Let’s look at some examples of how languages and culture affect each other.  Have you ever heard that Eskimos have over 100 words for snow?   Well, it’s not true.  Eskimos do not have hundreds of words for snow as many people believe.  One reason lots of people think this is because in many Native North American languages, words are frequently lumped together and treated as a single, massively compound word, so you could say that every compound containing “snow” is a word for snow.  So, even though they have only a few words for snow, combinations like “packed snow,” “new snow,” or “deep snow” make many, many more.

     Even though this urban legend is false, language and traditions are still important to a culture, and sometimes a tradition is a language.  Take Plains Indian Sign Language, for instance.  Due to their nomadic lifestyle, the Plains Indians came in constant contact with both friend and foe.  Most Native American languages are very complex and difficult to learn by a non-native speaker, so they created a sign language that could be used between the tribes.  This sign language was also used in religious ceremonies as well as to signal others during a hunt or battle.

     Sometimes a language is remarkable because it lacks something.  This is true for the Pirahã language, which is spoken by an indigenous people who live in the Amazon jungle in Brazil.  This language has no numbers, and its speakers have no concept of counting or basic arithmetic. It also has only a present tense. It is a very deeply ingrained tradition not to talk about something beyond one’s own immediate experience.  They have strongly resisted attempts to teach them another language or how to write their language.  Their culture is bound up very closely to their language.

     A language is one of the main factors which creates a unique culture, and when it comes to tradition, a language counts for a lot.

Sources:

“Traditions and Languages of Three Native Cultures: Tlingit, Lakota, & Cherokee."
Edsitement.  National Endowment for the Humanities. Accessed 10 Mar 2009. <http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=378>.

Ogmios. Foundation for Endangered Languages. Accessed 10 Mar 2009. <http://www.ogmios.org/home.htm>.

"Plains Indian Sign Language." University at Buffalo Library. 21 Jan 2003. University at
Buffalo - The State University of New York. Accessed 10 Mar 2009. <http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries /e-resources/ebooks/records/7132.html>.

Colapinto, John. "A Reporter at Large: The Interpreter." The New Yorker. 16 Apr 2007.
Accessed 1 Mar 2009. <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/ 2007/04/16/070416fa_fact_colapinto>.