I took AP and IB Psych in high school, so these readings were a good refresher for me, especially when learning about language. Although I had this background, I think it was valuable to have this reading because I learned new things about how/where the brain processes and categorizes language (like Exner’s centre and Herschl’s gyri), but also how culture and home environment impact these areas. I found the reading “how we mean” to be the most informative and imperative to my learning of Turkish because it really emphasized how languages experience the world in different ways. One of the examples the reading gives is how in English we don’t distinguish between mother’s brother and father’s brother, but in other languages there are two distinct names for each. Another example I’ve personally encountered is that in Arabic, there’s not just a word for grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt; there is paternal grandma, paternal grandpa, paternal uncle, paternal aunt, maternal grandma, maternal grandpa, maternal uncle, and maternal aunt. This is also the case for some cousins. Additionally, I’ve learned that greetings are different in Arabic. Whereas we might say “Hello, friend” in Arabic it is often “Hello, brother” or “Hello, sister.” This may not be a prime example for how language guides worldview, but it really illustrates how varied language is. I think this will help me in my learning of Turkish, and in the continuation of Arabic because I’m realizing how words do not always have a one-to-one translation and that I can’t always rely on Google Translate when I don’t know a word, because that’s exactly to process it uses. This will force me to either check out a dictionary or ask my language partner, which will foster a more active and hands-on relationship with my learning, and hopefully make it easier for me to pick up.
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