Culture… and Language

NOTE TO THE READER: All quotations are from the sociology textbook and should include page numbers. While not all students did this, the following responses represent excellent student work.

“Language allows human experience to be goal-directed, cooperative and cumulative. It also lets humans move beyond the present and share a past, future, and other common perspectives. According toe the Sapir-Whorm hypothsis, langauge even shapes our thoughts and perceptions.” -p. 42-46

Llanguage Essays – Student Examples – Spring 2013

Sample Student Essay – 3rd Period (Irish)

“[Language] gives us the capacity to share understandings about the past and develop shared perceptions about the future, as well as to establish underlying purposes for our activities” (Henslin 44). Without Language, or symbols that can be combined to form abstract thought and allow us to communicate, our world we know would be much less sophisticated. Communication and language are what separates us from animals. Language alone allows us to have abstract thought and in turn express our thoughts and ideas to one another. It permits us humans to form and share abstract thoughts as well as perform group actions much more efficiently.

Being able to communicate allows members of culture to express the answers to such questions as when, where, why, and how something happened, or will happen. Language enables us to talk about events and also our thoughts about them. “Talking about events allows us to arrive at the shared understandings that form the basis of social life” (Henslin 43). Also, since language allows us to share ideas with one another, we can share ideas we have learned from others to the next generation so they have standards that are acceptable in society. Through language, we may also be able to modify culture in general to prevent the next generation from making mistakes previous ones have made. Finally, “[w]ithout language, our memories would be extremely limited, for we associate experiences with words and then use words to recall the experience” (Henslin 42). We would have memory, but a much less distinctive and important one. Language allows us to convey past and future ideas to one another.

The basis of culture, language, is essential to modern culture. We can form thoughts with extensive meaning, express it, and interpret others thoughts. This is what makes humans unique from animals and what allows me to type this essay. Without words and abstract thoughts, computers, cell phones, and even stained wood flooring would not exist (although many cultures do not even have these). We would not have the conveniences such as telling someone where you’re going or who you met yesterday. A world without language is truly a world without modern humanity.

Sample Student Essay – 3rd Period (Ramsay)

Edward Sapir and Benjamin Wharf’s hypothesis states that language creates ways of thinking and perceiving.  From this, the idea that language plays a vital role in overall culture is clear. In the reading it is stated that “The primary way in which people communicate is through language.” This statement is overall very true because we, as a human race, tend to use language to communicate our feelings, or opinions, what we’re thinking, etc. The idea that “without language, our memories would be limited” is also brought to the table. In my opinion this proves very true because in reality, most of our memories from early childhood are due to the fact that we have been told of most of the details by adults, who have shared them with us over the years. I also think that without language the things that get told from generation to generation would disappear, breaking that memory as well. Not only does language allow for effective communication and aid in the attempt to spread information down throughout generations, language also “allows for a shared perspective.” Without language, proving our own personal beliefs and trying to understand others beliefs would prove to be near impossible due to the fact that language allows for a debate to occur. Without language we would be very sheltered within our own minds and feelings that I believe no one would take the opportunity to get to understand another person.  Overall, language is a very important thing throughout our culture. Whether it be to simply get along with one another, have valuable information passed down from generation to generation, or simply just communicate our own thoughts and feelings, language proves to be a necessity.

Sample Student Essay – 3rd Period (Robespierre)

Language is one of the most important parts of culture.  It allows us to communicate and share our feelings.  It allows us to think and write letters.  It provides common ways of thinking and ways to explain our individual thinking.  “The primary way in which people communicate with each other is through language.”  Language is the basis of communication.  Without language we would be a bunch of mumbling, grunting, unintelligent people.  Our individual ideas would remain just that, individual.  There would be no way to communicate your ideas to others without language.  Your new bridge schematic? Useless to others without language.  Want to tell your mother how grateful you are?  Without language this is impossible.  Language defines who we are and it brings a community closer together.  Language is the basis of thought. “Without language, our memories would be extremely limited, for we associate experiences with words and then use words to recall the experience.”  Language allows for individualism and advanced thinking.  When we hear the word “cat” we instantly think of a small, four-legged, ball of fur.  But without language every single person would think of something different when they heard the word “cat”.  Language allows for the word “cat” to mean the same thing to people in the same culture.  However, some words mean different things in different cultures.  This is also true with gestures.  “Like gestures, in different cultures the same sound may mean something entirely different-or may have no meaning at all.”  The word “no” is common in the United States, however, in some cultures there may not be a word meaning “no”, or if there is a word it may be said differently.  Each culture has a different way of communicating and expression.  Language is the most important part in the identity of a culture.

Sample Student Essays – Autumn 2012

Student Example 1 (2nd Period)

Language is very much important to our culture. Language allows us to pass on ideas, knowledge, and even attitudes on to the next generation. “Language allows culture to develop by freeing people to move beyond their immediate experiences” (p. 42). If we did not have language we would have very little memories. This is because we associate experiences with words and then use words to recall the experience. If language was not present , we would have a very rough time with communicating dates and times. Because of language, we are able to plan activities and events with one another. “Language allows culture to exist.” This statement is honestly true compared to the information state above. Language is also very important because it allows us to have a purpose for getting together. All in all, “language is the basis of culture.”

Student Example 2 (2nd Period)

The human language allows humans to be cumulative. “Language allows culture to develop by freeing people to move beyond their immediate experiences” (p. 42). If we didn’t have language, we wouldn’t have a perfected understanding of how we think because we would be limited to gestures and grunts. Language also provides a social or shared past. When you think of memories, usually it involves signing, listening to music, or something your fiend said that was funny. “We associated our experiences with words and use words to recall the experience” (p. 42). I think it is very important to be able to let people know how we think, out opinions and to allow us to be communicative.

Student Example 3 (3rd Period)

Language is one of the most important aspects to culture. “Without language, our memories would be extremely limited, for we associate experiences with words and then use words to recall the experience.” By not having many memories, a person is limiting the capacity to learn from mistakes as well as limiting the ability to connect with others through experiences. Because language exists, we can, “pass ideas, knowledge and even attitudes on to the next generation, allowing it to build on experiences that it many never undergo.” Languages allows culture to develop and grow because of people sharing previous experiences and giving guidance on what needs done to not just improve one culture, but everything in the world. “The significance of language form human life is difficult to overstate.” Everything humans do, not only involve communication, but comes from communication. Without language, people, society, culture, the world would not nearly be where it is today.

Student Example 4 (Period 3)

Without language, culture would not exist. “We pass ideas, knowledge, and even attitude on to the next generation” using language. Without the ability to communicate, knowledge from one generation to the next, any norms would disappear and any experience in someone’s life would go unused. Without langaugewe would have little to kno memory. “We associate experience with words and then use the words to recall the experience.” A person would have no memory of their family, friends, home, or something as simples as what they like to eat. There would be no consistency in a person life without memory. Language has embeded within the ways of looking at the world.” Witout langauge we would literally have no concept of anything. All tought would cease. It is impossible to have culture without language.

Student Example 5 (Period 3)

Most of all, language gives us opportunity to communicate with each other. We say “language allows culture to exist” because it helps us to pass our cultural values, beliefs, thinking and ideas to the next generation. We give our knowledge by using a language. ”Language allows culture to develop by freeing people to move beyond their immediate experiences.” Moreover, language lets us not to limit our memories and experience, because it gives us a chance to talk and discuss our past with other people. While talking we also develop more understanding about the meanings of the event for us and its effect on our lives. But language doesn’t stop in the past, it also develops and helps us to build the future. We use  it to plan events and times and share it with other people. “Language permits you to blend individual activities into an integrates sentence” So in conclusion, we come to an idea that with all important things it means for human, language is a basis of culture.