Lera Broditsky Lost In Translation Summary

Language is a major part of everyone’s life. Every country or even a community have their own language or a way of speaking, and these are the things that differentiate people from one another. Jamila Lyiscott speech, “3 Ways of Speaking English” and Suzanne Talhouk speech, “Don’t Kill Your Language” on TED talks, addresses different issues related with language and the way of speaking a particular language. Both of the speeches effectively use rhetorical elements or devices. Both of these people are well-known speakers, so they have some credibility even before they begin speaking. When they do start their speeches, both effectively employ emotional appeal, facts and logic to convey their intended message to the audience.

It only takes one word to process the word language in a person’s mind, and that is purely the language that he/she speaks. Language is the immediate translator of communication. Author Thompson Olusegun Ewata writes in his book Business Communication for Academic and professional Purposes that “Language is a vehicle that we use in presenting ideas, thoughts, feelings, opinions to the world” (Ewata 2010). In other words, language is how people share with others all of the information they are processing. Science fiction author Philip K. Dick expands on this relationship between language and communication in his novel The Penultimate Truth, by demonstrating the connections and flow of information from the above-ground and below-ground people.

People in society develop their own language on how other’s see them which can be seen

Having to live a life of two languages leads to an insecure identity. Rodriguez argues that learning both languages and using them rather than avoiding one, leads to a better sense of identity and freedom. Thus, his intended audience are people who are of higher education, scholars, and educators. Both himself, and the audience have shared values which entail: “independent thinking, self-knowledge”, education, “commitment to the affairs of the world”, and scholarship and intellect. Rodriguez convinces the audience to seriously consider his claim through effective appeals to ethos and pathos. Ethos is developed in the area of authority by personal anecdotes and in the area of credibility by shared values. Pathos is effectively evoked via experiences he had that make the audience more likely to pause and consider his claim.

Have you ever wondered how we speak? How about why our communication is considered a language and other animal’s communication is not considered language? A wide range of beliefs exist on what defines language. Thus, by exploring the definition of language and lexicon, evaluating language’s key features, the four levels of language structure and processing, and the role of language in Cognitive Psychology, an understanding of what language is becomes clear. Let us begin by defining language and a term named lexicon.

In the words of George Orwell, “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” Language has been spoken for over 350,000 years. It has expanded tremendously, but its power has never changed. The use of language shapes peoples' perceptions and the depth of interactions because it can demean, avoid, portray emphasis, persuade, and conceal from simple phrases such as “I feel like” and “just”.

The main reason that Boroditsky’s argument that language shapes our minds is valid is that the research she did with her teams covers a wide variety of aspects on this topic while still keeping her article cohesive. The first research Boroditsky introduces to her audience is the research on the Kuuk Thaayorre, which is an

Famous American anthropologist and social theorist Clyde Kluckholm , claims in one of his publication that “Every language is also a special way of looking at the world and interpreting experience concealed in the structure of language are a whole set of unconscious assumptions about the world and the life in it”(Writing logically, Thinking critically 7th edition P 35). Based on this theory, we can learn more

Originally published in the Wall Street Journal in 2010, Lera Boroditsky’s paper titled “Lost in Translation” analyzes the impact language has on thought. Formatted as more of a persuasive than truth seeking essay, Boroditsky begins by asking the reader if the language a person speaks shapes the way they think. This makes the reader believe as though she is truly trying to find an answer to this inquiry, but as the paper goes on, the reader is mostly introduced to evidence that supports Boroditsky’s stance and she merely touches upon the argument of the opposing side. Although Boroditsky does not include more counterarguments, “Lost in Translation” is a well written article which demonstrates that languages indeed shape the way people think through her use of the Rhetorical Triangle, inductive logic, and her stylistic choices.

In the world, there are about 6909 different languages being spoken. Millions of people are speaking those languages all around the globe, but how many of them are actually speaking? Language is not just about communication with words. Toni Morrison elaborates more on that idea in her speech the Nobel Lecture. Toni’s writing illustrates her beliefs about language and the deeper meaning of it. She explains that language should “Permit new knowledge or encourage the mutual exchange of ideas” (Morrison). She believes that America is not achieving those ideas for language but in fact is doing the opposite. American people do not know the meaning and effect of language and because of that, true language is dying. In the speech, the Nobel Lecture, by Toni Morrison, the author narrates repetition and connotation in order to emphasize and elaborate ideas and purposes of language , ultimately exposing her beliefs about language.

The method of persuasion can have many different forms using a multitude of tools. Another tool that Boroditsky utilizes to aid her point is informal dialect. One of the main things people look at when reading is if it is easy to understand. Think about it; most people do not enjoy sitting down and reading a textbook. If you do not know what someone is talking about are you going to be able to agree with them? For most, the answer would be no which is why the use of informal dialect is so important in this passage. If someone were to give you a paper with a significant amount of words and phrases that are difficult to understand not only would it cause the reader to be confused but also cause the reader to lose interest early on. Although part of the audience would be the colleagues, neuroscientists, and psychologist to reach a more considerable amount of people and a broader audience the dialect needed to be easy to read and understand to the general public. One small example from the passage would be “If you don’t know which way is which, you literally can’t get past hello.” (Boroditsky 438) In this sentence alone there are no

Third, words are all people have to go on; however, it also keeps people from always being able to understand. If we thought about it, how many of the words we use do we actually know? Thinking of the meaning of most words and the sentences we put them, what we say is nonsense. This brings up the scene of tennis with questions. Most people aren’t fast enough and able to access their brains to understand what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are doing; much less saying. They banter between themselves using questions. Think of the language used and the meanings of their words. These two are geniuses when it comes to the thought of knowing. How do we know other people know what we are saying and meaning? We don’t, unless we could read minds. What is language?

For all humans, language is the most common means of communication with others and it enables us to share our experiences and stories and to tell about our needs and feelings. For example, Yamamoto states that sociolinguistics see, it is ‘primarily through the use of language that people communicate with each other’ (1979: 146). We all speak one or more languages and as the main way of communication it is an important and vital part of our lives. There is many languages in the world and they differ from one another in many ways. But does the language we speak reflect to the way we see and experience the world around us? This paper will explore the question through the Sapir Whorf hypothesis and arguments for and against it.

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” – Benjamin Lee Whorf

It cannot be denied that globalization has been ongoing for centuries but it most prominently started in the 19th Century as a result of industrialization (New World Encyclopedia, 2013). Since the 1800s, many different cultures have come together within the business world and have had to learn how to communicate with one another. Professor Mauranen of the University of Helsinki, conducted a study in 1992 that tested the understanding of syntax amongst two different cultures, Anglo-American and Finnish (p. 157). According to Mauranen, “A rhetorically good text is then one which makes its point effectively, and is perceived as having high credibility among target readers, rather than one which exhibits excellent style” (p. 160). Her study