Pre-Watching Questions
Write down at least ten words that come to mind when you think about language.
10 Words that come to mind when I think about language are: Dialect, speech, vocabulary, communication, tongue, terminology, voice, expression, phrase, tone
Have you ever thought about language and the power of language?
Language is such a powerful tool because it allows people to communicate, interact and create relationships with each other. Language even shapes the way we see the world, how we describe things, keep records, and more. One of the most important powers of language is non-verbal communication, which we can use to change other forms of language and even give them completely different meanings.
- Give 3 examples of language that helps you to express yourself?
Language itself can be separated into many categories and subcategories, ranging from Spanish to sign language. One example of language that help me express myself include verbally, which I use the most to express myself and communicate with others around me. Another way I can express myself is through my writing which I use to convey thoughts, ideas, learning, and more. One example of language that almost everybody we know uses is non-verbal communication. This includes body language, facial expressions, and gestures that people use to express emotions and meaning.
While-watching Questions
- Take notes when listening to this talk and describe the 5 examples that the speaker gives to show that language shapes the way we think.
Language shapes the way we think because we can transfer an idea from one persons mind to another just from the use of language
Another example includes directions and how they play an important role in how we go about our day and even view the world and describe things. For example, people that don’t use the words “left” and “right” view the world in a different way than you or I would, and are even better at knowing directions at all times.
Languages can differ in descriptive ways like numbers that allow us to do math and make calculations; and colours that shape how we perceive what we see and how we label it in our minds. This shapes the way we think because it can cause someone who speaks English, to see things differently than someone who speaks Russian does
Grammatical gender is present in languages like Spanish or German and entails giving nouns a gender like masculine or feminine and changes how the words are structured and even making people that speak the language subconsciously view nouns as more feminine or masculine.
Language can also vary in ways to describe events. For example, for English when an accident happens, they remember who did it because they describe an event as “They broke something”. Whereas Spanish speakers would describe that same situation as “That thing broke” and remember why something happened as opposed to who did it.
- Also what does the presenter do to entertain the audience and keep their attention?
Something the presenter does to entertain the audience and keep their attention is by making jokes and interacting with them so they stay focused and present. Another thing the presenter does to keep the audiences attention is by showing visuals, and displaying how certain images represent the way language shapes the way we think.
Post-watching Questions
- What do you think about language and its effects on your thoughts?
I think that language plays a huge part in our thoughts and lives. Language alone shapes how we perceive the world, communicate with each other and think. With each language you speak, it opens up new ways to see things and communicate. I speak English, Tagalog, and are learning Spanish; and something I have noticed is that in each of these languages nothing can be translated exactly and even words that are roughly translated can have completely different meanings. This shows that language really does affect the way we think, and I can confirm this from personal experience.
- Do you agree with Lera Boroditsky or do you think language can be seen independently? Provide 2 examples to prove your point.
I agree with Lera Boroditsky that language can be seen as more than independently. During her presentation she produced a great deal of evidence that proved language shapes how we think. Some of her evidence included how different languages use colours, gender, and structure in different ways that allow those speakers to think differently than others. Another way that languages differ from each other is with numbers which allow you to do complicated math, equations and coding that even let us create and use websites like these.