Language Case

1. The theory that difference in languages changes the view of a person, as in the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, suggests that language and linguistic systems influence a person's view of the world (Writing Assignment). People who know multiple languages can have different perspectives for culture, literature and the way of living. Life style changes with the way of thinking and exploring the world, which can be done through speaking or writing, which connects language with a person's perspective. Christine Kenneally agrees with the idea of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and discusses the argument of Noam Chomsky, that there is a universal grammar.

According to Kenneally,

"Some languages have some aspects that are not mastered until later in life, such as the triangular kin terms of the Indigenous Australian language, Bininj Gun-wok. These situate the speaker, listener and a third party relative, all at once. For example "al-doingu" means "the one who is my mother and your daughter, you being my maternal grandmother" and this is not an oddity; there are hundreds of such structures in the language. The speakers of Bininj Gun-wok only begin to acquire this part of the language in their twenties" (Kenneally, 5).

This shows that language has various types of grammar and can be learned while growing up through experiences.

Diversity in language can be shown, as Kenneally mentions, "for Evans and Levinson, cognition is more like 'a machine tool, capable of manufacturing special tools for special jobs... like calculating, playing the piano, reading right to left or speaking Arabic'. In this view, the brain of a child does not arrive pre-programmed with abstract linguistic rules" (Kenneally, 5). If there were only one grammar, writing and reading direction would not be different in Arabic.

Moreover, Kenneally mentions the differences in grammar by giving example of Kiowa people, even plurals are not straightforward. The Kiowa people of North America use a plural marker that means "of unexpected number". Attached to "leg", the marker means "one or more than two". Attached to "stone", it means "just two" (Kenneally, 6).

In contrast to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, there is some support for the Chomskian position of Universal Grammar. Steven Pinker agrees with some parts of universal grammar hypothesis as Kenneanlly mentions, Pinker argue that all humans do share an innate set of mechanisms for learning language (Kenneally 4). In addition to Pinker, Tecumseh Fitch also agrees with the universal grammar hypothesis. According to Kenneally, "Tecumseh Fitch at the University of Vienna in Austria says that from the outset Chomsky's own definition was quite sophisticated. 'In introducing the term 'UG', Chomsky made it clear that these features are highly abstract and not [the same as] absolute surface universals' (Kenneally, 4).

2. The perceptions of American English speakers can be defined as time, numbers and direction. Language affects thinking and understanding of a culture. Defining time, numbers and direction can change depending on the culture. Since the culture is affected by language, American English speakers can have trouble of understanding other cultures if they do not know their language. Lera Boroditsky

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