The Power of Language

How does language affect the way you think?

“The habits of mind that our culture has instilled in us from infancy shape our orientation to the world and our emotional responses to the objects we encounter.” –Guy Deutscher (Does Your Language Shape How You Think?)

Sociology is the study of society and how it affects an individual. We learn things from our surroundings. Whether it be form the media, our parents, or school most memories and impressions are unable to be erased. It makes all the difference when we learn these habits from an early age. We learn things and automatically become ethnocentric in our views of the world. We see the world from our own lenses because we are usually only familiar with one dominant way of life. It is not anyone’s fault that communication is difficult between cultures. Barriers like family expectations, gender roles, dress, and language cause culture’s to view the world differently.

 

Language is a special kind of thing. You’re able to communicate how you feel through your words. You can talk to people you care about and tell others you’re frustrated by using your knowledge of language and how different words can be more symbolic than others. In the article, Does Your Language Shape How You Think? Guy Deutscher discusses the impact one’s mother tongue has on the way they view several different societal aspects. He says, “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.”  Any type of cultural practice is going to instill habits among its members, but language is very powerful.  Up-and –coming research is showing that language directly affects cultural views and routine.

For example, Deutscher talks about how in languages such as Spanish and French the gender of all people is specified within their word they are speaking with.  When saying neighbor there are two versions, each one for a different gender. So the French and Spanish are not ever searching for the gender of an individual, unlike Americans. These foreign languages oblige the speakers to mention the gender.

Also, most European languages contain built in gender in their inanimate objects. These grammatical genders shape whether these cultures view the subject, such as a fork, as masculine or feminine. Deutscher says, “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- struck in their monochrome desert of “its”- are entirely oblivious to.”

el tenedor: masculine object in spanish.

So the way we view the world is completely relative to what we have been exposed to as children. Our language can have an impact on what we view as important and how we think about certain words and meanings. Different cultures value different things due to language. For example, the remote Australian tongue called Guugu Yimithirr refers to everything based on the directions on a compass. This short article further explains a situation in which this occurs, “http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-language-shapes-thought. Like Deutscher says, “So different languages certainly make us speak about space in very different ways.”

Overall, languages across the world cause people to view objects, people, and space in a different light. One language that I would like to bring to attention is sign language. They have simplified versions of our words. Imagine you could not use your words and you never learned the verbal words of your native home. This would cause you to communicate differently with everyone around you. Because deaf people have never heard the negative or positive connotations of some words, they can only understand through body language. This is a video about how communication between a couple differs from other couples. After all, life and sociology is all about relativism. This boy and girl still learn to communicate, but her views on language are different than his. It is all about where you are and what your situation entails.

Food in society: what determines how we eat?

One’s eating habits are effected by everything about you and around you. We might not notice it, but what we eat depends on numerous societal aspects.  Leon Rapport sums it up in his essay, “In short our anxieties, aspirations, and modes of relating to others are embodied in our food habits.”

In this current blog I will break down what effects how we eat and why “you are what you eat”.

Gender:  Women eat differently than men because society puts more pressure on women to look thin and fit. Rapport writes, “Innumerable studies have shown weight-reduction dieting of one sort or another to be virtually epidemic among young women and girls.” Men are generally more spontaneous and less cautious about what they consume. The millions of ads, movies, and television shows showcasing beautiful and thin woman cause females of every age to watch their diet.

Economic class: The way one eats can help define what social economic class one belongs to. Rapport explains the issue. “People trying to move into a higher social class are likely to modify their food habits by abandoning McDonald’s and Pizza Hut in favor of more upscale restaurants.” McDonalds is quicker and cheaper for a person working two jobs for minimum wage. It can be seen as a sign of carelessness. It’s a sad reality that one’s salary can affect one’s life in numerous negative ways, such as mood-swings and overall poor health.

Age: Depending on your age, one feels different pressures from society. These pressures and events in different time periods cause people to eat the way they eat.  Rapport writes, “When viewed across the entire life span, food habits stand out as most likely to be changeable, unstable, and potentially a threat to health during both adolescence and old age.” When one becomes older they become more prone to injury and illness that leave them susceptible to depression and anxiety. Rapport really explains the main reason why adolescent’s food habits are so easily at risk. ““The proverbial peer pressure may influence not only their hair and clothing styles but also their eating habits.” Overall, senior citizens and teenagers go through the greatest amount of emotional turmoil. While looking at their eating habits one can easily assume the societal pressure that is causing them to consume a specific diet or type of food.  

Geographic Location: Depending on where one is specifically located on the globe, effects what one would eat. For example, “Beef rates are high in American and low in India; puppy dogs are a treat in parts of Asia, as are raw-fish dishes and whale meat in Japan. Most Americans reject kidneys, frog legs, and snails. Prairie oysters (bulls’ testicles) and rattle snake meat are acceptable in parts of the western U.S. but not elsewhere.” Geographic location is one of the most determining factors on one’s eating habits. Even if one was Mexican in the United States they would still be more prone to eat hamburgers than they originally would in Mexico. Where one is living has such an impact on every aspect of their life.

In addition there are other societal pressures that add to why we are what we eat.  For example Leon Rappoport mentions how coaches of organized sports encourage people of all ages to eat healthy. Also, certain religions prohibit its members from eating and drinking certain foods and drinks. If one looks at the sole issue of food consumption, it is easy to see that peoples’ surroundings and societal pressures determine what he/she will eat for the rest of their life.

If we look at this issue in our world today we will notice the rise of obesity. Our American norms are shifting. With our technological advances and faster pace society, fast food is becoming more popular. In 2009 adult obesity increased in 23 states and didn’t decrease in one single state. Physical activity is becoming less of a priority while computer game and television popularity is rising. It is amazing how people neglect to see that they’re allowing themselves to live an unhealthy life that will eventually lead to alarming health issues.