This week, we will consider a few points of interest about some specific culture

Question

This week, we will consider a few points of interest about some specific cultures-and some very unique issues that come up that may not necessarily show up in case one is studying psychological constructs in more than one culture. Let us take the example of language development and the issues of special words that may or may not occur in the lexicon of a culture. Here are a few interesting facts about the world: 1. The Ifaluk language(an Island in Melanesia) has no word for 'murder', the Tahitians have no word for sadness and the Uktu have no word for anger in their lexicon. 2. The Chinese language is incredibly rich when it comes to words that have to do with morality-there are more than a dozen words for different types of shame and guilt. Think about the diversity of languages that we find in this world. Are you surprised that certain cultures may not have words for what we think of as common terms? Do you think that this reflects real, large differences, OR that it is reflective of certain subtle differences that exist among cultures and that essentially we are all the same, but certain cultures tend to emphasize certain words depending on their social importance in that culture? Why do you think it is important for researchers to understand the language and deeper meanings among cultures? Please write down your thoughts on this in about 300 words. Next, respond to at least two classmembers. It may be of interest to take a peek into these fascinating world cultures. I have studies them during my research and wanted to share with you. It gives a more 'real' picture, of actual people living their lives, beyond just what we may have time/space to cover in a textbook. Of special interest-take a look at the childrearing practices of the gentle Ifaluk. They never hit or abuse their children..why? Is there something that we can learn from these people who may not be as 'developed' as in modern technology? Now, do Tahitians never feel sad, or just label things differently? Take a look before answering these questions of the week. Feel free to compare, contrast, comment-of course, we will remain respectful and mature in any references to persons of any particular place, background, gender etc. Link to the book Never In Anger, excerpts Direct link: http://books.google.com/books?id=A9QuJjQbh7MC&dq=never+in+anger&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=o91wS5eaHNS0tgesx-XsCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBwQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false Link to life of Ifaluk, the peaceful society Direct link: http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Ifaluk.html Tahitians and sadness, p. 193-196 Direct link http://books.google.com/books?id=FY3-eRwyxtwC&pg=PA193&lpg=PA193&dq=Tahitians+and+sadness&source=bl&ots=J2_DMftpsn&sig=cDXZL-WoGny-cbiPqTv2CNqozUI&hl=en&ei=guBwS8fkFMKUtgef-ozzCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Explanation / Answer

Think about the diversity of languages that we find in this world. Are you surprised that certain cultures may not have words for what we think of as common terms? Do you think that this reflects real, large differences, OR that it is reflective of certain subtle differences that exist among cultures and that essentially we are all the same, but certain cultures tend to emphasize certain words depending on their social importance in that culture? Why do you think it is important for researchers to understand the language and deeper meanings among cultures?

As we Look around the world, there seem to be not only a number of religions, but more than that, a number of languages and societies within the same religion that influence the way their culture is shaped. When we look at the example of the Tahitians, with no word for anger and the ifaluk people having no word for murder, it is not only the fault in the language we need to acknowledge. Rather, here we need to acknowledge the greater meanings of these missing words. As is evident, a society or culture has a great influence on the kinds of language that is spoken there and vice versa. Here, absence of these words mean that the society never felt the need to use develop words to describe such phenomena. For example, the Tahitians might have never felt to attribute a word to anger since they would be devoid of the emotion, in a frequency that is much higher than any of other cultures. Also, the Ifaluk people might have never imagined man killing man for some or the other reaso, hence no requirement for the word murder. Also, we could attribute words and their importance in culture as one word having too much importance. For example the Chinese, who have devised more than a dozen words to explain morality. This means, that the Chinese put so much attention to morality, that they had continued their quest to explain these ideals in more than one way, which led them to devise more than one word for the same.

Also, as a matter of fact, these communities have also been known to be some of the most peaceful communities, evident from the lack and importance of certain words in their culture. The religious structure and the social developments in these families are such that they do not incorporate such aggressiveness in their psyche. Hence, I think that the differences in language signify large differences that not only are linguistic but also cultural and behavioural. Hence, when a researcher wants to learn about a culture, it is very important for the researcher to learn the language prevalent in that culture, first and foremost. Only when a person learns of how a language has been developed and evolved, he would be able to understand of the deeper morales of that culture. Language and culture are both integral and complementary to one another. This would permit the researcher to acknowledge the differences in both the integral nature of the people of a particular culture and also predict and identify their approach to some event in particular.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.