Language has very important impact in culture. Languages are changing over the years, and cultural interactions, geography and common beliefs etc. have very important affect in this transition. So when making analysis about a culture, we should understand the language. But can we understand a culture without “speaking” their language? The answer is yes, and I will explain you why.
Even language has important impact in culture, it is not everything. Especially speaking the language is not necessity. When sociologists want to understand a culture, there are too many aspects that they can take into account. Language is one of them, but we can analize the language without actually speaking; the affect of language in culture is not that complex. Word exchanges from other languages, pronoun usage and idioms are major aspects of language that affect the culture. To know these aspects a person does not needs to speak the language. By scientific research a person can learn all these aspects and analize them. For example, in Turkish, there are too many words with Arabic origin. It is because Turkish people have lived with Arabic people for so many years. Also in Turkish idioms we can see the impact of Islam; when Turks become Muslim their cultures and also languages substantially changed and we can understand this by analizing the language. So speaking the language is not neccesity for understanding the culture.
In conclusion, I agree with language’s impact in cultures. But speaking the language is not neccesity for understanding the language, so the culture. It requires deep analysis and research. So when a person wants to understand a culture, he/she does not needs to speak the language.