I recently learned about something called the Sapir-Whorf theory of linguistic relativity. It pretty much suggests that peoples' thoughts as well as their world views are influenced by the languages they speak. It further suggests that countries who's languages are similar think similarly and have similar world views.
For example: England, France, Spain and Portugal speak languages that are very similar. Based on this theory, those countries' people have similar thought processes and world views. Those thoughts and views would differ from say, Native American tribes and African or Asian peoples.
With that said, my question is do you think it is possible that differing ideas and ideals could birth stereotypes about cultures who are different from our own? And is it further possible that racism could be a consequence of these differences?
My train of thought, whether politically correct or not, goes to history:
Which nations have been most violent in their pursuit of expansion and gain of wealth? Which nations, as a result of other nations' ambition, have had their land stolen out from under them? If you're thinking, "Man, European nations have uprooted Native Americans and stolen North & South America, much of Africa and Australia" then you're right on track with my own thoughts! In addition to mere ambition, the displaced peoples were referred to as "savages" or worse, and regarded as equal to or less than animals. I do not dislike Europeans or European nations, I'm just taking an objective look back at history to see if this theory could apply.
What are your thoughts?
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