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I'm answering this without reading any prior responses(I think this gives me clarity of thought) so I apologize if this has already been shared.
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I'm answering this without reading any prior responses(I think this gives me clarity of thought) so I apologize if this has already been shared.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm
George Orwell wrote IMO an incredibly essay on Politics and the English Language(linked above) that I thing is worth exploring within this topic.
As for my personal reaction to this I would say yes but the perception "shaping" happens within a language rather than between languages. I mean look at how we(Americans) have shifted the vocabulary to describe economic down turns. We've gone from "Panic" to "Depression" to "Recession" and if you pay careful attention we're transitioning from recession to "Down turn" as I just used it last sentence. So over the course of a couple hundred years we've lessened the bluntness we use to describe bad situations.
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I wonder how many people who answer actually speak different languages more or less fluently? My personal experience is that your perceptions and even your personality are shifted based upon the language you speak. Languages have rifts and rhythms and they effect your thought construction and how you express those constructions.
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I wonder how many people who answer actually speak different languages more or less fluently? My personal experience is that your perceptions and even your personality are shifted based upon the language you speak. Languages have rifts and rhythms and they effect your thought construction and how you express those constructions.
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Short answer, IMHO, is absolutely. Not only foreign languages but think about the different "language sets" you use in your regular life. Does your work language affect your work personnality? Does your "at home" langauage do likewise? I'm talking about peripheral expressions not your core personality but I think even your different native language expressions changes your perceptions so how could thinking and speaking in German, French or Portuguese not do the same?
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I believe language interferes with perception. I don't think there is a difference between French and English. As describe by jiohdi, a word can trigger related concepts in the mind and modify one's perception. Perceiving things without labeling them is the only way to perceive their true essence. A perception free of souvenirs and personal conditionning.
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words and/or phrases seem to be like computer program file names... when someone says a word like say elephant... it seems to trigger a cascade of events within the mind, like running the program elephant would on a computer... language does not cause what we experience, but it can play a significant part in what we pay attention to and think about.
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Language does not create a perception of the world. Perceptions are sensory inputs that have been interpreted by the brain. Instead, language is a means of translation. For example, if you see a stimulus and don't know what it is, language will not help you perceive it any differently. It will only aid you in giving a name to that stimulus after you've discovered what it is, so that you can convey that information to someone else.
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Language does not create a perception of the world. Perceptions are sensory inputs that have been interpreted by the brain. Instead, language is a means of translation. For example, if you see a stimulus and don't know what it is, language will not help you perceive it any differently. It will only aid you in giving a name to that stimulus after you've discovered what it is, so that you can convey that information to someone else.
To counter dogman13's post, I don't believe that words create reality, but instead describe it.
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Maybe a little bit. Our attitudes about different culture overall probably has more to do with our personalities and environment though.
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I'm not sure. I'm becoming fluent in spanish just by speaking it a lot in class, and sometimes I speak it without realizing it--but it didn't change my perception. That's just my experience; I'm sure in other circumstances it could
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I forgot one of the most important facts. Words create one's reality. We each have our own reality as a result.
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