Cory- (I DO NOT SO MUCH AGREE WITH THIS POST)
This week I have chosen to write about what influence language has on a persons thought process. With the three examples given for this week one could argue one side or the other on any of the three and make a valid point. I however am going to go with the fact that language can influence but does not determine how a person thinks.
The reason that I am supporting this theory is that I feel as though you can always learn new words or even a new language so how is it that language could possibly determine how I would think if I am able to pick up new things virtually every day. The notion that language could determine what a person can or can not think is a little far fetched to me.
I guess you could say that when someone is at a loss for words that this may play true but that doesn't happen all the time for most people. For most it takes some sort of trigger for them to be at a total loss for words, and even then they are still attempting to find the right thing to say. I view language this way it is a tool for us to help get our thoughts our into the world for others to hear and then become an active part of. Language has help with the creation of the society that we live in today without it we may not have may of the things that we have today.
Sam -
Direct observation of a culture is an effective way of learning and understanding the studied culture because it allows you to learn through experience rather than hypothesis. For example, when we were all working on Assignment Two we were asked not to interview anyone and to just simply observe people and document their actions.
While we were just observing we were only getting half the picture and we were observing people from our own culture. How different would it be then if anthropologists only observed other cultures and did not immerse themselves in it? I believe we would still be holding onto our ethnocentric views if this was the case.
Of course, when you begin to take part in a culture there are some ethical issues that you may run into. Some of those issues may come from taking part in the religious practices of the culture or choosing not to take part in the religious practices. As stated before, how much can you really learn about something from the outside looking in? You would learn more about a cultures religion by immersing yourself into it but you would be crossing an ethical line if you were not a true believer.
You may also run into the issue of people in that culture "putting on a face" for you. What I mean by that is people within the culture will act differently when they know they are being watched. We all clean our house a little bit better when we know we are going to have company right? This can be mitigated by performing a lengthy study of more than a few weeks because generally people can only fake for so long.
Steph: (AGREE WITH THIS POST)
I do not think that language determines what someone can or cannot think. Language is a way of communicating, and not a way of producing ideas or thoughts. So I do not agree with the first statement.
I do believe that language influences thoughts since it is a cognitive function and you have to think about things in a language. Everything in a person's life influences their thoughts. There is no way around it. Learning different languages you see how people put sentences together differently, but in the end, the thought is still portrayed the same way. If you say "the black dog" or "the dog is black," it is still the same end thought being made. So I do not agree with the third statement.
I agree with the second statement. Language influences, but does not determine thoughts. Just as stated above, different languages may describe an item in different order, but that falls into the languages sentence structure and grammar. The point of the statement is still understood the same in all languages.
Language would also influence the way you think about different words and communication methods, but your experiences would determine your actual meaning and methods. For example, some cultures it is respectful to look a person in the eyes when you speak to them, while other cultures find it respectful to look away from someone when you speak to them.
Everything in your life can influence your thoughts.
It may be on purpose, or may not be, but if I tell you not to think of a purple cat, you will immediately think of what your mind perceives as a purple cat. Each person may think of a different size, shape, or other feature, but that influence happened in any case. Your experiences and imagination determined the outcome of the purple cat, not the language in which you speak.