Samuel
FUN, FUN, FUN ,FUN
Hello my fellow languages lovers!
As you might know my name is Sam A.K.A. the French-Canadian guy! For the ones who does not know, I am presently learning German and will take the D.S.D language exam in march ( exam given by the German government) ! I am a person who love to be in contact with people and who is not afraid of meeting new people ; a real extrovert! I am the kind of person that people invite to party or activities, even if I do not know anyone over there; I fit and adapt myself to every person or situation. I love to make not-so-funny jokes ( dad jokes kind of thing), but at least I found myself funny! it is rare to see me not smiling! Life is short why be mad or sad over small things; we should all careless about our responsibilities and what worries us and just live our life fully! I am a positive person, who like to spread love, open-mindedness and happiness of course! However, my biggest issue would be, as many can (unfortunately) confirm, my punctuality. It is not that I want people to wait for me, it is just that my internal-biological clock is not working correctly! Ahaha! I do not like to be in a rush and, as a said, we should careless and just enjoy the moment, so if I am late do not take it as an insult or disrespect, I am actually working on myself to be more punctual when it is really needed!
As you might know my name is Sam A.K.A. the French-Canadian guy! For the ones who does not know, I am presently learning German and will take the D.S.D language exam in march ( exam given by the German government) ! I am a person who love to be in contact with people and who is not afraid of meeting new people ; a real extrovert! I am the kind of person that people invite to party or activities, even if I do not know anyone over there; I fit and adapt myself to every person or situation. I love to make not-so-funny jokes ( dad jokes kind of thing), but at least I found myself funny! it is rare to see me not smiling! Life is short why be mad or sad over small things; we should all careless about our responsibilities and what worries us and just live our life fully! I am a positive person, who like to spread love, open-mindedness and happiness of course! However, my biggest issue would be, as many can (unfortunately) confirm, my punctuality. It is not that I want people to wait for me, it is just that my internal-biological clock is not working correctly! Ahaha! I do not like to be in a rush and, as a said, we should careless and just enjoy the moment, so if I am late do not take it as an insult or disrespect, I am actually working on myself to be more punctual when it is really needed!
My two years here at Dawson have passed very quickly, since I loved what we were learning and I was surrounded with excellent friends and also professional and lovable teachers! Dawson was the second cegep to which I attend ; 6 years ago I went to St-Hyacinthe cegep in General Science program and Arts program for a year and a half, but due to my lack of motivation and my confusion, I decided to take a break before going back to school. During this break, I worked a lot, but I also did two amazing and unforgettable "big" trips!( I did other small trips, but for the sake of length I will not address those in this text).
My two years here at Dawson have passed very quickly, since I loved what we were learning and I was surrounded with excellent friends and also professional and lovable teachers! Dawson was the second cegep to which I attend ; 6 years ago I went to St-Hyacinthe cegep in General Science program and Arts program for a year and a half, but due to my lack of motivation and my confusion, I decided to take a break before going back to school. During this break, I worked a lot, but I also did two amazing and unforgettable "big" trips!( I did other small trips, but for the sake of length I will not address those in this text).
The first one was in 2015. I went three months in British-Colombia ( West Canada) for three months with two of my friends! During those three months, I saw a lot of different sites and cities and I have also worked three weeks on a cherry orchard (Summerland, Okanagan Valley) and one month in a hotel as housekeeper (Banff, Alberta). For my second "big" trip, which was in 2017, I decided to go on a three months solo trip in Europe! Best decision of my life! We get to know so much more people when we are alone; it forces us to go speak with people , and as you might know, I love too meet and talk with new people with different background and stories to tell! During this trip, I pass half of it in Germany ( hence my desire to learn more about German), but I also went in several countries such as Belgium, Netherlands, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and many more! The reason I stayed longer in Germany was that I felt like I had a natural inclination to learn about the culture and language and I also wanted to learn more about my grandmother's life and culture when she was young ( she is German, but came to canada when she was 22). This trip really reinforced my feeling of wanting to learn about other people's way of living and made me reflect and get more interested on my own culture: Quebec!
The first one was in 2015. I went three months in British-Colombia ( West Canada) for three months with two of my friends! During those three months, I saw a lot of different sites and cities and I have also worked three weeks on a cherry orchard (Summerland, Okanagan Valley) and one month in a hotel as housekeeper (Banff, Alberta). For my second "big" trip, which was in 2017, I decided to go on a three months solo trip in Europe! Best decision of my life! We get to know so much more people when we are alone; it forces us to go speak with people , and as you might know, I love too meet and talk with new people with different background and stories to tell! During this trip, I pass half of it in Germany ( hence my desire to learn more about German), but I also went in several countries such as Belgium, Netherlands, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and many more! The reason I stayed longer in Germany was that I felt like I had a natural inclination to learn about the culture and language and I also wanted to learn more about my grandmother's life and culture when she was young ( she is German, but came to canada when she was 22). This trip really reinforced my feeling of wanting to learn about other people's way of living and made me reflect and get more interested on my own culture: Quebec!
After that trip, I knew I was ready to go back to school with a new goal and passion in mind;
After that trip, I knew I was ready to go back to school with a new goal and passion in mind;
languages and cultures!
languages and cultures!
IDEAS FOR THE PROJECT
I have several different ideas for my I.A. However, most of my ideas converge in two main ideas. So here is my options:
I have several different ideas for my I.A. However, most of my ideas converge in two main ideas. So here is my options:
1- talk about the pros and cons of Quebec becoming a country! I wanted to do only the pros, since you all know, I love my culture and nation, however, to be a little bit more objective and fairplay, I think it would be a better idea to show both sides ( as I did in my L.I.T finale project, for those who remember, I talked about how Bill 101 affected the francophone AND the anglophones).
1- talk about the pros and cons of Quebec becoming a country! I wanted to do only the pros, since you all know, I love my culture and nation, however, to be a little bit more objective and fairplay, I think it would be a better idea to show both sides ( as I did in my L.I.T finale project, for those who remember, I talked about how Bill 101 affected the francophone AND the anglophones).
2- Language relativity ! It is a subject I have always found interesting, even though the controversy attached to it. I want to learn more about how the language(s) we speak can affect the way we see the word, how we think and how we process information.
2- Language relativity ! It is a subject I have always found interesting, even though the controversy attached to it. I want to learn more about how the language(s) we speak can affect the way we see the word, how we think and how we process information.
FINALE CHOICE: LANGUAGE RELATIVITY!
I remember that last semester in Intro to Linguistic, we needed to read an article from the Linguistic Society of America, and when I start to do research for this year research project I thought it was a good idea to go back to read this article again, which paints a good idea of what is language relativity. In this article they explain us that the concept that the variety of languages may influence thinking in different ways has been present in many cultures and has given rise to many philosophical treatises. However, since it is very difficult to see those differences in some language, the problem remains unresolved. They also explain that researchers in the domain of language relativity are often in position of language relativity (more popular in it’s light form) or in favor of language determinism. Language relativity is simple you only have to pay attention to the meanings that are grammatically marked in a given language which can affect your cognitive ability. On the other hand, language determinism is more intense. It argues that such differences between language influence the ways people think and even more: how it could shape a whole culture (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis). Much more researches would be needed in order to support ideas such as the ones of language determinism. At the moment, linguistic think that language only affects cognition and behavior and if a hypothesis like the one of Sapir and Whorf would be true, it would be way more harder to translate a language or to even just learn it!
I remember that last semester in Intro to Linguistic, we needed to read an article from the Linguistic Society of America, and when I start to do research for this year research project I thought it was a good idea to go back to read this article again, which paints a good idea of what is language relativity. In this article they explain us that the concept that the variety of languages may influence thinking in different ways has been present in many cultures and has given rise to many philosophical treatises. However, since it is very difficult to see those differences in some language, the problem remains unresolved. They also explain that researchers in the domain of language relativity are often in position of language relativity (more popular in it’s light form) or in favor of language determinism. Language relativity is simple you only have to pay attention to the meanings that are grammatically marked in a given language which can affect your cognitive ability. On the other hand, language determinism is more intense. It argues that such differences between language influence the ways people think and even more: how it could shape a whole culture (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis). Much more researches would be needed in order to support ideas such as the ones of language determinism. At the moment, linguistic think that language only affects cognition and behavior and if a hypothesis like the one of Sapir and Whorf would be true, it would be way more harder to translate a language or to even just learn it!
How Language Shapes The Way We Think ?
How Language Shapes The Way We Think ?
"To have a second language is to have a second soul."
- Charlemagne -
“Language serves not only to express thought but to make possible thoughts which could not exist without it.”
- Bertrand Russel -
“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”
- George Orwell -
“Reality is captured in the categorical nets of Language only at the expense of fatal distortion.“
- Friedrich Nietzche -
This video, which i am sure many of you have seen, was the first thing that made me interested in language relativity a couple months ago. However, I never had the chance to do a research project on this subject, so I have decided to go deeper in how language shapes the way we think and see the world around us. As a matter of fact, we have the great ability and power of speaking and putting ideas in people's minds. With a great diversity of languages which vary in sounds, structure, vocabulary and so much , ideas and thoughts can take several different patterns. In this video, Lera Boroditsky, a cognitive scientist and professor in the fields of language and cognition (currently one of the main contributors to the theory of linguistic relativity) exposes us these differences by putting in contrast different languages. For instant, an aboriginal tribe in Australia which she has follow for research, have shown that they do not use words like ''left'' and ''right'' like English speakers; they use cardinal direction (south, north, east, west)! They must always be oriented in order to communicated basic information. Even when saying hello, one must answer with their heading-direction. Her study has shown that if language trains you to do something, you will learn it! This opens several new cognitive possibilities. She also talks about how this tribe have demonstrate that their notion of time/chronology is locked in the landscape and always go from east to west. This tribe and several others first nations people, often do not have words for number like many languages as. Owing to this fact, they lack the cognitive ability that deals with numbers and quantity. In addition, this this, she also explains that Russians are more sensible to colour tone. Since they have different words for light or dark blue, they are more inclined to see the difference between two different blue that look the same. Many languages also have gendered nouns, which influence how the speakers of those languages see the world around them. In fact, people how use a ''gendered-noun language'' will tend to use more feminine adjective for feminine noun and same of the masculine ones. The last example she gives us is the difference between English and Spanish when facing an accident. in fact, in Spanish if a vase is broken by someone by accident, they will say '' the vase broke''. On the other hand, English speakers would say, rather it is an accident or no, ''you broke the vase''. This variation has shown that Spanish speakers are more likely to remember that the event was an accident, whereas English speakers will tend to remember who did it.
This video, which i am sure many of you have seen, was the first thing that made me interested in language relativity a couple months ago. However, I never had the chance to do a research project on this subject, so I have decided to go deeper in how language shapes the way we think and see the world around us. As a matter of fact, we have the great ability and power of speaking and putting ideas in people's minds. With a great diversity of languages which vary in sounds, structure, vocabulary and so much , ideas and thoughts can take several different patterns. In this video, Lera Boroditsky, a cognitive scientist and professor in the fields of language and cognition (currently one of the main contributors to the theory of linguistic relativity) exposes us these differences by putting in contrast different languages. For instant, an aboriginal tribe in Australia which she has follow for research, have shown that they do not use words like ''left'' and ''right'' like English speakers; they use cardinal direction (south, north, east, west)! They must always be oriented in order to communicated basic information. Even when saying hello, one must answer with their heading-direction. Her study has shown that if language trains you to do something, you will learn it! This opens several new cognitive possibilities. She also talks about how this tribe have demonstrate that their notion of time/chronology is locked in the landscape and always go from east to west. This tribe and several others first nations people, often do not have words for number like many languages as. Owing to this fact, they lack the cognitive ability that deals with numbers and quantity. In addition, this this, she also explains that Russians are more sensible to colour tone. Since they have different words for light or dark blue, they are more inclined to see the difference between two different blue that look the same. Many languages also have gendered nouns, which influence how the speakers of those languages see the world around them. In fact, people how use a ''gendered-noun language'' will tend to use more feminine adjective for feminine noun and same of the masculine ones. The last example she gives us is the difference between English and Spanish when facing an accident. in fact, in Spanish if a vase is broken by someone by accident, they will say '' the vase broke''. On the other hand, English speakers would say, rather it is an accident or no, ''you broke the vase''. This variation has shown that Spanish speakers are more likely to remember that the event was an accident, whereas English speakers will tend to remember who did it.
In the book ''Language diversity and thoughts'', John A. Lucy, an American linguist and psychologist who has been studying the relations between language and cognition, since 1979, explains us different hypotheses about language relativity which have been made by different people such as Sapir, Whorf and Boas. Mr. Lucy also gives us several examples to illustrate the process of thinking and the experimentations those linguistics have done in order to prove their point to the society. In his book, he begins by explaining the point of view of Boas and Sapir before Whorf’s one, since a part of his work was made possible owing to the fact, he was adding information on the researches the two other men had already made. Boas thought that every language classified experience in some way and that different language classified differently the experiences they had in life. Whorf was in the same way of ideology of the two men and decided to further the researches on the different of classification between these different languages. Although Whorf was not a linguistic before becoming close to Sapir, he had made several great contributions to the sphere of linguistic! He analysed less obvious morphological categories to reveal the full classificatory nature of language. Unfortunately, the book was not fully given on the web. However, it gave me enough of a general idea of what are the mains hypotheses around language relativity. I will later go rent the book at the library to further my reading concerning the specific examples this linguistics gave to show that language relativity exists.
In the book ''Language diversity and thoughts'', John A. Lucy, an American linguist and psychologist who has been studying the relations between language and cognition, since 1979, explains us different hypotheses about language relativity which have been made by different people such as Sapir, Whorf and Boas. Mr. Lucy also gives us several examples to illustrate the process of thinking and the experimentations those linguistics have done in order to prove their point to the society. In his book, he begins by explaining the point of view of Boas and Sapir before Whorf’s one, since a part of his work was made possible owing to the fact, he was adding information on the researches the two other men had already made. Boas thought that every language classified experience in some way and that different language classified differently the experiences they had in life. Whorf was in the same way of ideology of the two men and decided to further the researches on the different of classification between these different languages. Although Whorf was not a linguistic before becoming close to Sapir, he had made several great contributions to the sphere of linguistic! He analysed less obvious morphological categories to reveal the full classificatory nature of language. Unfortunately, the book was not fully given on the web. However, it gave me enough of a general idea of what are the mains hypotheses around language relativity. I will later go rent the book at the library to further my reading concerning the specific examples this linguistics gave to show that language relativity exists.
How The Language you Speak Affects your Thoughts ?
How The Language you Speak Affects your Thoughts ?
Another video (Tedtalk) which I found very interesting and related to my topic, was this conference given by Petrina Nomikou, a future trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance who studies at king's college. In this video, the young woman who is half grec and English explains us, by giving several examples, how the different words we use can realy affect our thought and the perception we have of the world. It also important to mentioned that she pointes out those differences between languages based on Lara Boroditsky's (woman from the previous Tedtalk I posted) report in the Wall Street Journal (2010). Owing to the fact that several new research had shown that language relativity may exist in some sort of way, it caused a shift of consensus on the beliefs of this relativity. To make her point she mentioned several examples. For instance, if in English we say the sentence “Humpty dumpty sat on a wall”, you have to inflect your verb to mark past tense. In Indonesian they can not do this and in Russian the verb would reveal the gender of the subject doing the action. In Turkish you would need to add how you got the information ( if you witnessed the event or if you just heard or read about it). Another example of language relativity would be when looking at a sentence such as “ I saw Uncle Mike on 47th Street”. In Mian ( Papua new guinea language) the verb would reveal if the event happened just now, yesterday or a longer time ago. In Indonesian you would not know if the event if still going on. In Mandarin, you would have to specify if the uncle is maternal or paternal uncle and if he is related by blood or by law to you (they have several words for the “same” person . In Piraha, the concept of number does not exist, so they would not be a “47th Street ”. As a matter of fact, Piraha hardly use words which alludes to time, color, past or number. However, they do have a word “hoy ” which is close to number one, but also means a “a little bit of ”. Everett's experiences have shown that they can not understand the numeral concept due to the fact that they lack the ability of doing so ( it was not developed). He concluded that do to this lack of cognition ability, we can say that thoughts can only be created with the actual words you process in your language. Language do not only plays a role in expressing our thoughts, but also plays a major role in creating them. However, it is important to mention that this does not prove that they are less intelligent; it is not due to mental capacities, but only to mental abilities. The Piraha language restricts his culture on abstract concept which leads to a cognition limit of the speakers. In this Tedtalk, Petrina Nomikou, refers to the previous example I gave about the community referring to the cardinal directions instead of using words such as “left” and “right”, which shows that for some an object is stock in place whatever is you position towards it, whereas in English the object will change place depending what is you position towards it. She also talks about the different conception when coming to spatial time. For English speakers, time go from left to right, whereas of Hebrew speakers time go from right to left. When talking about past English speakers will tend to lean backward and lean forwards when talking about future. For Mara speakers, it is the opposite since for the past is in front of them and future in back of them.
Another video (Tedtalk) which I found very interesting and related to my topic, was this conference given by Petrina Nomikou, a future trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance who studies at king's college. In this video, the young woman who is half grec and English explains us, by giving several examples, how the different words we use can realy affect our thought and the perception we have of the world. It also important to mentioned that she pointes out those differences between languages based on Lara Boroditsky's (woman from the previous Tedtalk I posted) report in the Wall Street Journal (2010). Owing to the fact that several new research had shown that language relativity may exist in some sort of way, it caused a shift of consensus on the beliefs of this relativity. To make her point she mentioned several examples. For instance, if in English we say the sentence “Humpty dumpty sat on a wall”, you have to inflect your verb to mark past tense. In Indonesian they can not do this and in Russian the verb would reveal the gender of the subject doing the action. In Turkish you would need to add how you got the information ( if you witnessed the event or if you just heard or read about it). Another example of language relativity would be when looking at a sentence such as “ I saw Uncle Mike on 47th Street”. In Mian ( Papua new guinea language) the verb would reveal if the event happened just now, yesterday or a longer time ago. In Indonesian you would not know if the event if still going on. In Mandarin, you would have to specify if the uncle is maternal or paternal uncle and if he is related by blood or by law to you (they have several words for the “same” person . In Piraha, the concept of number does not exist, so they would not be a “47th Street ”. As a matter of fact, Piraha hardly use words which alludes to time, color, past or number. However, they do have a word “hoy ” which is close to number one, but also means a “a little bit of ”. Everett's experiences have shown that they can not understand the numeral concept due to the fact that they lack the ability of doing so ( it was not developed). He concluded that do to this lack of cognition ability, we can say that thoughts can only be created with the actual words you process in your language. Language do not only plays a role in expressing our thoughts, but also plays a major role in creating them. However, it is important to mention that this does not prove that they are less intelligent; it is not due to mental capacities, but only to mental abilities. The Piraha language restricts his culture on abstract concept which leads to a cognition limit of the speakers. In this Tedtalk, Petrina Nomikou, refers to the previous example I gave about the community referring to the cardinal directions instead of using words such as “left” and “right”, which shows that for some an object is stock in place whatever is you position towards it, whereas in English the object will change place depending what is you position towards it. She also talks about the different conception when coming to spatial time. For English speakers, time go from left to right, whereas of Hebrew speakers time go from right to left. When talking about past English speakers will tend to lean backward and lean forwards when talking about future. For Mara speakers, it is the opposite since for the past is in front of them and future in back of them.
''Since the total range of personal experience which language serves to Express is infinitely varied, and its whole scope must be expressed by limited number if phonetic groups, it is obvious that an extended classification of experiences must underlie all articulate speach.''
- Franz Boas -
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
- Ludwig Wittgenstein -
''Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.''
- Benjamin Lee Whorf -
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
- Nelson Mandela -
'' Ideas do not exist separately from language.''
- Karl Marx -
Another interesting example she gave of English language in the video:
Another interesting example she gave of English language in the video:
- "Cheney shot whittington": identifying the agent of the action.
- "Cheney shot whittington": identifying the agent of the action.
- "Cheney was shot by whittington": still identifying the agent of action, but distancing himself from the outcome.
- "Cheney was shot by whittington": still identifying the agent of action, but distancing himself from the outcome.
- "Whinttington got shot": leaves the agent of action out of the story.
- "Whinttington got shot": leaves the agent of action out of the story.
- When cheney described the event he was putting a lot of events between him and the action done : distancing himself even more for the action (outcome).
- When cheney described the event he was putting a lot of events between him and the action done : distancing himself even more for the action (outcome).
- When George Bush told the story he said that he turned around and saw is friend wounded : transforming Cheney as witness instead of the agent of the action.
- When George Bush told the story he said that he turned around and saw is friend wounded : transforming Cheney as witness instead of the agent of the action.
This text talk about who language and especially expression we use may affect directly or indirectly the concept of the words we use. In fact, for mr. Brown ( one of his reference) there is 2 main ways to observe language relativity: the "weak linguistic relativity", in which it is understood that language limits thought; and the "strong linguistic relativity" where language determines thought. Brown’s idea that the structure of a given individual’s first language strongly influences and even determines the worldview he will acquire. Furthermore, in the text we can read that to the contrary of what other scholars have believed, children learn to think independently about objects before they learn language. In recent years some scholars working on linguistic relativity such as cognitive psychologist Lera Boroditsky (mentioned in the Ted Talk previously posted) have come to the conclusion that languages shape the way we think, but in a more limited way that was previously believed. It is the boundaries between thought, language, and culture that should be examined to understand this concept. In his text he also write about how we associate pain with language. For instance, many of us may be able to track back in our memories from infancy scenes in which something derogatory said about us hurt us deeply and has stayed in our memory ever since (name calling, for instance). Indeed, words can be extremely powerful, and they may assist to shape thoughts that, by dint of repetition, we come to accept as universal truths. The last part of the research talked about how we have used non-human creatures to form our proverbs and idioms and what are the true meaning and impact behind it. Idioms with animals are usually use in a negative way : they are not to be trusted, they are stupid, they are dirty and many other negative traits.
This text talk about who language and especially expression we use may affect directly or indirectly the concept of the words we use. In fact, for mr. Brown ( one of his reference) there is 2 main ways to observe language relativity: the "weak linguistic relativity", in which it is understood that language limits thought; and the "strong linguistic relativity" where language determines thought. Brown’s idea that the structure of a given individual’s first language strongly influences and even determines the worldview he will acquire. Furthermore, in the text we can read that to the contrary of what other scholars have believed, children learn to think independently about objects before they learn language. In recent years some scholars working on linguistic relativity such as cognitive psychologist Lera Boroditsky (mentioned in the Ted Talk previously posted) have come to the conclusion that languages shape the way we think, but in a more limited way that was previously believed. It is the boundaries between thought, language, and culture that should be examined to understand this concept. In his text he also write about how we associate pain with language. For instance, many of us may be able to track back in our memories from infancy scenes in which something derogatory said about us hurt us deeply and has stayed in our memory ever since (name calling, for instance). Indeed, words can be extremely powerful, and they may assist to shape thoughts that, by dint of repetition, we come to accept as universal truths. The last part of the research talked about how we have used non-human creatures to form our proverbs and idioms and what are the true meaning and impact behind it. Idioms with animals are usually use in a negative way : they are not to be trusted, they are stupid, they are dirty and many other negative traits.
''To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.''
- Chinese proverb -
'' One language sets in a corridor two languages open every door along.''
- Frank Smith -
''In Spanish, French and Italian, "decisions" are something you "take" like a train that leads you somewhere new, whereas in English you "make" them like little pieces of your own creation. But in German you "meet" them, like friends. Aren't languages beautiful? ''
- Javier Santana -
"Are designations congruent with thing? Is language the adequate expression of all realities?"
- Friedrich Nietzsche -
“He who knows no foreign languages knows nothing of his own.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -
" If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusions"
- Noam Chomsky -
"The Power of Words: Linguistic Patterns in English, may they affect our World View?" written by Robert Abraham Sullivan give his readers a clear idea of what is language relativity by giving us several examples on how proverbs and idioms we use in English may affect our relationship with the world and how they help us to grasp certain concepts. I think this source is interesting, since it add-up to my other sources in term of trying to define how thoughts and languages are closely related. Something that I really like about this source is that Mr. Sullivan tries to explains how the language we speak or the language we are exposed too ‘’may lead us to accept attitudes that are negative or damaging for ourselves and for our environment’’. In fact, in an expression such as ‘’sticks and stones break my bones but words can never hurt me”, the emphasis is on the fact that violence comes from physical damage and not from words or speech. However, like Mr. Sullivan explains, language shapes our reality and words DOES have an impact on people and this impact can also be violent. Furthermore, he says that the word selection when we talk can have a gigantic effect on people. In fact, words can remind us some childhood memories and sometimes even feelings we had linked to those words. For example, if you got bullied and got call by a certain name when you were younger, that name could probably trigger you is you hear it again. Even worst; if you get used to be called by that name and you start to believe it, you will accept this ‘’lie’’ as a universal truth. I think it is very interesting to see how words play a big role in our lives and we often tend to forget that our words can hurt and can have a real impact! I also think this source is relevant, since it brings new aspect to my research such as the way we use words and how we play with those words to shape our reality or put an image on thing. For example, when someone calls you a ‘’pig’’ because you eat a lot. In his research, Mr. Sullivan also explain how we use expressions with animals to put the guilt of ourselves on ‘’someone else’’ or sometimes they are used to refer to some specific qualities certain animal has.
"The Power of Words: Linguistic Patterns in English, may they affect our World View?" written by Robert Abraham Sullivan give his readers a clear idea of what is language relativity by giving us several examples on how proverbs and idioms we use in English may affect our relationship with the world and how they help us to grasp certain concepts. I think this source is interesting, since it add-up to my other sources in term of trying to define how thoughts and languages are closely related. Something that I really like about this source is that Mr. Sullivan tries to explains how the language we speak or the language we are exposed too ‘’may lead us to accept attitudes that are negative or damaging for ourselves and for our environment’’. In fact, in an expression such as ‘’sticks and stones break my bones but words can never hurt me”, the emphasis is on the fact that violence comes from physical damage and not from words or speech. However, like Mr. Sullivan explains, language shapes our reality and words DOES have an impact on people and this impact can also be violent. Furthermore, he says that the word selection when we talk can have a gigantic effect on people. In fact, words can remind us some childhood memories and sometimes even feelings we had linked to those words. For example, if you got bullied and got call by a certain name when you were younger, that name could probably trigger you is you hear it again. Even worst; if you get used to be called by that name and you start to believe it, you will accept this ‘’lie’’ as a universal truth. I think it is very interesting to see how words play a big role in our lives and we often tend to forget that our words can hurt and can have a real impact! I also think this source is relevant, since it brings new aspect to my research such as the way we use words and how we play with those words to shape our reality or put an image on thing. For example, when someone calls you a ‘’pig’’ because you eat a lot. In his research, Mr. Sullivan also explain how we use expressions with animals to put the guilt of ourselves on ‘’someone else’’ or sometimes they are used to refer to some specific qualities certain animal has.
As I have mentioned in class, another aspect as linguistic relative that I was curious about is how can language have a good or a bad impact on us. I have done a general research about the subject and something that grab my attention were cognitive distortions. Since in my other sources experts were saying that language and cognitive abilities are strongly related, this concept seemed interesting because it was exploring an idea of which language can have a bad impact on ourselves, especially our own voice and what we are telling ourselves. I have found this source which sums up what are the main cognitive distortions people may have! Cognitive distortions are very important to know and too quickly foresee because they can play a big role on our emotions and how we see ourselves. You can read the sources to have a better understanding of what they are, but the main cognitive distortions are : All-or-Nothing Thinking, Over generalization, Mental Filter, Discounting the Positive, Jumping to Conclusions, Magnification, Emotional Reasoning, “Should statements”, Labeling and Personalization and blame. Although I will not talk about this in my final project, I think I will further a bit my research on the subject on how we can avoid those cognitive abilities (because we all do it sometimes!) and how can positive thinking can also really impact ourselves, our performance and our emotions.
I have decided to read this short article posted on Education First to have a general idea of why learning a language is hard. I wanted to see if cognitive abilities are involved in the process of acquiring a new language and what was the process our brain must pass through in order to fully grasp another language’s meaning and subtlety of it. In this article we can read that learning a new language is a great challenge for your brain since he need to construct new cognitive frameworks in order to absorb the new information. While some learners have a “natural” ability to learn language, it can be quite hard for others. In fact, when one becomes adult, he tends to lose he innocent and tries to over think things...which complicate the task of learning a language without doubting, comparing, wondering, etc. about every part of it. Moreover, Voxy’s Katie Nielson blames that adult learn language as an object. This means that an adult may try to learn a language by learning some words and some grammatical rules, but if he does not have what he needs in between, He will be able to describe the language, but will not be able to speak it. To counter this way of seeing language, she proposes that adult should be a bit careless about their mistakes and be ready to make some in order to progress and fully understand a language (skill acquisition). As we learnt here at Dawson, in languages classes, WE HAVE TO MAKE MISTAKES to be able to learn correctly. Later in the article, it also says that, naturally, it would be easier to learn a language which is close to you mother tongue, since your brain will automatically see the resemblances (characteristics) and will easily do links between the two languages (this also applies to languages which are not really close to your language). She also states in the articles, that the best way to learn a language is to be surrounded by it and we must face language learning process with the innocent of a child (without asking too many questions) in order to facilitate the process.
I have decided to read this short article posted on Education First to have a general idea of why learning a language is hard. I wanted to see if cognitive abilities are involved in the process of acquiring a new language and what was the process our brain must pass through in order to fully grasp another language’s meaning and subtlety of it. In this article we can read that learning a new language is a great challenge for your brain since he need to construct new cognitive frameworks in order to absorb the new information. While some learners have a “natural” ability to learn language, it can be quite hard for others. In fact, when one becomes adult, he tends to lose he innocent and tries to over think things...which complicate the task of learning a language without doubting, comparing, wondering, etc. about every part of it. Moreover, Voxy’s Katie Nielson blames that adult learn language as an object. This means that an adult may try to learn a language by learning some words and some grammatical rules, but if he does not have what he needs in between, He will be able to describe the language, but will not be able to speak it. To counter this way of seeing language, she proposes that adult should be a bit careless about their mistakes and be ready to make some in order to progress and fully understand a language (skill acquisition). As we learnt here at Dawson, in languages classes, WE HAVE TO MAKE MISTAKES to be able to learn correctly. Later in the article, it also says that, naturally, it would be easier to learn a language which is close to you mother tongue, since your brain will automatically see the resemblances (characteristics) and will easily do links between the two languages (this also applies to languages which are not really close to your language). She also states in the articles, that the best way to learn a language is to be surrounded by it and we must face language learning process with the innocent of a child (without asking too many questions) in order to facilitate the process.
In fact, in this article we can find several explanations about the cognitive abilities which are related to language and learning development as a kid. Instead of writing a summary of the source I thought I would leave you the subtitles of the articles so you could have a good idea of what the source talks about:
In fact, in this article we can find several explanations about the cognitive abilities which are related to language and learning development as a kid. Instead of writing a summary of the source I thought I would leave you the subtitles of the articles so you could have a good idea of what the source talks about:
*Theoretical and Historical Trend
*Theoretical and Historical Trend
*Neural Specialization for Language Learning?
*Neural Specialization for Language Learning?
*How Language Development Relies on Cognitive Development: Congenital Specificity of *Speech–Sound Processing?
*How Language Development Relies on Cognitive Development: Congenital Specificity of *Speech–Sound Processing?
*Early Learning of Speech Patterns
*Early Learning of Speech Patterns
*Auditory Temporal Acuity
*Auditory Temporal Acuity
*Working Memory in Language Learning and Processing
*Working Memory in Language Learning and Processing
*Cognitive Control for Language Learning
*Cognitive Control for Language Learning
*Issues of Interpretation
*Issues of Interpretation
*Specialized Word-Learning Processes
*Specialized Word-Learning Processes
*Conceptual Knowledge and Language Growth
*Conceptual Knowledge and Language Growth
*How Language Development Facilitates Cognition: Does the Lexicon Structure Perception?
*How Language Development Facilitates Cognition: Does the Lexicon Structure Perception?
*Does Verb Syntax Affect Event Construals?
*Does Verb Syntax Affect Event Construals?
*Language Routines and Cultural Learning
*Language Routines and Cultural Learning
*Learning Multiple Languages
*Learning Multiple Languages
Since I already had a lot of information about the subject of language relativity in general, I looked out for a source which was explaining in more details the research Whorf did on the Hopi language. I already had a source which was talking about it (see book “language diversity and thoughts), but I wanted to confirm the information I go and push it a bit further to have a better knowledge about this research. With his research, Whorf thought he had found that the Hopi language do not have the notion of time and space, since they lack the words to talk about it (no words for tomorrow, yesterday or even just numbers). He also found that the Hopis’ language and grammar encodes an ordinal value, rather than a passage of time like in English. The example he gives in this book is: “while an English speaker might say, “In two days, we will go golfing,” the Hopi equivalent would be closer to, “On the second, we will go golfing.” (...) (for the Hopi), a day followed by night is not so much a new day, but a return of daylight”. This source had other interesting information, but I mainly used it for the part on the Hopi language.
Since I already had a lot of information about the subject of language relativity in general, I looked out for a source which was explaining in more details the research Whorf did on the Hopi language. I already had a source which was talking about it (see book “language diversity and thoughts), but I wanted to confirm the information I go and push it a bit further to have a better knowledge about this research. With his research, Whorf thought he had found that the Hopi language do not have the notion of time and space, since they lack the words to talk about it (no words for tomorrow, yesterday or even just numbers). He also found that the Hopis’ language and grammar encodes an ordinal value, rather than a passage of time like in English. The example he gives in this book is: “while an English speaker might say, “In two days, we will go golfing,” the Hopi equivalent would be closer to, “On the second, we will go golfing.” (...) (for the Hopi), a day followed by night is not so much a new day, but a return of daylight”. This source had other interesting information, but I mainly used it for the part on the Hopi language.
In this article written by Andreas Kyriacou and Peter Brugger we can find an introduction to linguistic relativity (Benjamin Lee Whorf) and a research which have been made in the field. For my needs, I decided to only use the first part of the sources (informations about language relativity), since it was completing my research. The research was also very interesting, but I think it would have been a bit complicated to use it in my paper. However, in this paper I have found that In this paper, they briefly explained that researches which have been made by several linguists such as Kay and Kempton, Lucy , Levinson and Schmitt ,etc. ,who were examining colour perception, quantity awareness and spatial reasoning. These studies were showing good sign in proving that language did really affect your cognitives abilities. However, other studies have also shown the opposite. In fact, one study compared the reasoning about motion by native speakers of English and Greek , “languages which differ strongly in the encoding of manner and direction of motion.” However, the end results showed that the speakers of both languages attended to similar results, besides the fact of their different language. In addition to this, the authors of this source proposed that the best way to try to prove linguistic relativity would be ”to compare the linguistic performance of two groups which are dissimilar in one quantifiable characteristic for which no claim has been made that it is determined or strongly shaped by the person's linguistic experience. “
In this article written by Andreas Kyriacou and Peter Brugger we can find an introduction to linguistic relativity (Benjamin Lee Whorf) and a research which have been made in the field. For my needs, I decided to only use the first part of the sources (informations about language relativity), since it was completing my research. The research was also very interesting, but I think it would have been a bit complicated to use it in my paper. However, in this paper I have found that In this paper, they briefly explained that researches which have been made by several linguists such as Kay and Kempton, Lucy , Levinson and Schmitt ,etc. ,who were examining colour perception, quantity awareness and spatial reasoning. These studies were showing good sign in proving that language did really affect your cognitives abilities. However, other studies have also shown the opposite. In fact, one study compared the reasoning about motion by native speakers of English and Greek , “languages which differ strongly in the encoding of manner and direction of motion.” However, the end results showed that the speakers of both languages attended to similar results, besides the fact of their different language. In addition to this, the authors of this source proposed that the best way to try to prove linguistic relativity would be ”to compare the linguistic performance of two groups which are dissimilar in one quantifiable characteristic for which no claim has been made that it is determined or strongly shaped by the person's linguistic experience. “
Final thoughts and reflections
Final thoughts and reflections
I think that to stay motivated all the semester and taking joy in doing the project, you really need to like or have interest in the subject you are doing research on. In fact, I learn that motivation is important and that you need to keep it in order to complete a big research project! So for me, who really like my subject, it was pretty easy to keep it all the semester. However, like mentioned, I think that self discipline is also very important in order to complete you work and stay focus on what you need to do. I would say it is the hardest part of the semester would be to stay constant on your work progress, since if you do not disciplined yourself, nobody will do the work for you! Even if it is hard you need to push yourself a little bit in order to do want is needed to be done.
When I arrived at Dawson and entered this profile, my passion and interest for langauges and cuttures only grew expentionaly ! In fact, having classes with teachers and students who all share the same passion to a subject is so gratifying and motivating! Therefore, my advice would be, if you hesitate in coming to the program you should get into it and your hesitation will quickly become something you are happy you did! However, like mentioned, learning languages takes a lot of dedication and patience! You need to be ready to work “hard” in order to really learn a language and be proud to speak it! But like I said, when you really like something, it does not look like hard work! It is only fun to do and you often end up doing more work than asked, since you have a great interest in it.