Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Language and cultural identity summary
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Cultural and linguistic diversity
The Bulgarian Language
“Language is the light of the mind” (Mills, n.d.) This quote is a prime illustration of the impact language places in the context of various cultures. Whether it be a specific culture, such as Bulgarian, or language on a grander scale, it is language’s role to encapsulate the essence of human interaction. In addition, each culture is uniquely identified through its own idioms, alphabet, history, and ultimately its linguistic relativity in general. Overall, language is imperative for communication cross-culturally and interpersonally. In sum, it is importunate of culture to have an effective language which carries not only an established written alphabet, history, and uniqueness, but also holds specific characteristics
…show more content…
This is unique because within each of the 7,000 languages throughout the world, there is an individual language “universe” that changes and adapts overtime specifically surrounding those cultures (Boroditsky, 2014). This is significant because those solitary universes overlap with others at times which can be a way for various cultures to glean knowledge from one another. An example of this can be seen through the Bulgarian language which has shared some of the linguistic tendencies of the Latin, Greek, Russian, French, Italian, German, and English languages (Ager, 2017). In addition to this, the Bulgarian language is spoken in not only Bulgaria, but also certain areas of Greece, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. This conveys the idea that language bridges various cultures together and causes communication cross-culturally. Moreover, Bulgarian is a south Slavic language written through the Cyrillic alphabet (The Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). This is interesting due to the history and meaning surrounding Bulgaria. For example, the Bulgarian revival of the 19th century, the “Church Slavonic”, …show more content…
For example, one idiom says, “we save white money for black days: Бели пари за черни дни” (Pelova, 2015). This idiom expresses not only the way the society views time, but also their perspective on money and saving which makes them a futureless language. This causes them to be dissimilar to futuristic cultures, such as the United States. Another idiom found in the Bulgarian language is “an ill person carries a healthy one on his back: Болен здрав носи” (Pelova, 2015). This means beware of those who wish to take advantage of one’s own weaknesses, and it also ties back to a Bulgarian fairytale designed to teach children to be conscious of people’s intentions. A third idiom says, “A hungry bear doesn’t dance horo: Гладна мечка хоро не играе” (Pelova, 2015). For the most part, this is a funny saying meaning do not expect much from a hungry Bulgarian because they might be in an atrocious mood. In addition, this idiom is unique to Bulgaria because not many other cultures “dance the horo”. In sum, the idioms presented here create a deeper understanding of what the Bulgarian culture is like through the way they communicate and express themselves while also distinguishing the difference between other
There are two forms of languages; public and private. The "private" language only spoken with family and close intimate relationships. The "public" language used in society, work, and school. Both of these help form two identities, that help us connect and communicate with one another. In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan and also in the article “Speech Communities” by Paul Roberts ,we will see how both private and public language demonstrate how we view, and grow from each language.
The English and Spanish language abrazándose like íntimos compadres. That is the perfect example of Spanglish. Spanglish is the representation of different cultures, different places, and lots of history within the fusion of two languages. It allows its speakers to quickly switch between two worlds and put their brains to the test. In a similar manner, every language is a door to a new set of rules, concepts, and benefits. When reading Felipe de Ortego y Gasca’s “Regarding Spanglish” after having read Boroditsky’s “How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?”, a single idea kept echoing inside my head. Reading “How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?” before reading “Regarding Spanglish” suggests that Spanglish provides linguistic
The Polish heritage has been an important part of my life. It has taught me to be respectful and caring towards my family, friends, and others. My father’s side of our family is Polish. My great-grandfather came from Poland to escape the perils of World War II. He was a farmer, who traveled to the United States for the promise of a new life. He taught himself how to become a wood-worker and a handy man, but he worked as a miner in the United States. My great-grandfather was extremely determined to provide for his family, and wife in the United States. After a many years, I was born. From my birth, I was introduced to our Polish heritage. My great-grandfather would read to me in Slavic. He was extremely family oriented. After he left his fourteen siblings in Poland, he still made an immense effort to remain in contact with them. Even at my young age, when he was alive, I remember seeing his relatives visiting, even though I could not communicate with them. After he passed, our Polish culture still remained dominate.
Nevertheless, having two official languages does not restrict an individual from learning a different language or communicating with it – in fact, it is favored. What having two official languages does however, it allows people from different backgrounds to understand each other and their worldviews: creating a sense of
Culture and language are intertwined and somewhat inseparable. Language determines how culture is delivered and passed down from generation to generation. The book suggest that language is the glue that holds self-perception, experiences, attitude and knowledge together (Appleby, 2011). This means that in order to fully grasp one’s culture you must first understand the
"Languageand Communication within the Culture." Languageand Communication within the Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
How do you characterize a country, the people who occupy the land, their livelihood and who they are as a group? Culture is the answer that can illustrate a country with millions of people. Culture is the culmination of social interactions in a certain region, terrain, religious beliefs, and society as a whole. Russia is a nation that has been molded and formed by their culture, for better or worse. Russia is described through its vast history, population, politics and events that have molded Moscow’s attributes.
In the United States, the Anglo community is oppressing people of color because of their language, culture, and believes. For many years the Anglo has mistreated color races because they are different, causing anger and not understanding how it feels to be biracial. Latinos identities are robbed by not being able to speak Spanish in school. Therefore, the community in America needs to come together to fight against oppression and injustice caused by the difference in language and culture to improve equality for a group of people, who have lived marginalized throughout the years.
Russia culture is very different from any other culture that I have ever read about. This is a country that is dominated by males. Males actually run the county of Russia. The men are so dominated that every Russian women dream is to be married and have a family with these men. Russia is known for its poor society. In the book Sakharov he mentions how he moved from one place to another. He first was in Moscow’s larger apartments with his family. In this apartment there were six families. With thin the six families they had to share the kitchen and the bathroom. Then he states that he moved into a very old house and in this old house there was a leaking ceiling. With in this house there were still six families that shared everything. (Sakharov 24-25)
—. Language: Readings in Language and Culture. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print.
What do we know about other cultures, does our knowledge extend to what we have seen in the movies? Are the majority of Russians burly commandos who consume a large quantity of vodka to keep warm in the Russian weather and dream about the day that the KGB and Stalin return? If you believe what you see in the movies, this could be the picture that comes to mind when thinking about Russia and their culture. Though if you are in pursuit of an accurate cultural awareness, there are many tools to help you reach this. Russia is a unique culture with different customs, language, politics, historical value, terrain, and weather. With its vast expanse
Society and the way it works has changed tremendously over the years. Business between countries has grown and connections have grown with it as well.The world is a boundless place full of many different cultures and has “roughly 6,900” languages around the world that are all unique in their own way (source B). Although there is an overwhelming
Shafak speaks about her opinion on linguistic knowledge, suggesting that people who are only relative to their own language are minimized in terms of communication and have barriers that are set into place when trying to expand the understanding they have for the world’s different cultures. Although superficially this point does seem to be true, understanding a different language does not make one accustomed to the social aspects and certain sayings that comes along with many years of living and breathing it, as well as the culture it surrounds. Shafak views language as something that is easily obtained through study by emphasizing the ability to learn a new language through cultural exposure and personal practice, while that is only the beginning. The art of words is intertwined with centuries and centuries of knowledge and experience, and would take one that wasn’t born into it, a lifetime to fully understand the true depths to the words and how language brings forth power on the individual, and cultural level. Not only do languages differ vastly on a cultivated level, they also contrast heavily in a cognitive aspect. Nicolas Evans and Stephen C. Levinson discuss this thinking in “The Myth of Language Universals: Language Diversity and its Importance for Cognitive Science”. Evans and Levinson recognize the true mental diversity of languages by suggesting that “languages differ so fundamentally from one another at every level of description (sound, grammar, lexicon, [and] meaning) that it is very hard to find any single structural property they share”(429). Shafak appears to advert to the widespread misconception of language uniformity, both on a cognitive and cultural dimension as she fails to recognize not only the intellectual differences that make mastering a language so difficult, but more importantly the heritage
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart.” ‒ Nelson Mandela. Since the 1960’s learning a second language has decreased by 30 percent in today’s society. People who wish to learn an additional language often do so to communicate with people who reside in different countries. With an increase in today’s globalization, it is forcing companies throughout the world to break the language barrier. However, with the advancement of technology, numerous citizens find it unnecessary to learn another language, as a translation is at the tip of their fingers. The methods of learning a foreign language can differentiate between people. Nevertheless it has been