The Brig

Some of Boroditsky’s research could be interpreted to support the idea that people may think differently depending upon their mother tongue. I believe this to be the main issue brought up in the text. This could be because of how things are worded. Or this could be because of the way that opinions, ideas, and beliefs are conveyed in the language.  For example, in languages such as Japanese and Spanish, accidents are not attributed to the person who, in English, would be blamed for the accident. In the text, Boroditsky touched on this point. She said, “If I knock this cup off the table, even accidentally, you would likely say ‘She broke the cup.’ But if the act were an accident, the speaker would essentially say ‘The cup broke itself’.”  For those whom this is their first language, they would learn at a young age that if accidents happen, nobody is to blame since their language has no expression for fault. I remember my parents having to teach me and my younger sister at very y...

  The first issue raised in the text is the issue of how more people speak English as a second language than Americans that speak it at all. According to the text, “There are probably more people in China who speak English as a second language than there are Americans who speak it as their first.” This, at first glance, doesn't seem like a problem. But upon further examination and pondering, you can see how that could mean the loss of English as a first language. As China begins to dominate the business side of the world and puts a strong foothold in the internet, more people will start to speak Mandarin than English The loss of English is already beginning to be seen in America. According to the text, “A fifth of Americans speak a language other than English in their own homes.” America’s cultural influence can be seen around the world so seeing this shift in language is puzzling. However, if fewer Americans speak English, it may mean that it isn’t seen as the world's comm...