Proceedings of the 10th International Academic Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Language and Social Construction of Reality: How Words Shape Our Perceptions
Dr. Athena Smith
ABSTRACT:
“Symbols are essential tools for understanding the world, with language standing out as the most powerful one. This presentation will focus on the complicated relationship between language and the social construction of reality, exploring the theory of linguistic determinism through a multidisciplinary lens. The shaping of thought by language is evident across diverse aspects of human experience. The use of specific language influences global cultures, societal trends, theoretical frameworks, journalistic narratives, family dynamics, growth or extinction of social movements, perpetuation of stereotypes, business paradigms, artistic evolution, and political discourse among others. For instance, language shapes how we perceive gender roles, causes of poverty and wealth, definitions of success, environmental issues, healthcare policies, educational paradigms, historical interpretations and many more.Through data-driven examples, this presentation aims to evaluate the impact and far-reaching consequences of linguistic effects on the construction of social reality.”
keywords: Linguistic determinism, social construction of reality, power of words