 I am a linguaphile.
"Lingua" is the word for language or tongue in Latin. "Phile" is a suffix used in the formation of nouns and adjectives meaning loving. It derives from the Greek word "philos." When we join the two, we come up with language lover.
Usually explanations of the roots of a word are followed by soft uhs and ahs and a set of rising eyebrows, showing that the listeners are impressed at least on the outside. I'm sure you can visualize the scene I'm describing, since it's pretty common to witness. If not, just check your own reaction right now.
Speaking foreign languages or having knowledge about how languages work is considered prestigious. People aspire to speak more than one foreign language and look up to those who do. Since we all communicate with each other in one way or another, languages are common to all of us. Therefore, language is one of those topics, like religion, about which everyone has a thing to say.
I am no exception to that, so this week's column will oblige my ramblings on language. And I think it might be interesting since a lot of you must be excited about the Basic [insert language here] course you just started to take.
Contrary to common belief, language isn't only a tool for understanding what is being said. Actually it is a science of its own, a philosophical theory, an instrument necessary for survival. When learned consciously, it deciphers a whole body of cultural and psychological meanings.
Let's look at the cultural aspect first. To speak a language paves the way to learning the culture of where that language is spoken. Actually, this process is inevitable. We end up knowing that culture without even realizing it because the presence of culture can be felt in both the vocabulary and the grammar of the language. It's a popular urban legend that there are multiple words for snow in the Eskimo language. The reason for that is probably that because Eskimos view snow differently than we do, they associate it with more than one concept.
So how can culture influence grammar in the same way? Here's an example from Japanese. To say "I helped my friend" you literally say something like "I gave my friend the act of helping." Sounds funny? Yes, but this seemingly insignificant sentence openly illustrates the significance of doing something for someone else in Japanese culture.
On the psychological side of things, if we look at it very simply, the more languages we speak, the more people we can communicate with. We can both understand what someone is saying and comprehend what he/she means since you become familiar with the culture the language is part of. Take, for example, movies that the 90s. A generation of kids grew up watching films like "Beethoven The Dog," "Problem Child," "Home Alone," the "Back to the Future" trilogy, etc. You probably watched these movies more than once and dubbed in Turkish. Try watching them again in their original language, and you'll see that you'll be laughing at some scenes you didn't as a child. This is because now that you speak English, you are familiar with the humor of English-speaking culture (in this case, American culture) and consequently the jokes make more sense.
By Gönenç İnal (TRIN/IV) |
