The English language is one of the most complicated languages to learn and understand. With so many words meaning and sounding like other words it is hard for people from other places to easily understand the English language. I do not fully agree with the Whorf’s theory that language shapes the human thought process. I do not know if it is so much of the language that shapes our thoughts then the words that are being said. If someone says a particular color our minds alter to think of that color, so it’s more of the word rather than the language. I believe that when most people are speaking and telling a story that our brains automatically picture what is being said in our heads. An example of how language shapes thoughts could be ways girls say things about other girls. For example if someone said “that girls hair looks like hay” we would know that clearly that girls hair is dry and looks like hay, this having language shape our thoughts. So using words that may not necessarily go with the flow of the sentence may give us the perfect visual as to what the person is speaking about. Language is interpreted in a million different ways worldwide. Verbal, non verbal, thought process, these are all things that go along with communication. It is all just a matter of how people interpret different things. Language is a huge part of any culture. If language did not exist the world would be a completely different place.
Jen -- it's not clear from this post that you understand the difference between choosing the right word, or the fact that different cultures have different words, and the actual Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which proposes that our language and our way of THINKING about things is related. Consider the experiment with the colors; when folks didn't have a word for a color, they didn't see the different. Humans invent language for their own purposes; it doesn't fall out of the sky ready made.
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