Obviously language and communication is one of culture's most important aspects. Language plays a part in absolutely every part of human life, weather it is spoken language, body language, or just a glance from one person to another. I loved reading about the Apache Indians who spend much of their time in silence before they decide to speak to one another. I suppose it is so amazing because people in my own culture (and probably most of yours) tend think that speaking to one another constantly is absolutely necessary. Our culture is obsessed with it communication, mostly for the wrong reasons, but none the less it has become one of the biggest aspects of everyday life in America. Language shapes the way we think, act, and reason. I believe language shapes our world, just as much as the world we live in shapes our language. My father had (and still has) terrible road rage, I remember when I was a kid riding in the car with him hearing him freak out when someone would cut him off, or make a turn too slow. Well guess what, I do the exact same thing. I'm not sure if that is communication or not, but it's a part of his language that became a part of my language. It helped shape the way drive, and so in part, the way I live. Little things around us that we don't even think about seep into our being and become a part of the way we communicate with others. Chances are, no one taught you how to flirt, (which is a form of communication) it came to you through communication in culture. You learned because you observed and listened. This is the case with almost everything in our lives. Without this cultural communication we would be lost, we would not know what to say or when to say it.
Even though I personally believe my culture's obsession with communication is excessive, I am a part of it, because without it I become an outcast in my own world. I communicate well in my culture because I know what to expect and people know what to expect from me. That is why adjusting to the language and communication of another culture is so hard, different things are expected. Things can go terribly wrong if you're not careful.
Hahaha it is so funny to me that you bring up the importance in our culture of constant speech. I fuss at my boyfriend (without realising I'm doing it, sometimes) because he is a very quiet and withdrawn person. I do not even understand the kind of mindset that is required to be in silence, but I do understand the concept of communicating in complete silence. And my father, like yours, has terrible road rage. I learned my first set of curse words through his "Get the hell off the road," "You're a shitty driver," and the occasional "f--- you." When I drive and I see cars going slow, now, I have the tendency to blurt out something rude that is completely not necessary... so that's neat, in my opinion, to learn that someone else does takes after their dad in that way haha.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true that learning to flirt comes naturally. One needs to find a way to express happy feelings, or even love, for other people. Children are even flirtatious these days, they flirt before they even know what flirting means.