Does the language you speak affect how much you save?
Could the language you speak affect your financial decision-making? Does the fact that you're reading this in English make you less likely to save for retirement?
Quite likely, maintains Yale University behavioural economist Keith Chen, who believes the grammar of the language you speak affects your finances.
Chen divides the world's languages into two groups, depending on how they treat the concept of time. If your language separates the future and the present in its grammar, you're more likely disassociate that future from the present.
Speakers of such languages -- such as English -- save less, retire with less wealth, smoke more, practice more unsafe sex and are more obese. This effect persists even after controlling for a speaker’s education, income, family structure and religion, he maintains.
"There’s a connection between how you feel about the future and how your language forces you to talk about the future,” says Chen. “If you speak a language that doesn’t distinguish strongly between the present and the future, you save a lot more because the future feels closer."
"If you speak a language that separates present and future events, the future feels more distant, which makes it harder to do things to care for your future self like save money, exercise, and eat better."
Not surprisingly, Chen's findings have been criticised by both economists and linguists who argue there are a number of cultural, social, or economic reasons why different language speakers behave differently.
Studies like this one are prone to mistakes, because they survey too many languages without knowing enough about how these languages truly work, they argue.
What do you think? Does language have such an impact on your thinking?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Paul | Mar 19, 2022 4:27:21 PM
I speak four languages and I don't know how it will affect my savings. Savings for a rainy day or oldage is a good thing if one can afford it now and that mentality itself is a gift of God.Any amount of advice won't help anybody to cultivate the habit of saving, but at some point in time, everybody starts saving for themselves(When the reality strikes)
Posted by: John | Mar 19, 2022 4:49:58 PM
I know 3 languages, but I only consider myself fluent in one: English. I cannot believe that language has any impact whatsoever on anyone's ability to save. My ability to save is so ingrained into my lifestyle, that I do not need to budget. I spend what I need and save without having to consciously think about it. My savings per year for retirement amount to about 40% of my income. When I was a student, living on minimum wage and sleeping on a matress in the basement of a student ghetto house, I always had money saved at the end of the year.
Posted by: TULA | Mar 21, 2022 4:53:53 PM
I SPEAK 6 LAGUAGES BUT I ONLY WRITE 4 . MOST THE TIME WHEN I GO ANYWHERE IN THE PLANT EARTH I SAVE MONEY I SAVE LOTS THINGS
FOR EXAMPLE IF I PAY $ 80 GROCERY I GET THE SAME STUFF IN 3 PLACE FOR FRACTION OF THE COST.
EG BANANA IB 67 C MY IB 39 C
EG,EGG PLANT IB 2.99 MY IB .99 C
LOTS STUFF
SAVING IS POWER
Posted by: TULA | Mar 21, 2022 4:55:52 PM
speaking languges helps in the long run
Posted by: Oh Really !!! | Mar 21, 2022 7:47:46 PM
Looks like one of the languages TULA doesn't write is English.
OMG... what a spelling and grammatical nightmare.
Probably wouldn't be able to understand anything "she" says either.
Posted by: Short Bus | Mar 22, 2022 10:20:11 AM
@tula. The ability to write "languges" or "laguages" also helps in the long run. As Oh Really has mentioned, this is something of which you are in dire need of help. BTW, make sure you bring enough banana or egg plant when you go anywhere "in" the "plant" earth. Extensive underground excursions cause great hunger.