I love the questions that are usually posed at the end of classes, and the one posed today was particularly intriguing- does language carry culture?
Having studied French for a number of years and only taking up Italian recently, I have to say yes. I specifically thought about Italy and what would it be like if the Italian language didn't exist. It seems to me that a big chunk of the Italian culture would be missing. Sure, there would be the cuisine that Italy has, the landmarks, but there really is so much tied to their language and so many Italian words have been adopted into the English language as everyday use, like "pasta" or "cappuccino" for example. And when you think about music too, all the cues are in Italian- even in music meant for people that speak English. Not to mention all the famous operas that are in Italian. So, I think Italy is a good example of how a language can carry a culture.
In another sense, it's almost like an identity to a certain extent, especially when a language is limited to one or just a few countries, like Polish, for example. If the Polish people were to lose their language, they, too, would be at a serious loss. They're kind of in the same boat as the Italians are. Their language is generally spoken in one specific country. I almost think in a way, it's more exclusive than Italian because Polish generally isn't taught in schools. If I were to pick it up, it would have to be on my own through a language school or perhaps through my grandmother.
So yes. I think these are two really good examples of how important language is to culture and vice versa.
