October 28, 2022
When teaching Polish to my partner, I try to emphasize that some polish words have multiple meanings in multiple contexts (polysemy). However, some of these words mean different things that are along the same line like the word zły (bad, mad, wrong). But there are also words that mean multiple things that are totally different and confusing if you did not learn the language when growing up. I also notice that the way I speak changes when speaking in Polish. This may be because of the different ways I perceive the world around me. Additionally, I note a slight change in personality when speaking Polish because I have to express myself differently. It is the language I use with my family, so I am a lot more compassionate and traditional when speaking. Therefore, I do think language influences thought because one is limited to the words in the language.
In the reading, it is interesting to learn the way of how the colonizer was able to dimmish a strong community on their native land. Since they didn’t understand their values and traditions, they were unable to grasp if the aboriginal people had a thought process. Meanwhile, the aboriginals had built a complex society and culture among themselves with their language. So the colonizers decided to displace everyone and steal children to grow up in a more “civilized” society but different to the lives they’ve always known and appreciated. Resulting in them getting their voice stolen from them.
