I write daily in English, Swedish and German. At least. Often also in Finnish and Spanish. And I have noticed lately how many words are missing from the English language.
If you count the number of words in English, it might lead you to think the language is very rich, but this is not the case. Sure, there are twice as many words in English than Swedish, but at the same time there are som many things that lack a word in English. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there a word for "snuvig"? No, you need to say you're having a runny nose. Förkyld? You're cold. Very ambiguous, if you ask me.
So, all these words in English, what are they for? They're all synonyms! A waste, I'd say. Sure enough, it's nice to choose a word that exactly tells you something, but what good is that when there are so many things you can't tell at all...
So, English is a poor language. If you take that another step - does that make the English-speaking people poor too, mentally? Might be provocative, but I'd say yes. This is of course not limited to English, I'd say everybody who knows more than one language has an advantage.
Why? Because the language stops you, it limits your creative thinking. If there are things without words, those things don't exist. I was raised speaking two completely different languages (Finnish and Swedish), then three (you hear English on TV and everywhere in Sweden), then four (a second language education used to start in 7th grade), and all these languages expands your mental horizon - you realize there are other ways to say the same thing, other views on the same phenomenon. We're all so different but still so alike.
This would explain why the sociaties using English (Great Britain and the USA) are so conservative and seem to have a hard time to think outside the box.
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3 comments:
Markus, I think you're right that learning new languages expands your mental horizons and encourages you to think creatively. But I don't agree with your basic thesis about the poverty of English. The more German I learn, the more I come across examples of what you're talking about - things that there just are no words for in English - but it happens in the other direction too. There are things you can say in English that there just are no perfect words for in German. It's the same with French. It's just missing some stuff. Each language, I believe, has its own limitations. And the cool thing about learning a new language is that you realize the limitations of your own native language. Limitations you always took for granted or didn't notice. And that's very cool. As far as you finding English to be more limited than the other languages that you speak - I am going to say something provocative now - that might be partly because your English isn't good enough! Maybe you don't know all the many hidden little words and expressions we have for things. For example, you can say you have a runny nose, but you can also say you are sniffly or stuffy or stuffed-up. (It's true, though, that there's no perfect word for it.) As far as the other word you offer here, I can't help you because I don't know what it means in Swedish. But I'd be willing to bet there are words I know that you don't know and which would be more subtle and exact than "cold."
Thanks for listening!
-Pam
Ah, good response! :) Yes, certainly my English isn't perfect and I guess in all languages there are ways to express all that is needed, somehow.
But I'd still say that English is surprisingly limited - considering the vast amount of words present you'd think there'd be a word for every thing you'd like to say. But instead there are loads of synomyms, that are not really needed.
But I do like the theory that the language would explain the conservative mind of English speaking countries. I might need to work more on the argumentation though... ;)
I have to agree with Pam that different languages have different limitations.
As counter exampels of your "förkyld" and "snuvig", I'd like to offer shrug - "rycka på axlarna", frown - "dra ihop ögonbrynen" and squat - "huka sig". Just a few examples of actions that are more easily expressed in English than in Swedish.
I believe knowing different languages enriches you. Not only in the way you speak, but in the way you think, in the way you see things. I don't see the point in trying to decide which languange is the poorer.
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