Kristina Wydra - I speak, therefore I am? – German language and national identity
How does language influence our way of thinking, our culture and our identity? Conversely, how does our language develop under the influence of constant changes in our environment? Language researchers have always been fascinated by the link between language and identity and how they influence each other. Philosophers and scientists have been examining the connection between thought and language for three thousand years. One major topic of research has been whether language evolved from thought or vice versa. Whatever the truth, all theories agree that our language, our culture and our identity are inextricably linked. The way we express ourselves determines how we as individuals, as a generation, as a group or as a nation behave and are perceived. To what extent this is the case becomes apparent when we talk to people whose native language is not our own. The differences in the way they use the language are often surprising, and can give us a clue as to how different the