Culture and language

Question

Could you give some examples of how cultures affect languages? It is comprehensible that languages reflect cultures. It would be really helpful if you could provide with at least an example of cultures affecting the way we speak.

This question seems to be far too broad. Would polite particles of Thai language match your criteria? — Be Brave Be Like Ukraine, Nov 18 '15 at 16:44
I know it is a broad question. But I fail to fully comprehend the way culture affects language. That is why I thought some examples would help me. — V.Lydia, Nov 24 '15 at 15:55

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

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The politeness dances undergone by European personal pronouns are a good example of a culture affecting a language. Another would be the rapid changes made to Old English while it was spoken mostly by peasants after the Norman invasion.

This would be a comment above, except that I am no longer allowed to make comments, for some reason, so I'm testing to see whether answers are similarly occluded.

Edit: Apparently not. But I still can't enter comments. Ah, well.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

Community

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answered Nov 18 '15 at 19:35

jlawler

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Apparently now I can enter comments. Hurray. – jlawler Aug 10 '18 at 15:44

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 18 '15 at 16:41

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At one time in Japan it became rude and offensive to protrude one's lips while speaking, it considerably affected the sounds of Japanese, eliminating the sound [f] in all the environments except before [ɯ].

answered Nov 18 '15 at 16:41

Yellow Sky

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Is this historical fact, or is a story that someone invented to explain the rarity of initial f in Japanese? – fdb Nov 18 '15 at 16:44
@fdb - It is a historical fact. I'll try to find the source now. – Yellow Sky Nov 18 '15 at 16:51
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Any references? – fdb Nov 18 '15 at 16:51

Culture and language

2 Answers2