Reflection Paper #2

[David R. Stevens]

The chapter on Sociocultural Factors had a number of interesting points on language learning and experiences outside of ones own cultural background. The first one that I could really relate my academic work to was the section on linguistic imperialism. In modern day, English is accepted as a universal language, however this is not a concept that was just born one day. Over years of imperialism and colonialism, English speaking nations have dominated the global arena not just militarily and economically, but through the spread of language, ideology, and values. These latter ones thus undermine the native culture and norms with the domination of Western ideals. I think this is extremely important to consider today as Westerners plan their travels and recognize the value of learning about the behaviors and culture of the country they are visiting rather than expecting to be accommodated in English by people who have adapted to Western culture. Being in Israel, all street signs are posted in Hebrew, English, and Arabic. I have never stopped to think how it must feel as an Arab or Israeli to have all three languages. On the one hand, this promotes tourism, however, on the other, it undermines the value of having a distinct and unique culture. This leads to the question of the Whorfian hypothesis of whether a language reflects a world view or whether it shapes one. I believe that there is truth to both, however, as an international studies major I can argue the latter better. I think the Cold War struggle of containment/liberation between communism and democracy was very much at the same time a struggle between different ways of life and understandings of the world. Much of the rhetoric used in the Cold War served to export these  ideologies by promising a better standard of living. You started seeing personal televisions, bathrooms, and later cell phones, valued in societies that were no where near as developed in infrastructure or economy to necessitate these commodities. I think that the topics above are a perfect representation of the "Stage 3 of Culture Shock" discussed in the chapter. The exciting euphoria of Stage 1 wears off once people realize that the language has thus also channeled a cultural discourse away from one's native cultural values and associations.