Does Your Language Influence How You Think?

Brooks Farish

12/15/18

IHSS - Blog

Does Your Language Influence How You Think?

After reading the article covering how languages affect how one may think, I believe it’s safe to say that if language affects the way we think that it probably affects our personality, the way we act and many other things.
    The article goes into many word topics, such as the names of colors in different languages and how they can affect the way you think. For example, how we categorize colors like yellow and orange and we might put those into a warm color category in the English language but in other languages, they might not be related whatsoever. Another topic covered is the importance of gender in language and how much different it can be depending on the language. For instance, in German you wouldn't just say teacher, you must differentiate if she is a male or female teacher when speaking. If you apply this idea of language and how it affects thinking into history or modern-day times maybe there is a possibility that you could categorize cultures and the way they act and think all based off of the language they use.
    I personally found this article very interesting being a person who studies Chinese. After reading the article, I tried to think of certain things that I noticed are different in Chinese in comparison to English and how that might affect the way I think. One thing I've noticed is that Chinese is actually more logical when it comes to the translation of words and also in some ways can be more straightforward. Possibly the Chinese language has some contribution to their society and advancement. English in comparison has a more convoluted thought process behind speaking and may introduce something such as creativity. You could say that English being that way could be the result of America's Society.
    In conclusion, language most definitely influences the way we as humans think. Knowing this it is reasonable to assume that our actions are highly influenced by our thinking. Understanding this connection between language and action can be powerful in the understanding of how certain people act. I believe this shows just how powerful language can be.

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