Can a language change human behavior?

 

Can a language change human behavior?

by Rodrigo Samuel Blanco Mamani

    It is easy to think that a person can change his way of thinking and his behavior through courses or self-improvement books, or after passing some traumatic or emotional experience, the human has the tendency to change his attitude, mind and behavior, to the same the circumstances and obstacles of life are added in order to work together to form and forge the human in different facets of his life, perhaps the most notorious of these is his behavior. However, in recent years a new study has emerged on changes in human behavior, observing the way in which a Spanish-speaking person writes and comparing it with an Anglo-speaker’s writing, both have different ways of writing, in the same way observing the way in which they express some idea, they use different expressions and different words despite referring to the same topic, let's also observe the way in which both speak exposing them in formal and informal situations, and of course the change of these individuals changes. But let's go further, although we notice that the way of writing of a Spanish speaker and an Anglo speaker is different, I want to say that in certain facets of the life of the Spanish speaker, his writing is informal, however the English speaker has a much more formal writing in many facets of his life. Noticing these differences the question arises Is it possible to acquire these behaviors through language learning? Is it possible that language learning can change people's behavior? In addition, what if we talk about the people of a city? With language learning can we change the behavior of a city? It is extremely interesting to think and discover which will be the most formal or the least informal language, and how much a student can change their behavior through language learning.

 

A Hispanic speaker is exposed to the Spanish language in most of his daily life, using various expressions typical of the Spanish language, among them the use of "passive sentences" on many occasions we hear "I lost the keys"(se me han perdido las llaves) and not "lost the keys."(perdi las llaves) In English there is no such difference but there is in Spanish grammar. However, there are certain times when they have to use their English knowledge to solve or do some tasks effectively, we can mention reading manuals of electrical components or how to configure an online network access, so in this way the Spanish speaker forgets “passive sentences Spanish” to enter the “passive sentences of English” with a minimal change in behavior, but could a more significant change occur in English language learners? the answer is of course yes.

Studies in English learning students show more motivation in the things they do, this is because many English language learning books are full of motivation for the student to learn English and for other goals such as having your own life to the 23 years old or having a life outside the family, for the American culture this is something usual, however for the Hispanic culture this is not 100% possible. That is why the English language changes the behavior of people to be more independent and that you can meet your goals at an early age. This is really fascinating. Many places to learn English for Spanish speakers have scholarship programs and that's not all English helps students to have more self-esteem and teamwork. With these opportunities, the English student develops behaviors that are clearer, more relevant and complete for their student life.

But what happens if an English-speaking person wants to learn Spanish? Perhaps we can say that the English-speaking person would lose their interest in being more independent or having the facility to work in a team, however that is not true. Some English-speaking students who study Spanish become better at expressing their emotions through the Spanish language, this is because in Spanish we have many ways of talking about our feelings or expressing them, a simple case is the verb "gustar" " querer "and "amar" that in Spanish can be used in a" romantic letter "and through the expertise of the writer have a good poem. This may be due to the fact that most books to learn Spanish are from "Spain" where art and culture are an essential part of the language. It is good to clarify that not only the language can change the behavior of a person, it can also change due to the environment that the person is exposed to, in the case of Spanish, there are more than 20 countries around the world that speak the language. the Spanish language student changes by the language and by the geographical area in which he is learning.

Now, what happens if a Spanish speaker is learning a language totally foreign to his? For this we analyze the behavior and speech changes of a Spanish-speaking student who studies the Japanese language. studies show us that these students tend to have more formal expressions. This is because the Japanese language has 3 levels of using the formalities "sonkeigo" (尊敬 語), respectful language; "kenjōgo" (謙 譲 語), humble language (or "modest language"); and "teineigo" (丁寧 語), polite language. This characteristic of the Japanese language makes students of the Japanese language become more respectful to different types of authorities and even family members. This depends on how immersed the students are in the Japanese language, beginners do not have any change, but advanced students understand very well the different types of languages that exist in the Japanese language and how to use them in different contexts.

By way of conclusion, learning languages is a very useful tool to change your mind and your opportunities in your life. but it also changes your way of thinking and your behavior, but it depends on how much you are exposed to the foreign language. every language is an endless knowledge, and endless opportunities this is fascinating to understand and comprehend so the next time you see a student or you yourself experience learning a new language keep in mind that it is a process of change and have a teachable mind to make the most of what a language can do in your life.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language

http://desdeelbalcon.com.ar/comportamiento-idiomas-y-desarrollo-de-los-paises-las-lenguas-tambien-dibujan-su-mapa/

https://www.eltiempo.com/opinion/columnistas/gustavo-estrada/idiomas-y-conducta-humana-tiene-relacion-175970

https://es.babbel.com/es/magazine/razones-para-ser-trilingue

https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/keigo/