Re: Origin and function of language
MSCob (mscob@aol.com)
2 Jul 1996 22:16:27 -0400
A poster wrote:
If the German language is a language that is rich in authoritarian
convepts etc it could increase the probabilty of such things as the
Holocaust. Also if the English language were a language of love of
country as contrasted wtih duty to country it could lead to an edge
in war along with of course a great productive capacity.
You are assuming that the structure and meanings of words alone can
influence what people do? There is a literature on that hypothesis, but
I'm not aware that there has ever been very convincing evidence for it.
Do you know of some? I should think that beliefs and customs and habits
and emotional traditions would all be much more powerful than the
structure of language, which of course would tend, over time, to reflect
those former forces.
--
"Do you know why Moses wandered in the wilderness for fourty
years."(pause)
He was a man and men don't ask directions." --Nu
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