The Language You Use Helps You Save!
Every person begins to learn the language spoken around them from the moment they are born. We learn this spoken language in a short time by comprehending it completely and now this language becomes our mother tongue.
These stages that we all go through are natural processes that occur completely spontaneously, even though the languages spoken are different. However, research shows that the language we speak significantly affects our ability to save, understand time, and find direction.
So, if you can’t save money, it may not be your fault. Maybe all the blame is in the language you speak!
We Spend More If You Have the Future Tense!
Many languages are referred to as “languages containing future tense“. These languages distinguish between past, future, and present.
However, there is another group that includes the Chinese. This group is called “languages without future tense”. In these languages; The same pattern is used to describe the events of yesterday, tomorrow, and now.
Economist Keith Chen, who investigated the effects of this difference on the economy, reached interesting results. Chen’s extensive research reveals that people who speak “futureless“ languages tend to save 30% more than those who speak “future” languages.
In other words, people who use non-future languages like Chinese save more than people who use future languages like Turkish!
Questioning the reason for this difference, Chen states that when we talk about the future in different patterns than the present, the future feels more distant and therefore we are less motivated to save today for comfort in the years to come.
In other words, when we use the future tense, we think “Well, I only live once!“ and We spend more. However, in languages that use these sentences in the present tense, the difficulty of payment is better understood and more savings are achieved.
In fact, we can think of this as today’s credit card or cash payment. Those who think about their future cut their coat according to their cloth, while payments made by credit card can be paid months later in installments, so spending more than necessary is possible.
Excess Smoking, Unprotected Relationships, and Obesity: A Few of the Effects of Language on Our Lives
Research shows that the language we speak is not limited to its impact on savings. According to other data obtained:
Speakers of “future” languages save less,
- Retiring at lower income levels
- Smoking more,
- Having more unprotected sex
- More likely to be obese
They exhibit behaviors that are far from being worried about the future.
These differences in language structure continue to affect the patterns of behavior and education, income, family structure, and religious beliefs as well.
The research shows that even though the language we use remains the same, we can increase this propensity to save simply by changing the tense when we use it. That is, even using the present tense instead of the future tense when we think about spending can have a positive effect on the propensity to save.
The Importance of Interdisciplinary Work
The language we use can significantly affect the way we perceive life, the way we think, and even our economic situation. As we have seen as a result of this research, the fact that many disciplines look at events from different angles allows the research to be more comprehensive and to obtain more accurate results.
Interdisciplinary studies in all fields of science will lead us to success with more confident steps.
Keith Chen sums it up like this:
“Economists have a lot to learn from linguists in order to better understand economic behavior and attitudes .”
References and Further Readings
Boroditsky, L. (2011). How Language Shapes Thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62–65. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0211-62
Chen, K. (n.d.). Could your language affect your ability to save money? TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_chen_could_your_language_affect_your_ability_to_save_money.
For this information on the subject, we would like to thank Lecturer Hatice Dayıoğlu.
Images not cited are used through Canva Pro with a royalty payment.
The proofreading has been done by Asu Pelin Akköse and Mete Esencan.
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