Does using a certain language force you to think in a certain way?

Question

If so what would the ultimate language be?

Answer 1

Using a certain language would definetly influence the way you think, but I'm not sure if it would "force" you.

I know 4 different languages, and I notice that each language comes with its own set of traditions and cultures. You can't really speak a language super fluently without understanding the background and culture of that language. For example, in Vietnamese, the words used to address other people are always familial or made in reference to your family. There are some words used to address people like "Anh" or "Chi" that mean "brother" or "sister". So, in this case, my Vietnamese language really influences the way I think about other people. Because for Vietnamese, everyone is like part of an extended family, and you sort of include everyone as part of your family when you address them.

As far as what the ultimate language would be... it sort of depends on you. Each language has its own uniqueness. :P

Answer 2

There would be no ultimate language.
I think if there was any such thing Russian would come the closest. But the real 'professor russian' lol.
It comes the closest in it's attempts to translate the feeling of a language.

But every country, and every part of a country has a different spirit, expressed through literature, spoken language, music, and so on. It can never be translated fully.

I often find that when I choose the more refined language I behave in a more refined way.
Certain languages are also good for certain moods.
And I find that when i have had an experience in a certain language, it is easier to report about it in that same language.

Answer 3

I'm sure it does. For example, if you or I grew up speaking French and learned English as a second language, I'm sure we would be somewhat different people psychologically than we are now as (I assume) monolingual English speakers.

A couple of years ago, "Science News" (February 12, 2005) had an article about how the Chinese writing system may partially explain why Chinese students perform a little better than their Western counterparts on tests involving math and spatial reasoning.

It is popular nowadays for linguists and linguistic majors to trivialize or dismiss the Whorf hypothesis. However, they may be guilty of tunnel vision. More research needs to be done on it for sure but history is full of examples of cherished notions later being disproven. For a long time, as we all know, most people also believed that the earth was flat, that all the heavenly bodies rotated around it and that it was even created in 4004 B.C. but later discoveries proved all these beliefs to be wrong.

Answer 4

I speak 4 languages and I do notice a difference when I am speaking a certain language.
When I am speaking my native language of "Serbo-Croatian" I feel more intense and louder.
When I speak spanish I speak in a relaxed tone and seem to smile more.
The ultimate lanaguage would be for the type of personality you have. If you are a relaxed person or intense person the same language wouldn't apply.

Answer 5

This is e very good question! I have not done any research on the subject but I can speak only from personal experiences. When I read Dostoevsky it is harder for me to comprehend and I read his and other Russian literature material at a lot slower pace than I wound say Victor Hugo, or Franz Kafka(I zoom throught their material). I think all language speaker have their own respective way of thinking and even when translated the language families comprehensive knowledge differs in scope to all that they cover. Me as an English speaker can absorb a lot more faster from materials translated from languages similar to mine and find resistance from materials translated from the Russian language with belongs to a different family group of languages.

Answer 6

Yes, when we speak a certain language other than our mother tongue, we are likely to incline to that language because it has close relation with the culture of the people to which it belongs. The ultimate language would be your mother tongue only

Answer 7

I don't think it is necessary to think that way which you propose. There could be some words used very rarely and I don't think it makes much of a difference on the overall issue of communication. We all feel comfortable to communicate in English despite having our own language.

Answer 8

No, the ultimate language is binary code

Answer 9

No..what does the language one speaks have to do with how they think?

Answer 10

Sign language in my opinion.