Does your language determine how much money you make?

[True2marie]

I just read an article in which a person did a study that revealed how language determines earning potential.  Here's a quote:

[The researcher] found that people who speak languages requiring a separate future tense– English, Arabic, Greek, the Romance languages– are far worse at saving money than people whose languages don't really distinguish between the future and the present, like Chinese, German, Japanese, or Norwegian.

This information brings up a lot of questions about word usage and why people do what they do.  :nerd:

Link to article: http://pri.org/stories/2011-10-24/does-language-you-speak-determine-how-much-money-you-save

[Daimashin]

I find it weird that speaking a different language can affect how much money I make. It never occured to me that I'll be spending more just because I speak English according to the quoted text. I just can't find a relation between language and saving money.

[sidney]

I think these researchers need to focus their studies on other more pressing or useful matters, lol. I mean, they seem to want to find a common ground or similarity to prove that doing this or that affects this or that, but sometimes their studies seem irrelevant. In my opinion, I also think that the language we speak has no impact on how much money we can make, spend or save.

[Trellum]

Food for the thought, his hypotesis do make some sense, I mean I see the logic in his assumptions.  It would be nice to be able to blame my poor financial decisions on the language I speak   Seriously, it would be really interesting if that had an actual link.  I enjoyed reading the article. even tho everything was just assumptions, it still was a great read  

I think they made a mistake when they put norwegian in the group of languages that doesn't clearly distinguish between the present and future.

[pandandesign]

I don't think the language I speak have helped me to determine how much money I make. I think the making money isn't used on the language itself, but it's more than just that factor. I have once thought I would be making a lot of money once I have spoken English, which is not because there are a lot of efforts and skills in order to make money. Well, speaking the language does help me to communicate in many places, including places that I will be able to make money from.

[Baburra]

I was expecting something totally different, but this one does make for a good theory. I think it does affect us to some degree, as our language contributes a lot to how we perceive reality and also almost dictates what we would consider normal. Still, I think ultimately it will boil down to the individual if he or she lets it affect him or her, but just in a general sense, it does seem plausible.

[JohnSword]

I didn't read the article, but going by the quote I would take it with a pinch of salt. I think societal and cultural norms influence a person's saving habits much more than the language he or she speaks.

There's also the issue of bilingual people. Since I speak English and Chinese, does that mean I'm average when it comes to saving money?

[lizbeth19hph]

I don't see any logical relationship between one's language and his earning capacity. One's hard work pays off no matter what language he speaks. If we base how much money one makes depending on his ethnicity or how many languages he knows, it's another kind of discrimination. Well, that's just my humble opinion.

[Peninha]

I don't see any logical relationship between one's language and his earning capacity. One's hard work pays off no matter what language he speaks. If we base how much money one makes depending on his ethnicity or how many languages he knows, it's another kind of discrimination. Well, that's just my humble opinion.

I agree with this, unless you are working as a translator or an interpreter there should be no relation. Unless the study refers to broader cultural aspects, some cultures should stimulate it's citizens since they are kids to the money aspect side in detriment of others.

[True2marie]

I am surprised that no one thinks language is connected to earning potential.  If you can't communicate with others, how can you even sell yourself in an interview or do business?  I think our language has more to do with our financial success than we'd like to think.

[Daimashin]

I am surprised that no one thinks language is connected to earning potential.  If you can't communicate with others, how can you even sell yourself in an interview or do business?  I think our language has more to do with our financial success than we'd like to think.

I think most of the replies were addressing the quote TC posted stating that language determines how much money you save. Language is relative to how much we earn that we know but the mind boggling part is how different languages can help us save money.

[BWL]

This is an interesting topic. However, my answer is "no" because I believe your upbringing which can be determined by your society, social status, level of education and culture, is far more definitive as a determiner of your ability to make and save money.