Friday, April 18, 2014

Futured and Futureless Languages:



Futured Languages: These languages like English, distinguish between the past, present and future. e.g. IF THE BOY GETS THE MONEY, HE WILL BUY A PRESENT FOR THE GIRL.

Futureless Languages:  These languages like Chinese, use the same phrasing to describe the events of yesterday, today and tomorrow. e.g. IF THE BOY GET THE MONEY,  HE BUY A PRESENT FOR THE GIRL. (ofcourse said in Chinese )
It is found that huge economic differences accompany this linguistic discrepancy. Futureless language speakers are 30 percent more likely to report having saved in any given year than futured language speakers. (This amounts to 25 percent more savings by retirement, if income is held constant.) When we speak about the future as more distinct from the present, it feels more distant — and we’re less motivated to save money now in favor of monetary comfort years down the line.
So, Now the question arises: Did the culture and way of thinking of the community inform the language they created or does the language they use create the way of thinking?
To answer it, Both co-construct each other equally. People create a language as a tool and that tool begins to shape them. As a professor of communication studies I don’t think you can separate notions of culture and language, they are intertwined together.
But that’s only the beginning. There’s a wide field of research on the link between language and both psychology and behavior.
So, The moral of the article is keep speaking in the way in which you want to mould your personality. Your personality is the reflection of the way you use to speak.

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