a rose by any other name
Jackie, I have to agree with Anne. The rose would physiclly smell the same but I bet you wouldn't hear anybody singing about "My wild Irish skunk cabbage" nor would it be THE FLOWER to give to mothers, graduates and lovers.
At the risk of being a mugwump defined by my father as a political bird that likes to sit on the fence with his mug on one side and his wump on the other I think it is a mistake to say that either language shapes our world view or is shaped by it. Nothing in life is that simple. A change in our culture will cause a change in language which reinforces and advances the new trend. At one time the community good was primary and we talked about people. Now more and more the individual is paramount and we speak of a large group of persons. English speaking cultures tend to be much less formal and English is one of the few languages without specific formal and informal second person pronouns. We also lack gender specific articles. In Spanish "the" translates as el (masc.) and la (fem.) How can this not reinforce the traditional roles when the vast majority of household appliances are la cuchina (kitchen), la lavadora (washer), la batadora (mixer). The three main exceptions are the toaster, microwave and refridgerator. It will be interesting to see if the language changes when the roles finally do.
Incidentally I pointed this out to my Spanish teacher and she had never noticed it. The influence over us is so tied into our thought processes that we are not aware of it. And if we do become aware then does that influence lose power?
PS I have seen a Polenesian chart. It looked a bit like a dreamcatcher with the cords representing prevailing wave directions and shell beads the islands.
A bit long for 2 cents, I'll call it my 3 cents worth.
