Fourth Experience

This class is perhaps the most interactive so far. There was an active discussion about how language influences our thoughts, and it as a system of communication. Language enables us to communicate. Language and communication are closely related. Language is a system of arbitrary, vocal symbols which permit people who have learnt the system of that related culture, to communicate or interact. On the other hand, language expresses thoughts and shapes thinking. People who speak different languages indeed think differently. Languages we speak shape how we see the world, how we think and how we live our lives. They play a crucial role in constructing our mental lives as to bring us closer to understanding the nature of humanity. Language is so fundamental in our experiences, that it is hard to imagine life without it. Language is a part of culture, and culture affects how a person thinks, which initiates behavior.

The deep question is; are you unable to think about things you don't have word for, or do you lack words for them because you just don't think about them? Here; language, thought and culture are involved.

The other discussion was on that of low culture and high culture. High culture is associated with that of the upper class or aristocracy or status class while low culture is associated with the less educated or barbarians. High culture could also refer to the set of central products, mainly in the arts whereas low culture could refer to things such as showbiz gossip, reality television, pop music and yellow journalism. Pop culture is slowly leading to the disappearance of high culture.

REFERENCES

HOW DOES OUR LANGUAGE SHAPE THE WAY WE THINK? | Edge.org. (2021). Retrieved 27 February 2021, from https://www.edge.org/conversation/lera_boroditsky-how-does-our-language-shape-the-way-we-think

van den Haak, M. (2021). High culture unravelled: A historical and empirical analysis of contrasting logics of cultural hierarchy. Retrieved 27 February 2021, from https://quod.lib.umich.edu/h/humfig/11217607.0007.108/--high-culture-unravelled-a-historical-and-empirical-analysis?rgn=main;view=fulltext