Language and Cultural Transmission: An Ecuadorian Perspective

A few of the most important elements of culture that I identify myself with would be language and values and beliefs. Language is the medium in which societies all over the world can communicate with one another. For example, in Ecuador, the language of Spanish is the means in which everyone can communicate with one another and share their beliefs and values with one another. Language allows us to be able to pass down culture from one time period to the next, which is called cultural transmission. This is vital in order for societies to learn from other’s previous mistakes and be able to succeed and learn. Thus, enabling societies to begin to value certain aspects of life or have beliefs, such as providing equal opportunity to everyone regardless

Specifically, when discussing when to hang out. For me when someone or a group of people, whether it is family or friends, agrees to meet at a place at a certain time, I am usually there at the at that time. I would not be five to ten minutes late, which I see being a norm in my culture. Achievement and success are both values that I have, but is not something I would like to “brag” out. For example, back in high school I had a couple of friends who were very picky and judgmental when it came to “who got the best score on the AP exam?”, “ I am ranked 32 out of 205, how about you?”, or “ I have the best swim record, how’s your sport going?”. It was just annoying to see one focus so much on their achievements when indirectly relating that to other people. For me, it is not all about who has this record, who got the highest grades, or who is the best. I believe my dislike for attempting to seem better than someone else based on achievements and success is mainly due to having humility. I feel as if in my family and culture, anything can happen at any moment, rich or poor. Humility is one of the things that I certainly proud of in my