Unit 3 - Language and Cognition Flashcards
What are basic colour terms?
Colour words applicable to a wide range of objects, used by most native speakers. They consist of only a word (unlike “light blue” or “dark red”) which must also be morphologically simple (unlike “greenish”).
What is categorising or categories?
A process whereby reality is divided into categories, for example, using different words for things that are regarded as different from each other (e.g. ‘rain’, ‘drizzle’, ‘mist’, ‘shower’).
What is a metaphor?
A linguistic tool used to describe something in terms of something else. It involves comparing two unlike things by stating that one is the other, rather than simply saying one is like the other. Metaphors often link abstract ideas to familiar or concrete concepts. For example, “Maria is a night-owl”, “The bedroom is a dump”.
What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (linguistic relativity)?
This principle suggests that the structure of a language shapes its speakers’ worldview and cognition, meaning that the language people speak influences (or even determines) how they perceive the world. The strong form of the hypothesis is that people speaking different languages will think differently. The weaker form of the hypothesis claims that the language you speak can only influence but not determine, how you perceive the world and how you think.
