Linking Assignment Task 2
In Seime’s assignment, he shared his thoughts on how language and cultural identity are synonymous. He shared his personal experiences by demonstrating stark differences in common phrases in different languages. I found some connections between Seime’s experiences and mine as I had explained in my own assignment. I am a second generation Canadian, where I grew up speaking Cantonese and English in my household. My partner is also bilingual, where he grew up in Hungary and moved to Canada when he was 13.
Language structures the way that we think. Boroditsky describes how one word can carry different connotations of meaning in various languages (2011). She goes on to conclude that each language “provides its own cognitive toolkit and encapsulates the knowledge and worldview developed over thousands of years within a culture” (Boroditsky, 2011, p. 65). Not only does language influence the way that we communicate with one another, but this thought confirms Seime’s ideas and how language affects the way different cultures interact within one another.
Many bilingual speakers have the ability to code-switch, which entails changing the way one speaks given the situation or switching languages within the same conversation. I think that one’s environment has a great influence on the development of language. Growing up speaking two languages, I am able to code-switch between two languages easily when speaking with my parents. Numerous friends who grew up speaking two or more languages at home have experienced similar things. However, my partner, who learned English later on, only speaks Hungarian to his parents and rarely integrates English words. I think this has a lot to do with his upbringing, where he grew up in Hungary and did not have the need to speak English. As an adult, this makes it hard for him to code-switch and describes it as an unnatural feeling.
Boroditsky, L. (2011). How language shapes thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62-65.