Connection Between Language and Culture, Essay Example

It is clear that language affects culture, and culture is also influenced by language. In contemporary society, people from varying cultures have blended, which has led to blending the different languages they have spoken. In some way, they have led to the creation of a new language. It is therefore clear that language evolves as the culture is increasingly blending with other cultures.

How Language Affects Culture and Vice Versa

Language and cultures interact to affect each other. Notably, language develops from a culture where people living in the same society create words that will perfectly understand each other. Cultures develop languages that relate to their actions and customs, evidenced by the fact that there are words that exist in one language and do not exist in another culture (Mahadi and Moghaddas Jafari 230). Through language, the characters of a culture can be identified. For instance, East Asian countries have no word for self-esteem, and this shows that there was no time that self-esteem was discussed. It is also clear that culture can be influenced by language. Different cultures have different habits, and language can be used to show the expected code of conduct (Leveridge 1). For instance, all cultures have words that resemble their actions. For example, in the English culture, one can say “slam the door” instead of “close the door” to show that slamming is probably in anger or disrespect. Cultures that do not mind how loudly a person closes the door can only have words that can translate to close the door.

How The Language I speak Affects the Way I think.

I believe that the language we speak affects the way we think. For instance, when talking of colors, the Dani people from Papua Guinea only describes the colors into forms, classifying them as either dark or bright. This is, however, even though they can see all the colors. This shows that they do not perceive the differences in colors while other languages can see differences. Moreover, the making of words for different cultures can describe the intensity of something better or worse than other cultures. For instance, the Japanese culture is not direct in accepting or denying a person a favor. When they do not want to do a blessing to someone, they are likely to tell someone that they will think about it instead of no. On the other hand, my culture is more direct, and in case one is being denied a favor, he or she is likely to be told no. This difference creates a different thinking pattern amongst people of different cultures.

Why People of The Same Culture Speak the Same Language and How Blended Cultures Are Creating New Languages

People of the same culture speak the same language because as they connect through different activities, they have to develop ways that will increase cohesion and understanding in the community. The human language developed as a survival instinct. It enabled people to communicate to fend off predators and convey different messages to describe the situation at hand. When people of different cultures live together, they are likely to have a blended culture where they can borrow from the languages of both cultures to have a completely different language (Mahadi and Moghaddas Jafari 230). For instance, during slavery, Africans brought to America as slaves had other languages, but as they interacted to form a new culture, they created a new language and a new culture where they could all interact. It is also clear that blending cultures can lead to code-switching. Code-switching is when a person tries to change their accent to fit into a given culture (Hall and Nilep 598). This is usually common with immigrants trying to appear to be natives of a given country. It is typically practiced to increase their chances of being treated as nationals. However, it is likely that even with code-switching, one cannot sound like a native, and this will lead to the creation of a completely different language. Culture blending also leads to communication accommodation where people can change their language to fit in other cultures (Hordila-Vatamanescu, Elena-Madalina, and Pana 280). Accommodation can be convergent where people of a given culture change how they communicate to ensure that other people from different cultures understand them. Communication accommodation can also be divergent where people from one culture use language that people from another culture, who are in their company, will not understand. This shows that people can either connect with other cultures or shut out people from other cultures.

Conclusion

Culture and languages are intertwined. Human beings are social beings, and through socialization, there is the development of culture and language. Culture ensures that the whole socialization group agrees on what they are supposed to do, and language communicated the ideals held by the community. The development of language influences how people think differently, and this is shown by the fact that some cultures might have no word for certain things or feelings. Through the blending of cultures, new languages and new cultures are created. Cultural blending also leads to code-switching, which can create an entirely different language.

Works Cited

Hall, Kira, and Chad Nilep. “28 Code-Switching, Identity, and Globalization.” Discourse Analysis (2015): 598.

Hordila-Vatamanescu, Elena-Madalina, and Andra-Dina Pana. “The Application of the Communication Accommodation Theory to Virtual Communities: A Preliminary Research on the Online Identities.” International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 5.4 (2010). 280.

Leveridge, Aubrey. “The Relationship Between Language & Culture and The Implications for Language Teaching | Teflnet”. Tefl.Net, 2021, https://www.tefl.net/elt/articles/teacher-technique/language-culture/.

Mahadi, Tengku Sepora Tengku, and Sepideh Moghaddas Jafari. “Language and Culture” International Journal of Business and Social Science 3.24 (2012). 230-232.