Does Language Change How You View Things? -Izzie

The article I read was, " Does Your Language Influence How You Think?" Within the article the author talks about two points of view. Firstly they introduce the idea that language does not change your opinions or thoughts, it just changes the way you group things or recognize them. The second argument, the one I agree with, is that language does, in fact, impact you opinions and ways of thinking. The example used in the article was that people who have a highly gendered language have a harder time believing that there might be more than 2 genders or that people don't necessarily have to fit into one of the two genders. The reason that I agree more with the second argument is because language is also a big part of a persons culture. A persons culture is a big part of what shapes them into who they are and what they believe in. Some cultures have more conservative beliefs and therefore their languages, religions, and practices play into the more conservative views of gender. An example of this is Spanish that is spoken in Mexico and other Hispanic countries. Spanish is a very gendered language as most words have to be conjugated based on the gender of the person that is speaking. Hispanics are also very religious and most Hispanics, especially in Mexico, are Catholic. Catholicism has very conservative beliefs and practices. Therefore, the people in Mexico who are not only surrounded with a very conservative religion but also a very gendered language have strong beliefs about gender. This is just an example of how a language and culture are very intertwined. Because of the importance of culture in peoples lives and the role that language plays in that I believe that language has a huge impact on the way that people think and act even if it is not a conscious decision. The culture that people grow up in creates a lot of biases and opinions that they don't even realize. The idea that language shapes our views is not a bad thing but I do think it is important for people to recognize it. If people can understand where these opinions are coming from in the same way that people are aware of their biases created from their culture it could open up their minds to the fact that other people have other opinions and beliefs.

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