To have a second language is to have a second soul. Please discuss and do not only comment on the topic.

[IFerrier]

[Abdourahman John]

The above statement is a powerful one that invokes thought, and after thinking and reflecting on it I believe that it is not true. As my classmate said previously to have a second language merely helps a person to express themselves in a different way. The persons soul is what they are, essentially they're essence, the quote above attempts to convince the reader that by learning or being able to speak a different language then that you yourself have changed, I don't believe so. Even if one were to become immersed in a different culture and society it is there way of thinking that changes, not their distinction of right from wrong, of whether they like something or not, the soul cannot be taught, it is born of its own way and will remain that way, a language is a powerful tool but even it cannot change the essence of a man.

On Wednesday, October 10, 2012 8:23:14 AM UTC+2, IFerrier wrote:

[Cole Cabibbo]

Two speak another language well, is to absorb its culture too. So that means that if one were to learn a language that is the opposite culture wise to the person's culture, that could mean that they have two souls, one that is part of one culture, and the other to the other.

[Vicky Ricci]

As Abdou and Ilaria previously stated, to have a second language does not mean you have a second soul. I believe we are all souls owning bodies meaning we are composed by one soul and one body. By speaking a second language our soul shapes itself to become who we are. Our experiences, backgrounds and cultures assemble our personalities and stimulate one to perceive the world differently and have a more open mind. In the context the phrase is put in, one may originally disagree with the claim taking into account theoretical beliefs, which is completely common. We all have different opinions and I find it extremely intriguing to investigate these. There are many definitions for the word "soul" coming from several different types of minds such as; philosophical, religious and scientific. Socrates and plato considered the soul the essence of a person, being that which decides how we behave. He considered this essence to be an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being. As bodies die, the soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies. However, in Hinduism, the Sanskirt words most closely corresponding to souls are "Jeev", Aatma" and "Purusha", meaning the individual self. The term "soul" is misleading as it implies an object possessed, whereas Self signifies the subject which perceives all objects. This self is held to be distinct form the various mental faculties such as desires, thinking, understand, reasoning and self-image, all of which are considered to be a part of nature. On the other hand, much of the scientific study relating to the soul has involved investigating the soul as an object of human belief, or as a concept that shapes cognition and an understanding of the world, rather than as an entity in and of itself. 

In conclusion, I believe, regarding the culture and how you were brought up able one to construct their own definition of the word "soul". As it is an abstract belief we are not able to justify this piece of knowledge therefore I do not believe this claim is false. 

[Matej Vucak]

On Friday, October 12, 2012 9:41:18 AM UTC+2, Abdourahman John wrote:

 The persons soul is what they are, essentially they're essence.

 Interesting of you to say that. Interesting because this is what you said in the previous discussion:

On Monday, October 1, 2012 7:02:56 PM UTC+2, Abdourahman John wrote:

 In the end we are what we believe others see because it is from this point of view that we analyze ourselves without emotion because we are using someone elses perspective.

 You are saying that a person's soul is what they are but you also said that what we are depends on what we think others are. Therefore, a person's soul would depend on what they think others think of them, correct? Now, you also wrote the following:

  On Friday, October 12, 2012 9:41:18 AM UTC+2, Abdourahman John wrote:

 to have a second language merely helps a person to express themselves in a different way

  I believe I am right in saying that the way you express yourself changes the way others think of you. A relatively simple example would be the correct use of grammar: even if you're conveying the same message, people will take you more seriously if your grammar is correct than if your grammar is lacking: you will appear more educated and therefore your message will be seen as more reliable. Presentation and expression is important and many people use this when arguing and trying to persuade others.

   If, as you said, a second language gives you a new way to express yourself then a second language also allows others to think of you differently and may even allow you to think differently of others. Languages may be used for the same purpose (to communicate) but they are inherently different. Words have different sounds, syntax is different and, despite what Ilaria said, I believe the culture a language originates from can be at least partially extrapolated from the language itself. 

 After all, if a language is influenced by its culture, which it is because otherwise there would be no difference between languages, then this culture must leave some sort of trace in the language. For example, in the southern regions of Croatia, the word for donkey is "tovar". This is similar to the verb "natovariti" which means to burden. Putting these two things together, you can see that donkey were used extensively to carry items in the regions.

 Therefore, using a language automatically links you to its culture and changes the way others think of you. You could say that knowing and speaking another languages merely changes your soul. However, one has to keep in mind that you use a specific language for one person, not an assortment of languages. Therefore, you appear different to two different people if you talk to them in different languages and it can therefore be said that you have two souls, one when using one language, the other when using another language.

 

[Chianyul]

To discuss whether "to have a second language is to have a second soul", we first have to look at what is a "soul". As Vicky has mentioned, the word "soul" is an ambiguous term to an extent that every culture has a different definition for what a soul is. Therefore, it is very difficult to be fully agreed or disagreed on the topic. For the purpose of this discussion, I think it is safe to assume that the soul the quotation mentions is in accordance to the Western definition of a soul -- a soul is that which give body life -- since the quotation is said by Charlemagne, the emperor of the Carolingian Empire. 

To a greater extent, I believe that it is not enough to simply define "soul". We also have to come to an agreement upon what does it mean "to have a secondary". I think that to have a second language means not only to be able to understand a language other than the mother tongue, but also to be able to understand the culture linked to that language.

As language is the path of communication, possessing two languages extend a person’s range of expression. A personal example would be that I frequently encounter problems with translating Chinese into or from English. Even though I speak and understand both languages quite well, there are certain barriers that one language cannot cross. So, in a way, my body is separated into two different ways to reason, or two different “souls”.

[Arafat Hasnain]

Every language bears its own distinct culture. This culture comes from geographical, historical and financial factors. Nevertheless, to understand a culture, the first step would be to understand its language. So, using that argument, a second language means having a second soul.

However, there is a logical flaw in that statement. Since the same person knows two languages, it is almost impossible to think that the person looks at both languages and cultures neutrally. During the time when he learns the second language he will try to use his first language to learn it. The same holds true for culture. For example, an American will learn about the Italian culture more by differentiating it with the American culture. Thus, having a second language does not mean having a second soul but a sum of the two languages,cultures and ultimately of the two souls.

[Ludo]

I agree with the statement above which involves thought and culture. When one learns a second language, one adopts their culture, their beliefs and their doings. All of these things become a second soul for a person, because each language has different doings, cultures, and beliefs, therefore you would have different thoughts and knowledge for each language. Not everyone believes this, but in being bilingual, I have grown to have a different "soul" for the two languages I speak at home. Each language has different characterisitcs, they have different ways of acting and interacting with other people. In conclusion, I do believe that one has a different sould for each language they speak.

[Abdourahman John]

Sorry for the confusion Matej, ill try to clarify so that you may be able to understand, In the previous discussion where the topic was "I am not what I think I am, I am not what you think I am, I am what I think you think I am" I though us to be discussing the issue of self image, because they I understood it, Aaron Blieberg was stating his opinion that self image comes down to how we perceive the way others perceive us, and as you stated I agreed with his view.

On the latest discussion on the topic of the soul (once again bear with me while I try to explain my thought processes), I understood the quote "to have a second language is to have a second soul" as being an issue about the soul. Here is where I attempt to arrive at my point, In my opinion self image and the soul are not two matters of the same, they are completely different, which is why my points may at first seem to be contradictory, but if you can now try to understand from my point of view, self image and the soul are two different topics. 

I believe self image to be, exactly what it means how one views them self, the soul though matt, is not how one views themselve, the soul is as Socrates, Plato, and myself have said, the essence of a person or being. 

You tried to make the point that if one speaks a different language then this changes the way someone views them, well this is of course is obvious, but the way someone views you does not change you as a person, you might act differently towards them or around them, but when it comes down to it just because they view you in a certain way doesn't mean it will change the person who you are when nobody is around. So I will reiterate for you, I believe this statement is not true, because a soul is the essence of a being, what they truly are when they are not being judged or viewed, thus a language cannot be considered a soul, because a language, does not make the man.

[Amir.F]

In my opinion if we speak a second language we do have another soul but in theory. There is an iranian saying that says "Every language that you speak is as if you are another person" so in my culture knowing another language is to have another soul. Although it may not be acceptable logically by many people because according to logic we only have one soul and one body so it might not sound reasonable from some perspectives. However, by saying another soul it doesn't mean "ANOTHER SOUL" it theoretically means that once we speak another language we are altered in our state of mind, meaning that we try to think in the way people of that language think so we can feel as if we are one and not different. The reason that I say that a second language is the representative of a second soul is that because the way that for example speak english and think in english we don't in Italian and or any other language. However, it depends on how we approach this idea of another soul. The approach of this idea depends on the cultural backgroung that we are from. In my personal idea it might be that if we speak a second language we have another soul. Because we feel the emotions differently, we understand concepts differently, and if some things that sound funny or more emotional in our mother tongue do not sound funny or that emotional in the second language. However, again this depends on the culture and the society we live i and particularly it depends on the language we are talking about. 

[Giorgio Musilli]

The vocabulary and structure of a second language enriches your knowledge and wides your perspective. Some words represent something strictly unique and whose nature is obscure to other languages. Because, to a strong extent, a change in language implies a change in culture and vice versa, the meaning and implications of the "idea" linguistically represented change according to culture. Our soul does have a pure predisposition and it changes according our actions and to our culture/ language that are a part of our knowledge. If these mere unfounded ideas are followed then a second language is to change our soul.

Maybe, in connecting to the idea that the soul changes according to our knowledge and choices, we could think that it also changes according to external languages and external cultures, but that would contradict the claim of having a choice in the first place. Would it ? A second language implies more freedom on my part. So maybe choice and having more souls are directly proportional.  In fact it is true that language affects culture, and therefore both language and culture affect us. Does the fact that we possess a second language (and are affected by it) imply  a two or more souls? I do not know. Maybe I'l know when my soul will be separated form my body, and i will possess the knowledge God can grant me.

[Dennis Zinzi]

Every language is a representation of a certain tradition and of a certain culture, and being bilingual means that one beholds the culture and tradition of not one race, yet of two races, thus acting as a second soul.The second language may only increase the capability of understanding, as different languages have different words, which can always express feelings and emotions in a more complete and different manner, even though this difference is very slight, it is enough to change the meaning of the sentence. As an individual is brought up by parents of mixed backgrounds he/she, is being exposed to characteristics of those cultures, and because he/she is exposed he/she starts to think according not to only one point of view yet a merging of the two, thus making the two distinct souls forge into one more complete soul above the two sub-souls which it consisted of. 

[AugustaA.]

By being able to comunicate in different languages, we also show various parts of ourselves. If I know more than one language, it means I have a way of comunicating with other cultures. Personally, as a person that speaks four languages, I connect each one of them to different memories and different countries, which is like having more than one soul. I use each language depending on the people around me, and I have noticed that also, many times, the language we use might affect the way we share our thoughts. As my first language is english, and I have studied all my life in american.international schools, I find my self surrounded by people that speak english. However, when I am with people that aren't as fluent as I am in this language, I find it hard to express some concepts. In my opinion this is very much like having a different soul. The way I react to my community is profoundly affected by the language I speak. I change languages according to the people around me, just like I "change" my soul.