To what extent  does language shape our thinking?

-Language plays a part in many parts of our life, some says that it is what differentiate  between human beings while others disagree and say that our process of thinking isn't linked to our language. Personally i must say that the language we use to speak,whether we are bilingual or monolingual, i do believe that language is linked to our way of thinking and heres why. Since we can associate language with a certain culture, we know that within different cultures there comes different beliefs and those beliefs come with a certain manner of thinking. So i think language plays a massive part in the shape of our thinking process. 

Do people think differently in different languages? 

- Yes, and just basing this off from the answer above, since language is associated  with different cultures we can say that peoples thought process is based on what they know based on cultural acceptance which gives them  the freedom to think in a certain way. 

If you do not have words for certain situation, does it mean you do not have thoughts for them? 

-No it doesn't, remember that thought shouldn't only be associated with speaking, thought can also be liked with reaction and feelings. A person may feel something but not be able to express it, that doesn't mean that they don't have thoughts about the situation it's just they don't have the words to express them (Pain is a good example, people use hand movement and face gestures to issue pain) 

LANGUAGE WITH WAYS OF KNOWING 

• Do we think in language?  Why is that? 

We do  think in language because our thought process can be in language, for instance if something that triggers a reaction or a thought we would automatically have a thought process in our heads that we say in one of our languages (Personally: Arabic) and it is also believed that the language you react in is the sam language that is used when thinking within the think process. 

Do speakers of different languages inhabit different worlds? - Defiantly! I think that different speakers have different worlds due to the cultural beliefs of each one, for instance someone might be from a culture or a country that accepts or see's something as deemed "Appropriate" while other people may find it offensive, an example that Miss Fatima mentioned in class was "British humour". And that some people may understand the jokes while others find it offensive. So it demonstrates that different languages within different cultures inhibit different worlds and aspects like humour, ways of life and ways of thinking

How does human language differ from animal communication?   Do speakers of different languages know different things?

- Human communication and animal communication are different because well human speak and communicate through language while animals don't.. However humans do adopt some aspects that animals use for the source of communication such as body movement and normal reactions from both  sets of mammals. 

Does our language limit what we can know? 

- I don't agree that language does limit our knowledge, knowledge is a trait that we adopt from different aspects, language is the way we learn it. Education is the same throughout all languages.. For instance World War 1 isn't different in french than it is in arabic. However it is the way we learn based on the language we feel most accustomed too 

TOK HOMEWORK 

1)What have you learnt in the last two sessions about language? what came to your mind that you have not shared with the class? 

The one aspect that we ave discussed in class about language is how linked most of them are, we were shown a video that discussed the similarities in language and how we should really think on whether any language is different from ours, the one thing that came to my mind is that all languages do have a foundation tat it is built off. The origin of some language are religious based while other are history based, yet because language is such a diverse feature it is also increasing and our vocabulary is also getting larger within each new generations.

2) What is language? How important is body language across cultures?Do we think differently wen we speak more than one language? 

Langauge is the form of communicating and sharing/expressing your feeling from one person to another. Body language is based on different culture however also can be stereotypes. Some people believe that all Italians use hand movements when in reality that isn't the case, some Italians may have adopted it from their parents doing it while other people in mental find it a more effective way of expressing their opinion wit the use of body or hand movement. I do think that we do think differently , if the language that you speak is self taught so something you adapted from a class or perusal interest then yes i don't think language will effect the person way of thinking.But if the language is something that we know through country or religious origin then i do this it will play a part in the way we think or act upon certain situations that seem appropriate t the culture or religion we are associated with. 

How reliable is language?? Explore these aspects: (lost in translation, misunderstandings, legitimacy of language, language used in marketing, media, bias...) 

Language is the mechanism that all human beings use to communicate however some are portrayed  differently due to their platform and users of it. 

Through the Language Glass: How Words Colour Your World by Guy Deutscher

1st world claim: It turned out that it wasn't just the Ancient Greeks who never said the sky was blue. None of the ancient languages had a proper word for blue. What we now call blue was once subsumed by older words for black or for green. (In fact, this is why in Japan green lights are actually a bluer shade of green than in the rest of the world. The word used for the green of traffic lights is ao, which used to mean "green and blue" but now means blue. Rather than change the word, they changed the colour.)