Lecture 9 - Language and thought

Question 1

What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis/Linguistic Relativity hypothesis?

Answer 1

• proposed by Whorf 1941
• speakers of different languages conceptualise and view their worlds differently

Question 2

Support for Whorf’s hypothesis?

Answer 2

• Hopi people (Native American tribe) have a different concept of time than in the West due to differences in their terminology of time
• the Pirahã people of the Amazons do not have terms for sets of large no. = restrit their ability to recall large no.

Question 3

Influence of language on categorical perception of colour?

Answer 3

• Robertson et al 1999 described a brain damaged patient who suffered from the ability to name colour labels = impaired his ability to categorise colours
• Nevertheless categorical colour perception is shown in pre-linguistic infants and animals = cannot wholly depend on language

Question 4

Colour discrimination task - Kay and Kempton 1984?

Answer 4

• English language = 2 words for blue and green
• Tarahumara language = 1 word to mean blue or green
• subjects were asked to discriminate between blue and green
• results = they judged the colours differently

Question 5

Arguments against the linguistic relativity hypothesis?

Answer 5

• it sees language as culturally specific but Goldin- Meadow 2005 found evidence of core properties of language
• Pinker claims that Whorf misunderstood the Hopi’s concept of time
• Chomsky and Pinker accuse the theory of lacking adequate evidence

Question 6

Are our emotions culturally constructed?

Answer 6

• according to constructivism human emotions are culturally constructed concepts that are socially learned and influenced by language, not innate

Question 7

Jackson et al 2019 study?

Answer 7

• surveyed the meaning of emotion words in 2500 languages
• semantic structure of emotion words varied a lot across cultures
• there was evidence of universal structures in the networks of meaning of emotion words
• meaning their is probably linguistic relativity as language shapes some but not all aspects of thoughts and emotions

Question 8

Cooperative communication and intentions?

Answer 8

• human communication is highly cooperative
• communication depends on acting with and understanding communicative intentions

Question 9

Human cooperative communication?

Answer 9

• humans intentionally share and exchange information
• we monitor receiver’s responses and adapt communication based upon their knowledge state

Question 10

Common ground and communication?

Answer 10

• common ground = knowledge/beliefs that are shared between communicators
• humans work hard to achieve common ground during communication
• speakers communicate with their listener to ensure that their message is being understood, this can involve theory of mind

Question 11

Communicating as an intention to inform?

Answer 11

• as communicators we provide special cues to ensure our message is understood and the receiver knows we are intending to inform them
• these are Ostensive cues
• e.g. gestures, eye gaze and facial expressions

Question 12

Name an example of cooperative communication

Answer 12

• pointing to inform is an e.g.
• by intentionally referring to something in the word the pointer tries to share their knowledge and influence their receiver’s mental state

Question 13

Do chimpanzees understand pointing?

Answer 13

• In one study, a human points to one of two opaque containers with food in
• Chimps follow the point - but choose randomly
• They do not see it as being there to inform them
• Chimpanzees may follow a point and even use points but do not seem to understand that pointing is informative (unlike us)

Question 14

Do dogs understand pointing?

Answer 14

• yes they can
• domestication may have resulted in dogs becoming more sensitive to human communicative cues & to develop human-like communication skills