- Does language shape the way we think? Why or why not?
Yes, language does shape the way I think. According to The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identity as a Key to Learning English Composition that wrote by Fan Shen, he mentioned that “I called my ‘English Self’ and into which I have transformed myself – could understand and accept, with wase, idealism as ‘the truth’ and ‘himself’ as the creator of the world.” What this means is that the language and culture could actually gradually leads one person to adapt himself to the environment, for instance, in order to blend into the society, Fan Shen chose to use his English self to think and to write. For my part, the English language has changed me a lot, not only the way I write but also the way I think. Before I came to the State, I used to not speaking up and not sharing the idea in class because of the Taiwanese culture view that kind of behavior as a rebellious student. However, after I moved to the State, everything just changed. Teachers and peers kind of lead me and influence me to speak up and share my own thought to the class. Also, when writing, I start to get used to stating my point at the very first beginning, which is another adaption that I made after I came here. But more importantly, my mindset has become more open and creative as the time passed, and I believe all of those changes are influenced by the language, without the English language, I wouldn’t become to who I am right now. Thus, the language could actually shape the way we think.
