Is Language Influenced by Culture?

Language plays a significant role in defining who we are. It is a method of communication in a structured and conventional way. “Language reinforces feelings of social superiority or inferiority; it creates insiders and outsiders” (p. 242) states Robert MacNeil (2012) in his article “English Belongs to Everybody”.

Language is an integral part of human existence. It is not only a crucial tool in which we use to convey meaning to others, but also a cultural construct passed down from previous generations that helps to define who we are and how we relate to others. Ultimately language defines our relationships with others, the way we use language is shaped by our own socio- cultural background and also that of whoever we may be communicating with. Self awareness of how our own use of language has been shaped by our background and an understanding of what shapes others use of language leads to better communication, understanding and empathy.

Language is another medium of interaction with people. In chapter three ‘Culture’ explains that language is the thread that weaves members of a society into the symbolic web we call culture. Language communicates not only a surface reality but also deeper levels of meaning. Language defines men and women differently in terms of both power and value (Henley, Hamilton, and Thorne, 1992; Throne, Kramarae and Henley, 1983).

The Role of Language in Creating and Reinforcing Social Distinctions Such as Class, Ethnicity, and Gender

Language plays an important role in society; ‘it provides an important tool for conveying social identities and contributes to the relationship building process’ (East, 2008). It defines us by ethnic appearance, age, gender and classifies societal status (East, 2008). Yet the one language that has spread globally to more than 62 nations, reaching 2 billion people and is

The relationship between culture and language are intensely connected. Inseparably, Culture is linked to language. Without culture, language cannot exist and without language, culture cannot be totally learnt nor can be efficiently spoken and transformed from one generation to another. Language is a way of human communication by either spoken or written down by particular groups of people. It is used by human to communicate information and experiences that happen in the past and present. Language is a part of culture of people which people used to express themselves. Researchers have generally proven that the style of someone language can determine their cultural identity. This means that language reflect the culture of individuals as

Language and emotion are very important to human development as it creates identity and perception of the self. In addition, language and emotion are important to socialization and a person’s perception of the world. These messages are taught differently throughout the world and are influenced by the family, community and culture therefore children adapt as a result of their learned experiences (Miller and Mangelsdorf 2005). This paper focuses on research conducted by Kusserow (1999), Fung (1999) and Orellana (2001). The researchers’ methodologies differ greatly but each touches on the approach of socializing children into each culture and subculture’s teachings on acquiring various forms of language and emotion.

What do you think drives the opposition to gay marriage? Is it because it's uncommon in a society that seems to let only male and female get married, or is it that people just don't like it or uncomfortable with the idea of gay people marrying? A growing number of same-sex marriage led our society to be Less productive than usual, by not having the standard rate of giving birth. The number of women is higher than the number of men in many countries and that is what made other countries begin questioning among individuals. We should ban same-sex marriage because it’s uncivilized, and it also decreases our productivity by not having the standard number of birth, that is why the U.S. government is letting immigrant come to the United States so

When we, as people, speak, we convey our beliefs, morals, and inner thoughts through language; therefore, the way in which we do so reveals a lot about our personalities and lives. After reading the assigned essays, it is clear to me that language plays a vital role in my life and helps to reveal who I am as a person. The language used by myself and the people I surround myself with molds my speaks patterns and life as a whole everyday. Amy Tan, author of “Mother Tongue,” explains better than I ever could how the language that we use and are exposed to changes the type of people we are in general. In one excerpt from the essay, she stated that the language she grew up with molded her beliefs and overall perspective on the world. One of the

This article discusses the way in which the language used in our society can have negative association. Our language largely influences how we think and act and in turn how we preserve global justice. The author also includes good points about how terminology used in one society does not reflect similarly among all other societies and this can be harmful. He provides a few solutions to the issue that could potentially be a positive direction for social justice among certain circumstances.

The article ‘My Two Lives’ which that highlights the concept of ‘Language and Society’ published by the Newsweek, inspires this task. Language is both a system of communication between individuals and a social phenomenon. The area of language and society, sociolinguistics, is intended to show how such factors as class, gender, race, and more govern our use of language. In short, language constitutes humans and their identities. All people either utilize varieties of a language or use two or more languages to respond to a whole range of affective and interpersonal demands; language by depiction must be defined as multilingualism.

Have you ever had the feeling that speaking another language changes how you think? Could speaking a new language take you to a different perceptual world? Or is language just a set of labels for universal thoughts or ideas? (Shaules, 2015) Many brilliant thinkers have spent their entire lives working on these kinds of topics for over a century. When it comes to linguistic relativity, “The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis”, first proposed by ‘Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf seventy years ago, states that the language we speak does shape the way we see the world and has an important role, it remains the dominant hypothesis in the field of language and thoughts. (Sapir, 1921)

Language is part of who a person is. Also like in spanish, by the way we speak we can tell where everyone is from. A big part of culture is language that's why it is used to distinguish.

Language is a system of communication which consists of a set of sounds and written symbols which are used by the people of a particular country or region for talking or writing. It is considered as an art because when used it able to help a person develop or create a certain picture in the mind. Language being an artifact of culture means that it is an interesting thing that is created by the people. It is an aspect of their way of life of the people. It also helps in development of the people as writers and intellects. As a culture it is a people’s way of life and therefore the impact it has to human beings cannot be under looked.

Most questions of whether and how language shapes thought start with the simple observation that languages differ from one another. And a lot! Just look at the way people talk, they might say. Certainly, speakers of different languages must attend to strikingly different aspects of the world just so they can use their language properly.