Language and Its Cultural Influence We begin our preview of language by noting that it is impossible to separate our use of language from our culture.In its most basic sense,language is a set of symbols and the rules for combining those symbols that are used and understood by a large community of people.When we study another language,we soon discover that not only are the symbols (words)and sounds for those symbols different,but so are the rules (phonology,grammar,syntax,and intonation)for using those symbols and sounds. Word differences are obvious in various languages.In English,we live in a house. In Spanish,we live in a casa.In Thai,we live in a ban.Grammatical structures are unique to each language as well.In English,verb tenses express contrast between past, present,and future acts,but in Vietnamese,the same verb reflects all three and the time of the action is inferred from the context.Syntax,or the word order and structure of sentences,also varies depending on the language.The normal word order for simple sentences in Filipino is the reverse of the word in English.For example,the English sentence“The teacher died”would be "Namatay ang guro”or“Died the teacher"in Filipino.In English,the subject is followed by a verb and then an object, but in Korean,the subject is followed by the object and then the verb.So in English we might say,"The cat ate the mouse,"but in Korean,"Cat mouse ate"would be correct. These examples indicate that if we want to communicate in another language,it is important for us to know not only the symbols (words)of that language,but also the rules for using those symbols.As you know,language is much more than a symbol and rule system that allows us to communicate with another person-language also shapes the process by which people become introduced to the order of the physical and social environment.Language,therefore,would seem to have a major impact on the way an individual perceives and conceptualizes the world. Language and its cultural influence are exemplified in the theoretical formulations of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis,which in essence states that language is a guide to"social reality.This hypothesis implies that language is not simply a means of reporting experience but,more important,it is a way of defining experience.Sapir wrote: Human beings do not live in the objective world alone,nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood,but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society...The real world is to large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group.No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as presenting the same social reality.The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds,not merely the same world which different labels attached. Here is an excellent example of the Sapir-Whorf concept in practice: If my language has only one term-brother-in-law-that is applied to my sister's husband,husband's sisters'husbands,I am led by my language to perceive all of theseLanguage and Its Cultural Influence We begin our preview of language by noting that it is impossible to separate our use of language from our culture. In its most basic sense, language is a set of symbols and the rules for combining those symbols that are used and understood by a large community of people. When we study another language, we soon discover that not only are the symbols (words) and sounds for those symbols different, but so are the rules (phonology, grammar, syntax, and intonation) for using those symbols and sounds. Word differences are obvious in various languages. In English, we live in a house. In Spanish, we live in a casa. In Thai, we live in a ban. Grammatical structures are unique to each language as well. In English, verb tenses express contrast between past, present, and future acts, but in Vietnamese, the same verb reflects all three and the time of the action is inferred from the context. Syntax, or the word order and structure of sentences, also varies depending on the language. The normal word order for simple sentences in Filipino is the reverse of the word in English. For example, the English sentence “The teacher died” would be “Namatay ang guro” or “Died the teacher” in Filipino. In English, the subject is followed by a verb and then an object, but in Korean, the subject is followed by the object and then the verb. So in English we might say, “The cat ate the mouse,” but in Korean, “Cat mouse ate” would be correct. These examples indicate that if we want to communicate in another language, it is important for us to know not only the symbols（words）of that language, but also the rules for using those symbols. As you know, language is much more than a symbol and rule system that allows us to communicate with another person–language also shapes the process by which people become introduced to the order of the physical and social environment. Language, therefore, would seem to have a major impact on the way an individual perceives and conceptualizes the world. Language and its cultural influence are exemplified in the theoretical formulations of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which in essence states that language is a guide to “social reality.” This hypothesis implies that language is not simply a means of reporting experience but, more important, it is a way of defining experience. Sapir wrote: Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society… The real world is to large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever suf iciently similar to be considered as presenting the same social reality. The worlds in which dif erent societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world which dif erent labels attached. Here is an excellent example of the Sapir-Whorf concept in practice: If my language has only one term –brother-in-law –that is applied to my sister’s husband, husband’s sisters’ husbands, I am led by my language to perceive all of these