The connection between culture, language and knowledge
When one possesses the knowledge of a language, they also gain an insight into culture. Language and culture are extremely interconnected. One cannot separate language from culture. In my native language Hindi, and Spanish there is a separate form of the word “you” to indicate respect. “Aap” in Hindi, and “usted” in Spanish are more formal and generally used to refer to those older than, or with higher authority than you. This shows how prominent respect is in both cultures.
In many languages, there are untranslatable words, which shows the degree to which culture impacts language. In Hindi, the word jhootha is used to describe food or drink that has been partially consumed or “tongue touched” by someone else. It is considered unhygienic and impure. If food is jhootha, it is never offered to anyone else, especially not to anyone older, those you respect and Gods. This word is very specific to Hindu culture, so it does not exist in any other languages. In Spanish, the word sobremesa refers to the tradition of relaxing and chatting at the table after eating, especially after a heavy lunch. According to Enforex, during sobremesa, people may drink coffee or digestive liquor. This is an integral part of Spanish culture, which is centred around food. Spain also uses the word siesta for short naps taken in the early afternoon, usually after lunch. Many shops and businesses close from 14:00–16:00 so employees can rest, eat and take their siesta during the warmest hours of the day. This reveals the significance of the siesta in Spanish culture.
Idioms also show how culture writes language, as they vary from culture to culture and the meaning only makes sense in its native language. In Hindi, “ghar ki murgi, dal baraabar” literally means chicken from home is the same as dal. Food prepared at home is less exciting and desired than from a restaurant and dal is a very common, regular dish in India. The idiom is commonly used to refer to men in relationships taking advantage of and not appreciating their wives by ogling at other women. The sentiment of this idiom is that one never appreciates what they have; our belongings are always devalued, and the possessions of others seem superior. This is similar to the English idiom “the grass is always greener on the other side”. Both idioms mean the same lesson, but cultural elements impact the communication.
A TED Talk by Lera Boroditski explained that in the aboriginal group, Kuuk Thaayore’s, language, cardinal directions are used. This means, “left” and “right” are not used; directions are told through “north, east, south and west”. The impact of this is that the Kuuk Thaayore speakers had good orientation and cognitive ability to differentiate and identify north, east, south and west. When asked to organize time while facing south, the group did so from left to right. The opposite occurred when facing north. The same pattern of east to west was seen when facing east and west. Instead of locking time on the body and always going from left to right, the Kuuk Thaayore lock it onto the landscape. This reveals the significance of landscape, nature and environment in the culture of the Kuuk Thaayore community.
Gendered languages like Hindi, Spanish and German show how language shapes cultural mindsets, and vice versa. In German, the word for bridge is feminine, while in Spanish it is masculine. Boroditsky’s TED Talk revealed that this means German-speakers often describe the bridge with more typically feminine adjectives, while Spanish-speakers did the opposite. In most gendered languages, masculine is the default when referring to a group of people or an unspecified person. This shows how cultural beliefs are expressed through language.
