Culture, language and behaviour (my linguistic journey in the US)
“Every language is a vast pattern-system, different from others, in which are culturally ordained the forms and categories by which the personality not only communicates, but also analyses nature, notices or neglects types of relationship and phenomena, channels his reasoning, and builds the house of his consciousness.” Through this line, Benjamin Lee Whorf describes the way languages are a reflection of a culture but also how language plays a role in shaping our perception of the world and the people around us. This quote aptly describes the shift in the varieties of the English language that I spoke in India and at my college in the US and how this shift has affected the way I view hierarchical relationships.
The English that I speak at home is a variation of the British variety of English. It is also influenced by the cultural norms of India. A reflection of the Indian culture and its beliefs on hierarchy can be seen through the various national languages of India. In most of the national languages of India, there is a demarcation with the second person and third person pronouns. While in English the second person pronoun is only ‘you’, in Indian languages there are two versions of the word ‘you’; one that is used for an individual of the same or lesser age or social status and one that is used for someone older or of a higher social status. Similarly, this differentiation is also present with the third person pronouns. These pronouns continuously reinforce the various hierarchies present in Indian society. The presence of these different pronouns also allows even the most impertinent questions or utterances to still be implicitly respectful. Whenever I was speaking in Tamil (an Indian language) and used the wrong pronoun by accident, I was always reprimanded because then my sentences were in a very rude form. The absence of marked pronouns in English are thus compensated for to recreate the existing social norms of Indian society.
At school in India, English was the language I used to communicate to teachers and friends. So English was the language I knew best and communicated the most in. However, the influence of the rules of the Indian vernacular and societal norms snuck into my daily interactions. I would never end a sentence spoken to or about my teacher without adding the word ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir’ at the end. For example, “How are you doing, Ma’am?” or “Do you think ma’am would like that?” instead of “How are you doing?” or “Do you think she would like that?”. Adding the word ‘ma’am’ was a method constructed into English in order to compensate for the absence in the language of communication. Since everyone else around me also had the working influence of Indian languages and beliefs, this addition of a term of address at the end was wide spread. It was to the point that teachers expected it as well. At school I was once told by another teacher, “Don’t refer to Ma’am as she because Ma’am is not your friend.” I think this sentence aptly describes the extent to which Indian society has influenced the English we spoke. But it also describes how language has shaped relationships.
The Sapir-Whorf theory states that language is not only a method for people for expression and communication but it also determines these expressions and thoughts. Conversely, the evolution of a language is also shaped by the culture and environment the speakers live in. The English spoken in India evolved to become an amalgamation of the British variety and the languages native to India. This evolution has also incorporated specific linguistic features such as repeated terms of address related to a designation and more code switching to suit the relationship between the speakers. This influence as well as the cultural beliefs of hierarchies in India affects the English spoken and impacts the way students perceive relationships with their teachers. I see the Sapir-Whorf theory in practice through the way my relationship was with my teachers in India. I viewed them as people with power who I couldn’t approach very easily as they were always one social step away. They were present to teach me and judge me every step of the way not talk to me or engage with me.
When I first arrived at the US, I felt an immediate shift in the way students interacted with the faculty and administration. My college’s language and atmosphere is stripped of any hierarchy; many faculty and staff are referred to by their first names and there isn’t a large difference between various interactions. American society and culture is very different from that back home and there are lesser forms of social order present in daily interactions. The English spoken in America also has no major influence of any other languages. Thus coming to the US, there was no need for the additions found in Indian English. In the beginning, I constantly added the word ‘professor’ at the end of my sentences and found it very awkward and disrespectful when I used the pronoun ‘you’ by itself. But as the semesters progressed, the speech pattern around me altered the way I spoke. Without the presence of Indian languages and structures, the reminder of adding respect in speech and marked pronouns faded. By the end of the year, I was referring to some professors by their first name and began dropping the term of address at the end of sentences. Changing a couple of linguistic features in word choice also affected the norms of conversation. For example, when there are fewer hierarchical barriers in the language, there is a more equal amount of turn taking and the floor is maintained by whomever begun the conversation.
Now I see a difference in the way I think about relationships with the teachers and professors. Omitting some of the hierarchical language urges a shift in the one directional view of education. A deletion of hierarchical language in many ways removes hierarchical barriers and any perception of them. I view the relationship between me and my professors as an equitable exchange of knowledge and information, more as a friendship rather than a supervisor. I have been able to forge more personal bonds with professors towards the end of the year because I no longer see them at an arm’s distance. The intimacy increases. Once again the Sapir-Whorf theory has played. A change in the language has commenced a change in relationships and thoughts.
When I return home for the summer, I think I will automatically revert back to my old speech patterns. Perhaps because I have not been in the US for long or perhaps because of the constant reminders around me of how I am to behave with people older than I am. But through the process of finding a linguistic fit at my college, language has shaped and changed my views on social categories and the way they are played out in society. It has shown me the amount a culture can influence a language. The rules of a culture can easily be projected on a language not native to that culture through manipulating the existing rules of that language. An absence of the cultural norms and beliefs can then reduce this projection and that in turn causes this shift in thought and expression.
References:
1. Goodreads. (n.d.). Benjamin Lee Whorf Quotes (Author of Language, Thought, and Reality). Retrieved May 15, 2018, from https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/373275.Benjamin_Lee_Whorf
2. Panko, B. (2016, December 02). Does the Linguistic Theory at the Center of the Film ‘Arrival’ Have Any Merit? Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/does-century-old-linguistic-hypothesis-center-film-arrival-have-any-merit-180961284/
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