Thursday 24 February 2011

Does the language you speak shape how you think..?

I recently came across an article in the New York Times claiming that the language one speaks has power of the mind. 
And no I don’t read the NY times- it was accidental…nevertheless very interesting!

The original theorist, Benjamin Lee Whorf enthrallingly theorised that it is ones mother tongue that influences the way we think and thus ultimately reflects who we are. 
This notion greatly intrigued me to eventually consider that if I spoke another language, maybe I would be completely different to who I am now?!
Individuals from all around the world communicate with one another using a dazzling array of languages, each differing from the next in innumerable ways.
But do the languages we speak shape the way we see the world; the way we think and the way we live our lives? Do people who speak different languages think differently simply because they speak different languages? Does learning new languages change the way you think? Does a multilingual person think differently when speaking different languages? 
If this is all true then subsequently, is our language to blame for all the things we complain about rather than our culture?


Suppose the UK’s 2 million British Asian population, comprising of mostly Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis spoke French or more interestingly the language of love Italian as their first language; would this affect or more importantly change their extremely strong innate belief of interrelated forced marriages or queue jumping?

Thank goodness, I didn’t take up Psychology as this has most definitely perplexed me!
                                          
I can’t help but speculate whether I ought to be proud that my language shapes who I am and hence conceit that all those who speak different languages are different and hence unique!

Well, with this thought in mind…I asked my sister if she thought languages characterise ones thoughts, she replied, ‘I don’t know, but can you pass me my thing? It’s sitting on that thing’!
And yes….Unfortunately, we do speak the same language 
                                                      Gracias :)