A Yale University behavioral economist Keith Chen says his research proves that the grammar of the language we speak influences both our finances and our health. He says, if you speak English, you are likely to save less for your old age, smoke more and get less exercise than if you speak a language like Mandarin(普通话), German or Malay(马来语).
Keith Chen suggested that differences in the tenses of the world’s languages may explain why people in some countries save more money than people in other countries. He said that the future tense in English could actually make people believe the future is not important now. English speakers might think the future is separate from the present, which may make people not think about their future. He explained this could stop people saving money for their retirement.
Prof Chen divides the world’s languages into two groups, depending on how they treat the concept(概念) of time. Strong future-time reference(参考) languages (strong FTR) require their speakers to use a different tense when speaking of the future. Weak future-time reference (weak FTR) languages do not. He explained, “If I wanted to explain to an English-speaking colleague why I can’t come to meet him, I could not say ‘I go to a meeting’. English grammar would require me to say ‘I will go, am going, or have to go to a meeting’. If, on the other hand, I were speaking Mandarin, it would be quite natural for me to say ‘I go to a meeting’ since the context(语境) leaves little room for misunderstanding.”
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