Aristotle – “Spoken words are the symbols of your mental experiences.”

Aristotle – “Spoken words are the symbols of your mental

experiences.”

If your spoken words are NOT the same, do cultures have different mental experiences based on their languages?

YESWe experience the world differently, therefore, we use language to express our experiences differently.

Language, no matter what language, is a taken for granted aspect of people’s lives AND does not have to make sense.

German

Schadenfreude

German

Drachenfutter

Scottish

sgiomlaireachd

Russian

EfficiencyChallenge

Engagement ringHave fun

ENGLISH 615,000

GERMAN 184,000

FRENCH 100,000

WORDS THAT ENGLISH SPEAKERS HAVE ADOPTED

BRONCORODEO

C’EST LA VIEDEJA VUE

PIANOSPAGEHTII

KIMONOBARBEQUE

FRENCHHouse Home

FINE

14 Definitions as an adjective

6 as a noun

2 as an adverb

Fills 2 pages in the dictionary and takes 5,000 words to explain

FINE

Fine Art

Feeling Fine

Court Fine

Fine Hair

SOUND

Audible Noise

State of Healthiness (Sound Mind)

An Outburst (Sound Off)

Body of Water

• Eskimos: 50 words related to Snow

• Arabs: 600 words related to camels

• Italians: 500 words related to pasta

• Germans: 70 words related to beer

• Maoris: 35 words related to dung

• Araqucanian: 20 words related to being hungry

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ESKIMO LANGUAGE GANA

AKILUKAK

APUT

KAGUKLAICH

PIGSIRPOG

GIMUGSUG

FALLING SNOW

FLUFFY FALLEN SNOW

SNOW ON GROUND

SNOW DRIFTED IN ROWS

DRIFTING SNOW

SNOWDRIFT

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We experience the world differently and we express those

experiences in our language.

Our Cultural Values are Reflected in:

1. What we choose to talk about

2. How we choose to express ourselves

Do people who speak different languages have different thought processes (not experiences)?

NO

If you moved to Alaska and experience snow and learned their language, you could process the different categories.

Until the early 1900’s language was assumed to be a neutral medium that did not influence the way people experienced the world.

Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis

Language is not just an instrument for voicing ideas but is itself the shaper of ideas, the guide for the individuals mental activity.

Sapir Whorf Hypothesis

Firmer

Softer

Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis

Firmer – Language functions like a PRISON

Once you learn a language, you are irrevocably affected by the particular of

that language.

Sapir Whorf Hypothesis

Firmer

Softer

Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis

Softer – Language SHAPES how people think and experience the world, yet it is possible to learn words and categories sufficiently similar to your first language so that communication can be accurate.

Vocabulary + GrammarDifferences in a Language

1. Vocabulary

a. Eskimo

b. Arabic

c. Dani

d. Kamayura

2. Grammara. Tense + Possessivesb. Pronouns

Lost in Translation

• German – Ich bin ein Berliner• South America – Nova• Portuguese – Rendezvous lounges• Chinese – Coca-Cola

ke kou ke la• Japan – Coke adds life

Coke brings ancestors back to life

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• Idioms: Meaning Contrary• U.S. Idioms• Japanese Idioms• Irish Idioms

• Jargon: Common to a Profession

• Argot: Used by Co-cultural

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US IDIOMS

• Bite the bullet

• Don’t have a cow

• Get off my back

• Whistle blower

• On the fence

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JAPANESE IDIOMS

• The nail that sticks up gets hammered

• Like pounding a nail into tofu

• He has a higher nose

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IRISH IDIOMS

• There’ll be wigs on the green

• They left us in the ha’ penny place

• He’s only winding you

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DIALECTS DISTINGUISH COMMUNITIES

It is a form of a spoken language peculiar to a specific region or social group.

DIALECTS VARY

• From rural to urban

• From one social group to another

• From one ethnic group to another

THREE REASONS WHY UNDERSTANDING DIALETS IS

IMPORTANT

Clarity

Evaluations

Standard American Dialect

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CLARITY

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EVALUATIONS

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AMERICAN STANDARD DIALECTS

CODE SWITCHING

• Setting

• Conversational Partner

• Topic