they say) I mean they said the sky was blue and that was it there was no reason behind it, so the fact that there was this other person just like them that came up with this wonderful theory, they went ballistic. They thought about it and it sparked something in them. But after it was proven wrong so what happen to the theory?
It is real or is English as plain and cut-through as it seems. English is hard I know beforehand that it is. I mean come on would it kill you to explain things like other languages do? It explains thing with one letter words, for example “FAIL!” in Spanish you would have to say something like “you just fail at that…” but in English you just say one word and everyone understands it. In other languages we never are lazy about what we say and that’s why when one comes to this country or any English speaking countries it takes a while to get your custom or the way you view language out.
I understand it’s very unique but it confusing sometimes. And if you see this answers the question ‘Does Your Language Shape How You Think?’ Because it does shape it from me, I come from a colorful culture where people are warm and observers. We watch over small things that other would over think, like how that person act or how she really is. We give our heart out and are not too precautious of what we are given compared to American’s they don’t like hugging or being touched when saying hello or goodbye. It really does shape your mind and background on the way you speak. My Latin language comes with flare and a sensual tone to it. And most of the time that’s the way we present our self’s.
Some question would be:
How many countries have that Latin way of explaining everything with sentences and not with just words?
It is also very difficult for me to understand the concept of gender because it seems so strange to give inanimate objects a gender. It is interesting that people who speak a language with gender actually think of the object as a gender in their minds until they speak in English or another language without gender. It seems like people who speak a language with gender even consider items to have that quality about them. I can understand this because when I think of a cat I think of feminine qualities though a cat is not always female.I suppose that it is similar to that way of thinking.
ReplyDeletePost by Isabelle Devita: I found his article to be pretty interesting with all of the different aspects of different languages. It’s pretty cool how different words in certain languages have genders, unlike the English langages that do not. We learn many things by hearing them and when we do so, we develop a habit that will stick with us the entire time we are learning that language. Certain habits can be alright to have, but then others are incorrect and may affect the way you say certain things because you learned the wrong way. Some colors can be thought of differently in different languages, like the way different shades of colors are associated in Spanish and English. With some parts of this article I was a little confusing, but I pretty much got the overall message. I found the part about the colors and genders of words to be pretty interesting but I would like some more information on that, so if anyone has an article that explains it more, post it and ill check it out! Thanks!
ReplyDelete1) Glottis - The opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords
ReplyDeleteConvention - An agreement, compact, or contract
Cardinal - Of prime importance
Augur - To divine or predict
Epistemology - A branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
2)“Indeed, speakers of geographic languages seem to have an almost-superhuman sense of orientation.” While I found the entire article interesting, I found the language of the Guugu Yimithirr people fascinating. The fact that they have a perpetual, unconscious sense of direction is amazing. As somebody who can barely navigate using egocentric terms, I can't even imagine instinctively knowing something like that. Honestly, I didn't even know it was possible to instill a sense of location into your mind like that.
3) Yes, I now firmly believe that what language we speak impacts our view of the world. When I think about it, a person who was raised speaking a language that associates items with genders probably would see the world with something of a personality. I actually thought about what a fork would sound like if it could talk, and I couldn't decide, because I have never affiliated forks with having a gender. And while I know that speaking a particular language does not change a person's understanding of concepts like time and spatial reasoning, it might shape something more obscure, like their architecture. For example, in French the word “bridge” is feminine, whereas in German “bridge” is considered a masculine word. Here are some pictures of French and German bridges, respectively.
http://www.wayfaring.info/2007/06/22/frances-roof-of-the-world/
http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2009/07/20/481bridge4.jpg
You may notice that the French bridges are more slender and curved, as opposed to the German bridges, which are typically straight and made of brick or other industrial materials. I believe this is because each language determines that a bridge is either feminine, and therefore more delicate and shapely, or masculine, and understandably more rugged and flat.
4) This article has left me with many questions, but the most pressing in my mind is how would somebody who speaks a language without a word for certain colors describe and see the world? I've asked myself before how I would describe the sky: blue, of course. But if somebody doesn't know what “blue” is, how are you supposed to describe it to them? How would they describe it? It's just strange to think about.
This post makes me entirely too happy.
DeleteI did think about much of the same things. The people that spoke the Guugu Yimithirr really fascinated me and made me kind of jealous. It almost made me want to raise my kids to know that. It's really something to think about when you can tell your geographic location just by facing a certain way.
I really liked your blog post i enjoyed reading it because you were very creative especially on how you made or tried tomake connection with thrying to imagine if a fork had a gender it kind of goes back to spanish class when ever we affiliated genders to certsin word we say like "El libro" would be masculan because it sounds better and is the correct proper form of saying the book rather than using it in a feminie way of "La libro" which does not make sense and it does not sound correct.
DeleteWhen you said you were amazed by the directional capabilities of native Guugu Yimithirr speakers, I felt the same way. I can hardly give directions even when I’m very familiar with the place, so it would be incredible to know where the cardinal directions are at all times. One thing the article said about Guugu Yimithirr speakers is that if they are somewhere completely unfamiliar they may lose all sense of direction. I think that is a major drawback of their language, because knowing only the words for North, East, South, etc (and not left, right, forward) can allow you to become very lost if you don’t know which direction is north. On the other hand, many people who speak an egocentric language get easily lost anyways, so knowing which direction is north most likely wouldn’t help them.
DeleteDestiny Tate
ReplyDelete(Vocab)
1. Moonlighted: to work at a secondary job.
2. Pithy- (of language or style) Concise and forcefully expressive.
3. Equivocate- Use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.
4. Cultivated- Prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening.
5. Perverse- (of a person or their actions) showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often...
6. Inanimate- Not alive, esp. not in the manner of animals and humans.
7. Connotations- an act or instance of connoting.
8. Egocentric- having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things
9. Orthogonal- pertaining to or involving right angles or perpendiculars
10. Peculiarities- a trait, manner, characteristic, or habit that is odd or unusual
11. Absurdity- the state or quality of being absurd.
12. Inculcated- to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly (usually followed by upon or in ): to inculcate virtue in the young.
13. Capsized- to turn bottom up; overturn:
14. Epistemology- a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
(Quote)
Something that I found intriguing is the example about “gendered languages.” It stated “More recently, psychologists have even shown that “gendered languages” imprint gender traits for objects so strongly in the mind that these associations obstruct speakers’ ability to commit information to memory.” I felt this was true while learning about the difference from the Russia puts genders on, and the way Spanish cultures put genders on objects. It seemed like it was the total opposite. In Spanish they put “el” and “la” and things that the Russians do, but the other way around. I found this interesting because it shows that you look at stuff and think about things depended on the way language is sometimes.
After reading “Does Your Language shape How You Think, I do feel that our personal languages shape how we think. For example while in Spanish class, I saw that work “El postre.” Because i speak English, and that’s the only language I know, my mind got me to believe just by looking at the work it could be “poster” just because it’s spelled alike. I feel the language we speak can influence our experience on the world, because when we only know one main language that’s what we based other things off. Now that doesn’t mean we can’t learn different things, it just means when we first see a different language of something pertaining to it we tend to compare things to get a better understanding. Over all I just seen this topic as a comparative paper that shows how some languages differ from others.
So I dont know if I am the only one, but even though I feel that the article came up with a few good points, I dont feel some of the stuff was relevant. The compass for example, I really dont understand how that had anything to do with how languages shape how you think. Thats really just showing how how you think is depended on how the things and people around you influence you to think. I know its off topic, but Its just when I read the article it kinda made me mad. I felt that it was sooooooo aggravatingly long because of some unnecessary jaber -_- (Thats my mad face)
ReplyDeleteDear destiny,
DeleteI see what you are trying to say, but in the end i find it true that our point of views change by the people who surround us which in a way has to do with language. Because we tend to behave differently towards certain people to accommodate their point of view.
Destiny,
DeleteI agree with you because when I was reading the article it started to talk about location and I was thinking what does location have to do with the title of the article. On the other hand Arely has a good point what and who we are surrounded by does shape the way we think because of our language.
Not trying to be difficulted, but I really still do not understand why... I think your surroundings does shape the why you think, but how does it have anything to do with language? For example, your surrounding shape how you think because some places drive on the opposite side of the road, so if you ever went there you would most likly be confused a little because your not use to that. But that example for insistants has nothing to do with language. It has something to do with surrounding and location but not language. I would just like someone to give me a true example of how they connect, because I dont feel the article did that.
DeleteDestiny, I think there is an important relevance to the "internal compass" concept, it's just a bit confusing. Because their language relies on north, south, etc to describe location, they need to develop an unconscious sense of direction. In our language, we can just use left and right, and we always know where left and right are because they are relative to where we are. But because their language lacks egocentric direction, they need to know where they are position wise at all times so they can describe locations. If their language was like ours, they would not need internal compasses.
DeleteThanks Quinn, I think I actually understand what it means now. So your saying that within their language or when ever they speak they also describe their location for example when they give directions. I guess it took me a minute to catch on because I'm so use to the way we do things, but thanks :)
DeleteAt first i did Kind of agrred with Destiny about the article not being relevant but in the end I was really nfused but i order to understand the article I had to read it a couple of times before i actually was able to pick up important points and vievs from this article.
DeleteVocabulary:
ReplyDelete1)Absurdity - the state or quality of being absurd.
2)Pithy - brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible.
3)Perverse - characterized by or proceeding from such a determination or disposition.
4)Egocentric - having little or no regard for interests, beliefs, or attitudes other than one's own; self-centered
5)Inanimate - spiritless; sluggish; dull.
Quote:
ReplyDelete"Roman Jakobson pointed out a crucial fact about differences between languages in a pithy maxim: “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.”" This interested me because of how Jakobson stated it. He basically implying that a language will be differ to you because of what you know about it. He's not saying that you must know the language you're dealing with but what you may know about it.
3. Does language shape our thoughts?
ReplyDeleteLanguage does shape our thoughts. For example, how the English language is so difficult. Such as how we have to actually think about how to pronounce a word. We have to think about whether or not we are using the correct vowel sound for it or either if we are reading it right and so on. Many languages are like this such as Spanish. It has the masculine and the feminine genders that identify certain things. Example: nouns, adjectives, pronouns, conjunctions, etc. We are always thinking about these things whether or not we realize it. Just as well as we don't realize that language shapes our thoughts.
In all languages learned there are certian pronunciations that come with the language. I have the same thoughts as you I do think that in some ways language does shape the way we think.
DeleteThis is a link for pronunciations
http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/pronguide.htm
Yes I agree with you Dominique I had never thought of language shaping our thought that way but that but know that you mention it it most definitely does because as you explained the engish language sometimes makes us students think about the pronouncaitin once we are gettin ready to write something and then all of a sudden we have difficulties writing a word. Thats when when we start and try to sound out words to try to spell them correctly.
DeleteEpistemology: n. a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAmenable: adj. ready or willing to answer, act, agree, or yield; open to influence, persuasion, or advice; agreeable; submissive; tractable: an amenable servant.
Assertion: n. a positive statement or declaration, often without support or reason: a mere assertion; an unwarranted assertion.
Prose: n. the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.
Glottis: n. the opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
“When your language routinely obliges you to specify certain types of information, it forces you to be attentive to certain details in the world and to certain aspects of experience that speakers of other languages may not be required to think about all the time. And since such habits of speech are cultivated from the earliest age, it is only natural that they can settle into habits of mind that go beyond language itself, affecting your experiences, perceptions, associations, feelings, memories and orientation in the world.”
Since I am a strong believer in open-mindedness, this idea really gets to me. It makes me think about all the things that we will never be able to understand, that others that speak a different language can. This opens up the possibility that people that have learned language even in a different way can think diversely even from the same language.
Language certainly shapes certain thoughts that we have. There are so many words and different versions of those words in the English language that even though two words mean the same thing, one can make whatever you may be saying totally different from what you mean. For example, if someone says they have a diverse group of something, it usually means by one characteristic such as color or flavor. However, if someone used the word miscellaneous, it makes that person think that it’s a hodge-podge of different things of all kinds of different characteristics. Other languages give gender to different objects which allows them to include minute details about what they’re doing with those things. This molds their thinking to giving these objects certain qualities.
The ideas and/or questions that I had about this article, I’m sure, are similar to others. I wish I knew what it was like to think in another language or to understand the vocabulary of some others. It makes me wonder if the communication or the feelings about certain things can be lessened or strengthened. In French, you don't say "I miss you." You say "Te me manques", which means "You are missing from me."
I really like your insight on how different words evoke different thoughts in our minds. I never even thought about that, but now that you brought it up, it makes a lot of sense. Your last comment was very thought provoking – I think it would be extremely interesting to be able to think in another language also. One thing about our modern society is that many cultures are sharing different ideas and words. English has many words from other languages like French, German, Spanish, and Latin. These words have become so common in our language that we’re accustomed to using them and often may not even realize that they were originally from another language. Your comment about emotion being expressed differently works in other ways as well -- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201108/emotions-in-more-one-language is an article that discusses how bilingual people often use one language more during emotional conversations, when in pain, or when expressing emotion in general.
DeleteYes indeed Kye like you said previously language can have similar words or sounds but each word has a specifc meaning which is another way that language does shape the way we think.
Delete1. Augur- to indicate what will happen
ReplyDeleteRelishing- enjoyment of something
Equivocate- to be deliberately unclear
Erratic- not predictable, or inconsistent
Monochrome- consisting of one color
2. “Languages like Spanish, French, German and Russian not only oblige you to think about the sex of friends and neighbors, but they also assign a male or female gender to a whole range of inanimate objects quite at whim.” This part of the article intrigued me because I’ve always wanted to know why inanimate objects were feminine or masculine.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? How? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic. I do think that language shapes our thoughts because when we hear a certain word used in a certain way we get offended or often want to correct that person.
4. My question is if language shapes the way we think how come people don’t think before they speak?
Myesha I like your question, and I sometimes wonder the same thing. It probably just slips out of there mouth things they dont mean to say in the heat of the moment or when emotions are high.
DeleteThats a good question. I think its more that they dont think at all, some people just start ranting not realizing what they say.
DeleteI love your question, but honestly, I think it is kind of rhetorical. I think that there would be many different answer from different people. I personally think that people don't think before they speak because Some people are uneducated, and others are ignorant. Thanks for sharing.
Delete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDeleteAugar: to indicate what will happen
Epistemology: a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
Glottis: The opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
Habitually: according to habit or custom
Whim - a sudden, passing, and often fanciful idea; impulsive or irrational thought
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
"Let’s take genders again. Languages like Spanish, French, German and Russian not only oblige you to think about the sex of friends and neighbors, but they also assign a male or female gender to a whole range of inanimate objects quite at whim."
I found it interesting that in the article is says that when speaking English you can have the choice to make the object male or female, but in other languages there is no choice. I also find it interesting that it says once you start getting in the habit of saying every object as male or female, that it is hard to stop. Why do other languages assign genders to everything, but we don't?
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
I think that language does shape out thoughts, especially when it comes to gender of objects. I think by speaking English it does influence our experience of the world because we don't have to constantly put a gender on all the objects and because of that English is considered an "odd" language.
4.What would the English language be like if we too had to assign a gender to all objects?
1. Augur – indicate what will happen
ReplyDelete2. “There are radical variations in the way languages carve up the spectrum of visible light; for example, green and blue are distinct colors in English but are considered shades of the same color in many languages.”
I’d heard before that some cultures had a different set of “basic colors”, but I’d never researched it before. I think it’s a fascinating concept, especially from the perspective of an artist. I decided to do some extra reading on the topic and found that in some cultures, red and orange are not distinguished as two separate colors, while others (such as people who speak Guugu Yimithirr) see blue and green as one color. This lack of distinction is important because it actually changes a person’s ability to recognize that they are not the same. To differentiate between blues and greens, most languages have specific phrases meaning ‘sea blue’, ‘grass green’, and so on.
http://www.globalpropaganda.com/articles/TranslatingColours.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguishing_blue_from_green_in_language
3. I definitely believe that language shapes the way we think. I know that many cultures use certain phrases that wouldn’t make much sense if they were translated to another language. Also, the way a concept is worded can affect how someone views the idea.
4. I thought it was interesting that English is one of the languages that doesn’t assign genders to objects, yet (as stated by a few others) many objects are called ‘she’ – such as ships, instruments, vehicles, countries, and even the Earth. http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/he-or-she-versus-they was an interesting article on how the English language uses different pronouns.
Terrell Richardson
ReplyDelete1.
a.augur- Portend a good or bad outcome
b.conjectured-Form an opinion or supposition about something on the basis of incomplete information.
c.maxim- A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.
d.obliged-Make someone legally or morally bound to an action or course of action.
e. Glottis - The opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords
2. "If a language has no future tense, for instance, its speakers would simply not be able to grasp our notion of future time." This quote intrigued me because basically if a certain language didn't have future tense they could not describe the future they could only describe the present and not the future.
3. After reading this article I have came to the assumption of language does not shape our thoughts, but it does affect the way we present our thoughts to others.
4.
What do you mean it affects the way we present our thoughts, do you mean geographical references from the Guugu Yimithirr language?
Delete1. Absurdity - the state or quality of being absured.
ReplyDeleteAugur- Portend a good or bad outcome.
Egocentric- having regard to yourself or being the individual as the center of all things.
Habitually- habit or custom.
Schadenfreude- Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.
2. “Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey." This quote seemed to have intrigued alot people. It just stood out of the whole article. It means that languages are different, and may travel from place to place or from people also, but the actual meaning of the language may be inside the language, which you have to dig deep and research.
3. After reading the article I do think that language shapes the way we think. Language has so many meaning in different places around the world. Its a huge amount of languages that we've never heard of before, and people that speak these may say that its weird that youve never heard their language. It also shapes our opinion, beliefs, and many more things.
4. I have no further questions about this article.
I really liked the quote that you chose. I agree with the quote and how you described it. I only word that we both had was augur which does mean good or bad outcome. I also agree that language does shape the way you think. Thanks for posting and giving your input.
DeleteI think language would be really weird if we had to assign genders to it. I think it would be complicated and all bundled up together. For all the people that speak English now I think they would learn a new language because of difficulties
ReplyDelete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDelete- Augur- one of a group of ancient Roman officials charged with observing and interpreting omens for guidance in public affairs.
-Intuitive: reasoning; instinctive
-Transpired: Occur; happen
-Fringes: used to edge clothing or material
-Disrepute: The state of being held in low esteem by the public
-Obliges: 1.Make someone legally or morally bound to an action or course of action.
-Connotations: an act or instance of connoting
-Aboriginal: Inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times; indigenous
-Inculcated- to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly
-Epistemology: theory of knowledge
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you.
”Native American languages impose on their speakers a picture of reality that is totally different from ours, so their speakers would simply not be able to understand some of our most basic concepts, like the flow of time or the distinction between objects (like “stone”) and actions (like “fall”).”
This part of the article really interested me because not only was I able to make connections from my personal experiences but it made a lot of sense reading about it from an experts or a scientist perspective. This quote is basically explaining how a Native speaker may talk may not make sense to an ordinary person who is studying the Native American language of that speaker. For example I am a Native Spanish speaker whenever I say things in Spanish a Spanish teacher or a student who knows Spanish really good may not understand certain things I say because they have learned the more proper and grammatical form of Spanish. Or whenever a Spanish teacher like Ms. Strawn may say something in Spanish class I may not always know every word she says because I know the Native form rather than the more proper form of Spanish vice versa.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
From my perspective I feel like language does indeed shape our thoughts because sometimes whenever you are given a question and you know more than one language or even the latin roots of words numerous diverse answers come into play. Many answers come into mind because once you are presented with a question your brain automatically makes connections with what you know and with what you think you know and putrs it together to solve the question. After trying to do research on how our brain makes connection I found this article called “Did your brain make You do It” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/neuroscience-and-moral-responsibility.html on hoiw our brain makes connection it made me want and after reading it I learned that when you are exposed to such questions or thought you brain automatically works in such way that it is possible for your behavior to change when you come across certain thoughts. After reading our initial article I most definitely think that language does indeed shape the way we think because if we think about and each of our own native language it should generally effect the way we think because things that surround us in our everyday life should normally have an impact on how we think and how we process what we think.
4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
How is that people have just realized that Wort’s Theory has no proof or evidence behind it when theres all these super smart people in the World ??
There has been many other articles way before the one that we as a class read, on this topic. There is some proof behind his theory its more toward the end of the article. A study was given to people who spoke a language that used gender, they would have to give a voice to a non-living object, and if the object was "feminine" in the language the speaker gave it a woman's voice. For example la mapa would be given a woman voice because of the gender given to the object. So in a way there is proof to Wort's theory.
Delete1. List at least 5 new words you came across that you did not know and their definition. (Many words used in this article are SAT words.)
ReplyDelete1) Epistemology – The field of philosophy that deals with nature
2) Equivocate- to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid comminication or in order to mislead; prevaricate or heedge.
3) Inculcate- to cause or influence to accept an idea or feeling
4) Neuter - noting or pertaining to a gender that refers to things classed as neither masculine nor feminine
5) Maxim - an expression of a general truth or principle
2. Quote something you found intriguing in the article. Discuss why it intrigued you
“ So different languages certainly make us speak about space in very different ways. But does this necessarily mean that we have to think about space differently?” this intrigued me because i would just assumed that people would use back/front, left/right for direction. Of course in there own languages but i would have never thought they would have used cardinal direction, and its facinating to find out they would have to use a mental compass at all times. Example: When told to take “three steps east” or “bend southwest,” he didn’t know what to do. The boy would not have had the least trouble with these directions in his own village, but because the landscape in the new village was entirely unfamiliar, he became disoriented and confused. Why didn’t the teacher use different instructions? He would probably have replied that saying “take three steps forward” or “bend backward” would be the height of absurdity.” I believe this proves the the point of the quote because it shows how diffrent languages or concepts are, but still understand it in a similar.
3. After reading the article, do you think language shapes our thoughts? how? In what ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Give your analysis or thesis on this topic.
Langague plays important role in our thoughts because before we speak we have to think of what were going to say.when we speak our langauge we might teach it to other people therefore sharing it with the world.
4. 4. Post any questions or ideas that this article provoked.
No additional questions or ideas.
One:
ReplyDeleteEgocentric: having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things
Augur: To divine or predict
Inculcated: to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly
Comprehensible: To be able to understand, intelligible
Monochrome: being made in the shades of a single color
Two:
I found this article fascinating because its basically saying that a outsider learning English may think of the method of learning English differntly than a way that a person who already knows English. I think that learning is influenced by your language, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn a language by thinking otherwise.
Three:
Yes language shapes our thoughts and the way we go about our every day lives. Language has influence our experince in the world because the way we speak can be effected by where we live.
1. Augur: a good or bad outcome
ReplyDeleteMonochrome:different shades of a single color
Disrepute: low regard; disfavor
Transpired: to occur
Pithy: brief, forceful, and meaningful
2. “Languages like Spanish, French, German and Russian not only oblige you to think about the sex of friends and neighbors, but they also assign a male or female gender to a whole range of inanimate objects quite at whim.” This quote intrigued me because before I was in Spanish, I did not know that inanimate objects had genders in some languages.
3. I think that the article, I think that language does shape our thoughts. I think that this is true because many people languages are from many different countries with many different cultures and usually people from different cultures have different ways of thinking.
4. I was wondering if people thought different ways because of culture or if it is because of people's personal decisions?
1. Augur: an outcome, either bad or good
ReplyDeletePithy: brief, forceful, and meaningful
Glottis: The opening at the upper part of the larynx, between the vocal cords.
Relegated : to send or consign to an inferior position, place, or condition
Epistemology – The field of philosophy that deals with nature.
2) "Chinese, on the other hand, does not oblige its speakers to specify the exact time of the action in this way, because the same verb form can be used for past, present or future actions. Again, this does not mean that the Chinese are unable to understand the concept of time. But it does mean they are not obliged to think about timing whenever they describe an action."
This quote made me think about how different languages can be. Their concepts about certain things may be different, but that does not mean that one is more inferior than the other.
3) I believe that language does shape HOW we think, but it does not limit our thinking or understanding of the subject.
4) This article really made me wish I knew multiple languages, especially ones that are structured very differently. It would be really cool to actually understand the way they work.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have a question , In what way does Whorf theory and others theories in this article are similar and in what way they differ?
ReplyDelete