Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Culture is usually thought of as "everything we know and do", but it is broader and deeper. Like the proverbial iceberg, 90% of it is hidden, and operates on an unconscious level. We are generally no more aware of our culture than a fish is of the water it swims in. It's what we are raised in and we deal with it automatically.
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I find interesting the possibility that the language we speak shapes the way that we think-- that we think "in language" and concepts that don't exist in your native language are difficult to understand or even imagine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity
One of the more fascinating ideas is a language based on absolute directions:
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/boro...y09_index.html
"Instead of words like "right," "left," "forward," and "back," which, as commonly used in English, define space relative to an observer, the Kuuk Thaayorre, like many other Aboriginal groups, use cardinal-direction terms — north, south, east, and west — to define space. This is done at all scales, which means you have to say things like "There's an ant on your southeast leg" or "Move the cup to the north northwest a little bit." One obvious consequence of speaking such a language is that you have to stay oriented at all times, or else you cannot speak properly. The normal greeting in Kuuk Thaayorre is "Where are you going?" and the answer should be something like " Southsoutheast, in the middle distance." If you don't know which way you're facing, you can't even get past "Hello.""