...Using Language to Judge People English 101 Dr. Kristofik Paper Five 12/7/15 Acknowledgements I. Citations a. Derek W. Jones Humans not Categories b. Language Awareness c. Susanne K. Langer Language and Thoughts d. Hannah Mercer Is there such thing as a Language Barrier? II. Readers e. Hannah Mercer read my sentences aloud and helped me fix any sloppy mistakes. f. Brandt Rosenberg read my paper, and gave me some positive feedback. III. Assistance g. Brandt Rosenberg provided some ideas I could use in my paper. We both had similar questions or statements. h. Hannah Mercer made sure I didn’t fall asleep writing this paper. We stayed up late working on it in the library. IV. Reflection i. I really enjoyed writing this paper. I liked how you let us choose what we wanted to talk about. I felt like my writing has got so much better since the beginning of this semester. I hope you enjoy what I think about language and how it has impacted me as a person. Thank you for being an awesome teacher! I will defiantly miss having your class. Thank you for helping grow as a writer and being able to express myself through writing. From the time I took my first steps into a college class, up until now writing this paper and studying for finals…I have used language every day. One question or thought that has been coming to mind all semester is, how we use language to shape our thoughts or how we use language...
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...Hypothesis ANT 101 July 19, 2013 The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis theorizes that language is not just voicing something, but it is a shaper of ideas which basically means that language can determine our perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors in reality. Edward Sapir developed and published this hypothesis in the 1920’s. In 1956, Benjamin Lee Whorf published his work developing this hypothesis based on his work using the Hopi and English languages. Both of the ideas are commonly known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and also commonly referred to as linguistic relativity. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis asserted the influence of language on thought and perception. The hypothesis implies that speakers of different languages think and perceive reality in different ways and that each language has its own worldview. This paper will entail how my objective reality might have been shaped by my current language and also how might my reality be different if I grew up speaking another language. For Sapir, language does not reflect reality but actually shapes it to a large extent. Sapir believes that language and behavior equally influence each other. The world cannot exist objectively or in a manner that separates human interactions from cultural linguistic expression but since the perception of reality is influenced by our linguistic habits, it follows that language plays an important role in the process of thought. He argues that linguistic systems determine perceptions of social reality. Sapir...
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...hypothesis, purports that language shapes thoughts; that the language one uses can have an effect on one’s habitual thinking (Boroditsky,2001). In her article “Does language shape thought? Mandarin and English Speakers’ Conception of Time (2001), Boroditsky’s set out to ascertain the influence of language on thinking research. Her study focussed on the aspect of time in English and Mandarin speakers; investigating if the differences in talking about time results in how these two groups of speakers think about time by using an implicit measure of reaction time (RT). She argued that because English speakers typically used horizontal-oriented spatial metaphors such as ‘forward’ or ‘back’ for temporal relations, they might grow to think about time horizontally. Conversely, because Mandarin speakers commonly used vertical terms such as 上 (shang) and 下 (xia), which means ‘up’ and ‘down’ in English; this mapping may also become habits of thoughts. From her experiments, Boroditsky noted that Mandarin speakers relied on a ‘Mandarin’ way of thinking even when responding to English sentences. The subjects’ RT mirrored their perceived habit of thinking about time with Mandarin speakers demonstrating vertical biases even when thinking in English. Her investigations also suggested that earlier exposure to English decreases this semantic biases. Finally, her findings with English speakers briefly trained in vertical spatiotemporal metaphors indicated that it was language and not cultural differences...
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...Language is Beyond Communication When I chose English as my major in college, many of my relatives, friends and even my teachers were shocked. “This is not a major. Everyone who wants to seek opportunities globally will learn English.” “Language is just a tool in communication, without professional knowledge, what are you going to do when you graduate?” Even though now I still don’t know what I can do after four years studying English, I am feeling more and more strongly that language is not simply a tool in conversation. Language plays an essential part in everyone’s life, but most people are unaware of it. Because we are so familiar with our own language, we take it for granted. Language is beyond communication; it is a cultural thing. It shapes our thoughts and helps build our social network. Admittedly, one of the most important functions of language is communication. Language transforms abstract thoughts into concrete words and phrases, so people can express their ideas. Language gives a standard form to people who live in the same area, so when in conversation, people know they are talking about the same thing. Language makes communication easier. Besides, language can be spoken, heard, read, and touched (braille alphabet), therefore, almost everyone has access to it. Language reaches communication to people at large. However, this communication is not globally wide, because a certain language is only understood by a group of people who speak the language. Therefore,...
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...humans? Calling ourselves human is our way of categorizing ourselves as a superior species. Although we are distinctly different, we should accept that we are in the same family as chimpanzees. Acknowledging that fact doesn't mean you are calling yourself a chimp. For example, a dog isn't a wolf even though they are from the same family. We are humans. What is it about our physical and behavioral traits that enable us to develop uniquely human capabilities? Traits like language, hunting skills, spiritual and ritual beliefs, bipedalism, and brain capacity The human language might not be universal among humans, but the physical traits that make language possible are universal. About 300,000 or more years ago, the basicranium started evolving to a more flexed or bent position. The basicranium is the floor of the brain's case. With the basicranium flexed, the larynx (voice box) is low in the neck so we can produce more speech sounds. The basicranium is an indicator of how well an animal can articulate sounds. Other evolutionary, corporeal indications are the position and shape of the hyoid bone that anchors muscles connected to the jaw, larynx, and tongue. The Broca's area of the brain controls these muscles as they function to produce speech sounds. These, and other, adaptations like breathing control, vertebral canals larer, tongue innervations and length of the pharynx are all physical characteristics of communication. The evolution of language also enhanced human intelligence...
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...Language is a good tool for expressing the speaker’s feelings. But it differs from another one in innumerable ways, just because of the ways people talk, it does not necessarily mean they think differently. The way you speak says a lot about you. Language can help mould the way we think, but just in its own ways. Therefore, even we spoke the same language, we might not think in the same way. Language is an important tool of communication. People have changed thoughts day by day base on most crucial is language. Language is used to communicate in life, work and education. For example, when adults say something, child can do follow exactly because they don’t know which is good or bad. So we must use languages shape thoughts of child follow true ways to become useful people when child were young. Language is an important part to create personalities. Moreover, every single world’s language is used for the same purpose; to exchange some information. The aim of using language is unchanged in each culture, however the situation in which it is used and in what way, is the main difference. People from far cultures very often encounter a kin of obstacles during the process of communication, however this is not caused by language that is used. The problem is in the way it is done. Each culture has different customs, beliefs and habits and these are the factors that differentiate one’s process of thinking. Language and thought are closely related. It is true that one can think without...
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...Martin, Danielle TOK Mr. Dunn Prescribed Title 12 December, 2014 How is knowledge gained? Knowledge begins at birth, knowing you are hungry, tired, hurt, cold etc. This is transmitted via crying and interaction. From inception you bond with your mother and know her scent, her touch, her feel and thus you begin your journey of knowledge. As we continue to grow older in age we learn new things in our daily lives, whether it’s learning how to walk or a new language that relates to our culture and religious beliefs. We are always growing and learning new things increasing our knowledge in different ways to help us advance and develop our brains more which will then help us mature and develop ourselves. We also learn from books, and television or music created by other people but the only way to understand and process this new information and knowledge from them we would have to already know how to understand and interpret information. No matter what we do in life we always need to look for new ways to expand our knowledge and increase it by making it better with the new things that we learn. As an example increasing our knowledge in a certain area such as science we can learn new things about the brain and body so we can advance in a career and become a doctor or therapist, or maybe become a nurse. By advancing our knowledge we learn a better understanding of particular ideas and things, and we gain a better skill and a greater intelligence in that particular area. Knowledge...
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...Jeffrey Domond Biology 112 Human Origins Around six or seven million years ago in Africa, our first members of our human family the Hominidae was created in Africa. During through the six or seven million years ago, they spent much of their time in trees, like there close relatives the primates. Once the early hominids went on ground they stood and walk on two feet. That separated them and the primates. Homo sapiens evolved in Africa more than 150,000 years ago. To understand the history on how did human evolved and how they adapt to their setting. Scientist relies on evidence including fossils, artifacts, and DNA analysis. By understanding these clues and exploring the data it is clear how much we are evolved from one period to the next. In the exbiht Human Origins at the Natural History Museum fossils and DNA gave clues about the earliest members of the human family. Humans were thought to be most related to chimpanzees and bonobos. But the DNA of humans and chimpanzees is 98% the same and 2% different. Many scientists believed the 2% occurred when hominids evolved from living in trees to adapted living on the ground. DNA is considered the identifying mark of a living system such as the human evolution tree. The DNA code is complex in its basic structure. DNA is a double helix structure molecule. It’s like a long ladder and twisted into a spiral structure. DNA molecules are sugar and phosphate forms the sides of the ladder. DNA has four bases: adenine, thymine, guanine...
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...Having, I would explain as being in possession of. Owning, I would explain as paid in full. This is problematic because the thought of increasing ones status though vanity causes the American society to place themselves in a huge amount of debt, and eventually, not being able to release that debt, Americans will have a money crisis where there is more debt compared to income. This constant state of consumerism may be because of the consistent product advertisements that are visible everywhere in this society; from social media to driving around town, there seems to no place this population can be free from the advertisements. While reading “Growing Up American” I wondered what it would be like to study abroad, to dive in to a culture completely different then my own. I thought to myself how courageous an individual would have to be to leave their bubble and explore and learn about others. I also found that I can relate to the authors voice in many parts of the article, especially when she spoke of mothering her child. There is a lot I found interesting about this article. One thing I thought was really interesting was that the author mentioned that American parents teach their children to be independent from a young age. I can relate to this observation; as a mother I try to teach my son to be independent with different aspects of everyday life within our household. I believe this makes my son feel as though he can rely on himself. The most surprising part of the article was...
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...Language is also a tool that may be wielded by anyone. In return and response to language shaping their lives, people like Alexie and Douglass taught themselves to read and write, so that they were able to overcome the oppressors that used this very language against them. One of the ways that many writers use to learn how to write is through the imitation of another source. Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of the USA, along with being a renowned author on a series of subjects himself, made use of this technique. In Learning to Write, Franklin mentioned that he found himself delighted with a book, and wished to imitate it: “I took some of the papers, and making short Hints of the Sentiment in each Sentence, laid them by a few Days, and then...
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...or posted a billboard to promoting a new songs or a professor advertisements even a lecture from the class these are way we communication. Which has it way in shape and change culture and society in how we lives as individuals. Communication is simply conveying information to another person in a way that we clearly understand. Ineffective communication can lead to confusion or frustration and sometime below morale communication is often defined as the transmission of sending and receiving messages; this connecting as the messages is exchange such as a human thoughts, speech, signals, behavior, or writing. Communication is verbal or nonverbal, written or visual. Demonstrate communication is the best way to understand and other point of view is the emotions or thoughts. Emotions play key part in our life to how we feel and communicate to each other. How it is been transfer into your thoughts and feelings through active listening and verbal and non-verbal communication skills. When communication oral to spoken words, writing dialogues and sign language. Do not involving or using words of speech is known as nonverbal communication as Facial expressions, body posture, eye contact, or gestures are part of nonverbal communication. Written communication can be through text, drawing, e-mails, reports, and articles ("How to Develop Demonstrative Communication Skills?” 2012). Demonstrative Communication Speech is possess demonstrative communications it show a better results. ...
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...INTRODUCTION In the text, language and Igbo Philosophy, Fr. Dr. Chukwuelobe .M. explored the deep contribution of language to Igbo critical thinking via a tasking presentation on the phenomenology of Igbo language taking Igbo proverbs on “okwu” as his point of reflection. It shows the originality and pure nature of Igbo philosophy thereby, aborting the false view that Igbo philosophy is philosophizing in western concepts or dressing Igbo philosophy with western garb; Since, language as we know is ‘an experience that a thinker undergoes with the view to uncovering nature. This work is going to critically analyze and evaluate the author’s argument in this essay. TEXT EXPOSITION The author began by affirming the validity of Igbo philosophy when he argued that Igbo philosophy like every other philosophy ‘sets its goal to question the tradition from which it arises and to transcend it through an interpretive and critical activity of the Igbo thinker.’ Tracing the origin of language in the Igbo philosophy, he maintains that our experience with language is something historical because it relates to man who is historical in nature. Consequently, to understand the Igbo and discern what has come to language in his thought requires that a philosophy listens attentively to the sayings of the historical language; which is yet to be known and remains to be seen. He asserts that the Igbo traditional thinking derives essentially from oral transmission, which predates the advent of western...
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...Other materials that need to hand in: BlogSpot: http://languagesoftheworld.info/language-and-mind/does-language-reflectaffect-thought.html Beyond Blogspot statement: My abstract is definitely beyond the Blogspot. In the Blogspot, the author discussed the controversial question “does language effect/reflect thought” by mentioning a few research results that are in favour of the Whorf hypothesis, but also pointing out that the language pattern/structure does not affect how people perceive an event. In my opinion, thoughts are always being expressed by language, therefore it is much harder to figure out the relationship between language and thoughts because they are too closely link to each other. Therefore, I decide to investigate the relationship between language and perception. Perception, in my point of view, is more intuitional and can be separated from language more easily than thoughts. In my abstract, I will display 4 evidences that show the effect of language on perceptions. Research Plan: My research question is “does language affect perception”. The sources I am planning to use are evidences/examples of how language influences on people’s perceptions (such as perception of colour, phonetic, appreciations and etc.) My tentative answer to this question is “yes, language does have effect on perceptions”. I will use the research results from the studies that I cited to show that language does affect people’s perception of the world. A short statement about my references:...
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...Your thoughts become your words, become your actions, become your habits, become your character become you. (Kirby,G.R.& Goodpaster, J. R., 2007) Scholars have debated and studied for many years trying to figure out how humans think. Even scientist in this modern day continue to research exactly how or what makes the human brain work. The complexity of the thought process is a uniquely individual gift that each human possesses. “No two people think alike”, a phrase commonly used to support the differences in human thinking. Nevertheless, the why not’s cannot be explained but are the never-ending source of debate and investigating in the scientific world. Many factors are involved in the process of thinking. Physiological thinking is defined by the physical nature of the brain, one’s intelligence level, sensory input, and is greatly influenced by inhibition of drugs, sleep patterns, poor nutrition. Moreover, the nature of a human’s psychological well being can define the effect of the mental state and emotional state of the individual. Additionally, the memory, as well as the brain is impacted by the chemical nature of the brain. Individuals suffering from low serotonin usually suffer some depressive episodes; indeed, this will ultimately impair how the individual interprets reality and facts. Thinking is defined as the activity of the brain that can potentially be communicated. A human communicates thoughts through language. There is power in expressing language in a metaphorical...
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...Writing is so ingrained in our culture, as well as in other cultures, that it can often seem as natural as the speech that it represents. One’s own writing system is often seen as the best for accurately conveying ideas and all others are somehow less clear or concise. This idea stems from the inherent belief that one’s culture is superior to others. In our culture, our orthographic and verbal universes often do not extend beyond the languages and writing systems with which we are familiar. Our egotism for our own culture and its linguistic systems (by no means a unique feature in the world) only becomes apparent when we choose to, or are forced to interact with other cultures. At a basic and reactionary level, these other cultures with which we interact often feel the same entitlement to chauvinism as ourselves. To objectify and quantify the superiority of ourselves over the “other”, we compare features of other languages with our own. Any feature present in our language but absent in another, is a deficiency in the other language, and any feature it possesses which our language lacks, is seen as superfluous, or an aberration. When we use autometry to measure other languages against our own, those most similar to ourselves inevitably appear better than those that are more dissimilar. If a culture is missing an entire category such as a written language system, then we assume that their deficiencies must be quite fundamental. The anthropological ideas of cultural relativity...
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