Question

Give three specific examples of how language influences culture or vice versa. Discuss how these examples might fit into anthropological explanations on language formation and learning.

Answer 1

Lera Boroditsky's research reveals that Pormpuraaw, a language in Australia has a different idea of time. For them, time is an entity reflecting East to West motion, therefore sitting facing either South or North will communicate the clockwise or anticlockwise way of motion.

In the case of rural India, "An invitation to "Chulha" (the traditional substitute for gas burner/ LPG in kitchen) means the invitation to whole family/ all family members as if there is no need to cook food at home on that specific day. Hence "Chulha is invited). This reflects an enriched language and its strong relation with the culture.

The change of verb to denote the tense can be another example of language. This can be seen even in a nursery poem- Humpty Dumpty sat on a chair- Instead of "sit", "sat" is used.

Most of the literature by saints in ancient India is normative and has constructively altered the culture. The stanzas written by some saints on "Food" expressing the cultivation, storage, conservation, taking care and being cautious not to waste it has imbibed the habit of respecting food as a form of the Creator or the Almighty.

In Japanese and Spanish language if something wrong occurs, the way of expression does not point towards the person involved in wrongdoing. Spanish and Japanese would say- "The flower vase is broken." But the English would say "Jonty broke the flower vase." English would name/ point towards Jonty but Spanish and Japanese reflect more patience/ tolerence/ forbearance as compared to English language and people. This is further rooted in their culture.