Language provides individuals with a better understanding of themselves and their surrounding world. Language is more than a string of words used to describe feelings, thoughts, or concepts. Instead, language helps people focus on the specific aspects of the world by expanding the ability to perceive the world unequivocally. However, there are different languages globally with different structures, styles, and vocabularies. Similarly, how people use language and perceive their meaning and purpose varies significantly with different languages. Languages form an integral part of communication and sharing of knowledge, including how individuals operate and navigate their surroundings. Similarly, language is part of culture and history, thus forming the basis of connectivity as it impacts human expression and emotional experiences. Languages affect how we experience the world in different ways by broadening our perception, changing how we describe events and widening our knowledge.
Language hugely affects how we see things in the world around us. The principle of linguistic relativity states that the way we think about the world is greatly influenced by the language we use to think and talk about the world. Therefore, people can only talk about aspects of the world that their language can describe or has specific words for. Boroditsky states, “we humans are able to transmit our ideas across vast reaches of spaces and time” (Boroditsky 1). The author refers to the color spectrum and how varied languages differentiate the visual world. Color perception is a familiar example of how language shapes how we see the world. The terms we have for a given color vary from one language, equally affecting how we describe what we see. For instance, Russian speakers have only two unique categories of blue, while English speakers have different shades of blue.
Languages influence our perception and how to describe certain events. Different linguistics offers individual words that vividly detail what they see or perceive. As a result, individuals can only describe things that their language provides the words to use. Boroditsky state that “people who speak different languages will pay attention to different things, depending on what their language usually requires them to do.” (Boroditsky 1). Consequently, individuals cannot describe or perceive an event that their language cannot designate using specific words. Lee states, “Those words in those books felt more ordered than the chaos of adolescence.” (Lee 3). This statement refers to how learning English changed her understanding of different words used in describing different situations.
Similarly, languages broaden our knowledge and understanding. Linguistics is often described as an integral component of culture because of its uniqueness and specificity. Language relates to a community’s cultural values and ideals as it is often shaped by knowledge transfer from one generation to another. Boroditsky states that “if your language and your culture trains you to do it, actually, you can do it,” referring to the power of language in shaping our understanding of the world (Boroditsky 2). Similarly, Lee recognizes that language has helped her better understand her culture and people, being an immigrant who has learned English.
Clearly, language has a huge impact on how we experience the world because it shapes our perception, broadens our knowledge and understanding, and affects how we describe and perceive events. Languages help individuals focus their attention and thoughts on particular aspects of the world that exist within their linguistic abilities. Therefore, language influences one’s perception of the world because an individual can only perceive or describe an event, subject, or object that their language has designated specific words or expressions.
Works Cited
Boroditsky, Lera. “How Language Shapes The Way We Think .”Ted.Com, 2022, https://www.ted.com/talks/lera_boroditsky_how_language_shapes_the_way_we_think.
Lee, Min Jin. “A Lifetime of Reading Taught Min Jin Lee How to Write about Her Immigrant World.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Apr.2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/books/review/min-jin-lee-writer.html.
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