Kinley Lovaton 10th Livingstone

How does language affect the way we see things?

Where language does came from? By the logic, we can say that it came
by our knowledge, because language is basically how to name
something, and that something can be everything, it can be feelings,
colors, etc., however, here’s enters another question, if it affect the way
we think?, maybe yes, if language is naming something depending to
your knowledge, the fact of using knowledge, makes someone think, and
thinking change depending on where you are, so the language you have,
makes you think differently to the others.

How do I prove that, well, a year ago, there was an experiment between
English and Spanish spoker´s, and what they have to do is watch a video
and discover what is the major event on the video, actually, the answer
is that an egg broke, and that was Spanish and Japanese answer, but the
curios part come here, English speakers said the same answer, but
adding who was the one that done it, so, what scientist realize from that
speakers, Spanish and Japanese Speakers use to said just the event, but
the English, use to blame to the one that make that event.

Not convincing yet?, on the middle of this month (April), were political
elections, and something that always was present, were the
“Propagandas”, in our country, Propaganda use to be as advisement,
which the idea is incomplete, and the reader is the one that completes
that idea, like this: “Nobody stops Peru”, we can see that this phrase
means that nothing can stop Peru growing up, but in a political context,
for me, the meaning could be “Peru is growing in the economical
aspect”, but maybe another one, would have another perception for this
Propaganda.

By the way, a couple of days ago, I saw a Disney movie, called 'The
Beauty and The Beast' (on English version), where most of the
characters are objects that “magically” were alive, which could act as
girls or boys, anyway, there was a character, which is genre change
depending on the language presented on the movie, it was the coup and
on the English version is presented as a male character, but if we the
Spanish version, the 'coup' or in Spanish “la taza”, the object genre
changes completely, making the object turns into feminine genre, for
me, this fact is interesting, I didn’t realize that language could change
people perception? And moreover how does language plays an
important role on our thinking’s?

Going onto personal experiences, a good part of my family, comes from

the mountains, and they always use words in which people from the

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Kinley Lovaton 10th Livingstone

coast catalogue as “Strong words”, well, what happened, is that one

day, on a family meeting, my parents see again some friends that were
studying with him, and the way they talk, was to strong that by myself I
supposed that they were in troubles, but when the meeting finished, I
ask my father why they use strong words to speak?, he replies me that it
was the way in which they use to talk on the past, I get surprised…

As you see, most of the cases which I present, in relation with TOK
issues, are propaganda, misunderstanding, Genres, Cultural Background
and self-perception, because this issues are most in relation to how the
language could change your way to see the world, propaganda could be
because depending of what you know, you can give a meaning for the
propaganda you are looking for, in case of misunderstanding, if you
don’t know the real meaning of the words on a context, you aren’t able
to understand it, Self-perception is important, it led you to visualize
something depending of the knowledge you have, Cultural Background
is essential, because the way we think now, is product of the language
we have been living on.

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