Lost In Translation Lera Broditsky

Many writers tend to rely on personal experience as a focus for their prose. Whether that experience is of moving to unfamiliar territory, facing fears, or reaching specific milestones, it becomes easier for the writer to connect with the story if he or she uses his or her own background as a fundamental basis for the work. Jean Kwok is among the authors who use their cultural background along with personal growth and experience to give more meaning to their stories. Born in Hong Kong and immigrated to America at a young age, Kwok uses elements of her Chinese background in her coming of age novels, “Girl in Translation” and “Mambo in Chinatown” to bring to light the many struggles faced by Chinese immigrants in the process of assimilation,

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.

In “Lost in Translation,” Lera Boroditsky writes to people within businesses or people who are wanting to invest in companies that work with other countries. She writes to inform and tell the reader that if getting involved with other countries you need to know what to expect. The examples she provides in her article show that language in some countries does differ from others, but it isn’t like that in every country. She writes to inform business people what they need to know before they get involved with other countries. This is why this article is published in the Wall Street Journal, Boroditsky wants all business companies to know what to expect before they get involved. Throughout the article I pulled out rhetorical choices that make the article what it is. Lera Boroditsky credibility shows through past references, significance to audience, statistical jargon through logos, and personal anecdotes.

Language is a tool that may be used in thinking, but it isn’t the sole basis of

Although the language individuals use reflects our identity, language use is not static and changes according to context. This is

The Language of our Time Language, spoken or written, is a form of human communication consisting of the use of words in a conventional and structured way. The language of our birth, the language of everyone’s first words, creates a powerful bond and shapes an individual’s perception of the world. And yet, only few people truly understand the effects a language can have on others or the extent a language can manipulate people through their state of mind. Language can help define the identity of an individual. It shapes a person’s mind based on their past and helps people into the future.

In the essay, “You Are What You Speak” by Guy Deutscher speaks on behalf of how an individual’s mind works through the impact of one’s language. The article starts off with Deutscher referring to what was said by Benjamin Lee Whorf. Whorf had said that an individual’s native language limits what they think, thus making them unable to retain certain concepts that are not given a specific name in one’s specific language. Deutscher then argues that Whorf’s claim is inaccurate and wrong for so many reasons, as well as that there is no evidence given to even confirm or support this theory. He then gives an example of the German word “Schadenfreude” meaning “pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune“, for which there is, no English

What's harder than living like a teddy bear? Living like a poor teddy bear, who works in a sweatshop, and gets pregnant. The Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok tells the story of Kim Chang, a girl who moves to the United States from Hong Kong. She experiences poverty, child labor, and lots of stress throughout the process. Life without money is very difficult, especially when Kim and her mom get paid progressively less throughout the book, resort to living in cloth for toys, get most of their money taken from them, and can't afford school.

The famous author Gloria Anzaldua believes that every human being has a diverse set of languages that they use to make it through everyday life. I agree with her 100%, not only do we have those sets, but only one of them is our true voice. For me, my true language is the one I use when I am around my close friends and family. Who are we without our language; without our language? Language is a key factor in knowing who you are, where you come from and even who you want to be.

It is interesting to see how language takes on a different position in various places; in fact, language can be a determining factor to various options matters, such as whether or not someone receives a job or whether or not someone is discriminated against. In Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, Tan shares her experience with language and argues that people are influenced more by their family then they are by peers when it comes to language. However, Tan has lost sight of the wide variety of factors that influence how a person speaks, as in language is influenced by much more than peers and family.

Lakoff and Johnson propose that the language we use affects the way we think and the way we think affects the language we use. I am

In the article “Lost in Translation”, the author, Lera Boroditsky, maintains as her thesis that the languages we speak not only reflect or express our thoughts, but also shape the very thoughts we wish to express. Boroditsky begins the main section of her essay with the history of the issue of whether or not languages shape the way speakers think. Charlemagne was the first to think that languages do in fact shape the mindset of speaker, but Noam Chomsky rebutted this idea with his thought that languages do not differ much from each other, thus in turn proposing that linguistic differences do not cause a difference in thinking. Now with scientists

How would you give someone directions to your house? Would you tell them you are on Cherry street, second house on the left? Or, are you more likely to say you are in the southwest corner of town, second house to the north? This line of thought is discussed in Lera Boroditsky’s “Lost in Translation” (469-473). Similarly, John O’C Hamilton praises Boroditsky’s research in “You Say Up, I say Yesterday” (463-468). However, Steven Pinker believes all of the focus on brain changes are a waste of time in “TITLETITLETITLE” (PAGE#). +Guy Deutscher discuses BLANK in “Does Your Language Shape How You Think?” (PAGE#) Regardless, Boroditsky’s is correct in her research that our spoken languages do shape our minds. Language

No matter where you are in the world, you are taught about language. Whether it’s in your home learning your language or in school trying to learn a foreign language. Although while learning language the notion is never really thought about or brought up that the language and way we speak can influence the way we think and interact. Phycologist and neuroscientist alike have spent years, with multiple different tests to see if there is a connection between the various languages that are spoken and the way people not only think but also how they go about their daily lives. She writes to not only her colleagues and neuroscientists but also to anyone in the general public that is genuinely interested in the connection between

Research by Lera Boroditsky (2001) posed many interesting questions regarding linguistic diversity and the resultant interplay between language and thought: whether linguistic diversity stimulates different ways of thinking, whether learning new languages changes the way one thinks, whether bilingual and multilingual people think differently when speaking different languages. Clark (2003) maintains that although language does not indicate a complete map of consciousness or thought, it is at least a “representational map” that varies across languages.