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How the Languages We Speak Shape Our Realities

29 points by EndXA 8y ago

edmonddantes80 8y ago
Nice post, I think that languages not only shape our reality but transform how we act or think
drallison 8y ago
I think it's more than vocabulary and grammar that shapes reality, it is the metaphors that extend the language, allow analogies to be drawn, and provide handles for semantic analysis.
matt-snider 8y ago
The use of "Umwelt" seems a bit forced to me. I speak German and don't think the meaning is different from just saying "environment". Is this a standard term in the environmental sciences?
- groovy2shoes 8y ago
  I think it's a relatively common thing in philosophy—especially philosophy of mind, where it mingles with cognitive (or social) science like this—to borrow German words instead of neoclassical equivalents. Aufgabe, grundnorm, gestalt, schadenfreude, kulturwort, übermensch, &c. Many have their roots in the 18th century surge of German philosophy ignited by Kant which influenced the early psychologists like Freud and Jung (who were—if we're being honest—hardly more than philosophers, but proto-psychologists notwithstanding). Insofar as I understand it, when such borrowing is done nowadays, it's not usually because the German word is perceived to have some different shade of meaning to a native one: rather because the borrower intends a different shade of meaning, perhaps deeming the risk of misunderstanding too great to use the native word. That is, the imported word as used in the context of the work is meant to have a precise and technical meaning as jargon. In using a different word, the reader is then forced to learn the new word with this new meaning, avoiding any connotations one might have with a familiar word—provided, of course, that this "new" word is unfamiliar ;)
  - matt-snider 8y ago
    Great explanation, thank you :-)
miluge 8y ago
Based on my experience whenever I switch between French/English or Romanian my thought process or even how I feel can hugely differ! My friends noticed that I will get angry much more faster if I'm in "Romanian mode" than French.
xrd 8y ago
Here's a thought experiment: do you think describing the world using words is just describing it? Or, when you put your thoughts into words, does your brain then search for examples to confirm what you've just created?
GoMonad 8y ago
For anyone who finds this stuff fascinating, There's a great book, "through the language glass" by Guy Deutscher. I really enjoyed it.
wppick 8y ago
Even within a single language the words that we chose to use shape our mental and emotional states. Tony Robbins talks about this in his book Awaken the Giant Within (highly recommend)
rootsudo 8y ago
Here I thought it'd be an article on what we read/understand shape our realities. Nothing is more fun then reading the same story, but on different news media - from CNN, NHK to El Pais.

29 points by EndXA 8y ago

Nice post, I think that languages not only shape our reality but transform how we act or think

I think it's more than vocabulary and grammar that shapes reality, it is the metaphors that extend the language, allow analogies to be drawn, and provide handles for semantic analysis.

matt-snider 8y ago

The use of "Umwelt" seems a bit forced to me. I speak German and don't think the meaning is different from just saying "environment". Is this a standard term in the environmental sciences?

groovy2shoes 8y ago
I think it's a relatively common thing in philosophy—especially philosophy of mind, where it mingles with cognitive (or social) science like this—to borrow German words instead of neoclassical equivalents. Aufgabe, grundnorm, gestalt, schadenfreude, kulturwort, übermensch, &c. Many have their roots in the 18th century surge of German philosophy ignited by Kant which influenced the early psychologists like Freud and Jung (who were—if we're being honest—hardly more than philosophers, but proto-psychologists notwithstanding). Insofar as I understand it, when such borrowing is done nowadays, it's not usually because the German word is perceived to have some different shade of meaning to a native one: rather because the borrower intends a different shade of meaning, perhaps deeming the risk of misunderstanding too great to use the native word. That is, the imported word as used in the context of the work is meant to have a precise and technical meaning as jargon. In using a different word, the reader is then forced to learn the new word with this new meaning, avoiding any connotations one might have with a familiar word—provided, of course, that this "new" word is unfamiliar ;)
- matt-snider 8y ago
  Great explanation, thank you :-)

miluge 8y ago

Based on my experience whenever I switch between French/English or Romanian my thought process or even how I feel can hugely differ! My friends noticed that I will get angry much more faster if I'm in "Romanian mode" than French.

xrd 8y ago

Here's a thought experiment: do you think describing the world using words is just describing it? Or, when you put your thoughts into words, does your brain then search for examples to confirm what you've just created?

GoMonad 8y ago

For anyone who finds this stuff fascinating, There's a great book, "through the language glass" by Guy Deutscher. I really enjoyed it.

wppick 8y ago

Even within a single language the words that we chose to use shape our mental and emotional states. Tony Robbins talks about this in his book Awaken the Giant Within (highly recommend)

rootsudo 8y ago

Here I thought it'd be an article on what we read/understand shape our realities. Nothing is more fun then reading the same story, but on different news media - from CNN, NHK to El Pais.