Language and Culture

Sapir: “The fact of the matter is that the “real world” is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached” (Delany, 2004:137)

In studying a society, I feel it is very important to discuss the language of the people and how it relates to that society’s realities and understandings. The above quote is by Edward Sapir, an American linguist. He explains that each language spoken expresses different social realities. Each language has a different reality. From this reading, it can be seen that because language constitutes culture and vise versa, reality is created through language and culture.
In Denmark, people speak Danish as their first language and most people I encountered on my trip also spoke English. Danish students that I talked to were proud of their language and proud that very few of the world’s population can speak Danish. In this way, the Danish language was a glue that held people together in a society. It creates common ground that people can understand one another on. Because Danish society has its own language, it can be surmised that the Danish language creates a different reality in which Danish culture exists. In Danish and all other languages, there is expression of different social realities that constitute that particular culture. A good example of this would be the fact that the Danish language employs gender-neutral words and does not distinguish masculine or feminine words grammatically. Language reflects and is reflected by the importance of egalitarianism in Danish society. The Danish language creates a reality in which gender is not of as much importance and does not create a gender hierarchy. This is a very different social reality from the reality of American culture where there still is a distinct gender hierarchy that is reflected and perpetuated in gendered language. Learning about Danish language in connection with Danish culture made me realize how language can dictate common views that people accept as the norm. Language is one way in which the idea of egalitarianism is rooted in Danish culture.


Kwintessential Cross Cultural Solutions
Denmark – Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette. Electronic document, http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/denmark-country-profile.html, accessed October 22, 2007.