1.3 Language


So, what role does language play in our identity?

Language can be unique to our identity. We have a mother tongue such as English, French, Cree, or Farsi, but we have also chosen certain words or phrases as part of our personal language. These words or phrases could come from sources such as a favourite movie, TV show, or music. As you add these words to your mother tongue, you begin to create a particular speech pattern or accent which makes you unique. These distinctive features of speech are your idiolect.


Thus, as you speak, you are in fact sharing your history with those you are speaking to. Moreover, your language communicates your values, needs, beliefs, and customs. Language also helps groups express feelings of group identity and togetherness. We preserve our culture, traditions, and values by expressing them to others.


In Canada, Canadians speak more than 100 languages. These include English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Chinese, and many others. A growing number of Canadians are Allophones, which means that they have a mother tongue other than English or French.


This ability to speak many languages enriches our understanding. Over half the people in the world can speak at least two languages. People learn another language for several reasons. Sometimes they learn from another relative or neighbor; sometimes people learn a new language for, or through, travel; others learn for business reasons. Finally, some people learn simply to be able to expand their knowledge by communicating directly with new people.
Historically, imperialism, a form of globalization that expanded a nation's sphere of influence and will be discussed more in Units 2 and 3,  brought new languages to countries. It explains why English and French are official languages in many areas of the world, and Spanish is commonly spoken throughout South and Central America.

Does language matter?

Language is more than a method of communicating. It can also communicate values and influence others through expression of thoughts. Often language is considered to be the most important component of culture. We must understand language well to better understand our own culture.


Different Languages; Different Ways of Thinking


Languages are constructed differently. Each language has different words for various things. For example, you may have heard that the Inuit have many words for snow, which makes sense, but many languages have no word for snow. They have no need for the word snow because it is something they have never seen. So, if you know many languages, you will be able to develop a far greater understanding of the diversity and values of another culture. And, you will not only be able to speak in two languages but also to think in two languages.

Cultures have developed words to represent what they value. For example, Hindus use the word anekantvad, the many sideness of things, the acceptance of many ways of looking at something. In South Africa, the word ubuntu refers to the idea of interconnectedness and mutual responsibility among people in community.

Think About Language and Understanding

If a language does not have a word for a concept, can the concept exist within that culture? Consider the rather abstract word "freedom." What does it mean if a culture does not have a word for it? This could mean several things. If a culture does not have that word, it might mean that they cannot understand what freedom is, but it also could mean that the lack of freedom is not something they understand. Or it might mean that the concept of freedom is just not important to them. Finally, it could mean that freedom is so well understood that they don't need to articulate it.


In the past, when people lived in isolated geographic areas, they did not need to communicate with people in other places. Today, however, people communicate worldwide for business and pleasure. Globalization unifies and standardizes language to make communication effective. For example, in Nigeria they claim some 250 languages and 400 dialects, but the official language of the country is English. So, a family who lives on one side of the Niger River might speak an entirely different language then the family on the other side, but they can communicate through speaking English.

Many languages in the past were oral languages only and have only recently been adapted into text. These oral traditions are important parts of a culture's history, law, stories, and legends which are passed from one generation to another through the spoken word. This form of communication, which is crucial to passing along stories, has an added benefit that the written word does not have: the use of voice tone in the narrative. It was through this method of storytelling that generations of elders and youth were able to connect.