You are what you speak? Flashcards
How do languages interpret experiences and how do those interpretations influence thought
Both language and thought intersect as . . .
- Culture informs thought
- Thought is convey through language
- Language is impacted by culture
What are the other implications behind language?
International law, ethics, moral relativism. This shapes our language ideology of what is right and wrong, and how we perceive topics within conversation.
Who believed that culture limited the way we think about things?
Edward Sapir, a linguist in the 1930’s
What was the linguist relativity hypothesis?
Proposed by Benjamin Wholf and Edward Spair
- The proposal though that the particular language we speak influences the way we think about reality
What groups did sapir study?
English and Hopi (Indian)
What did sapir discover about the English and Hopi?
- In English we can use displacement to refer to abstract, present, and past situations
VS.
- Hopi, they do not directly refer to this as their grammar structure formats and/or explain time differently. But, they still perform abstract situations.
English treat time as . . .
time units that can be isolated
- For ex: my birthday was 20 days ago, 9 hours and thirty seconds ago.
Hopi treated time as . . .
non-cyclical, time flowed as a part of events
- For ex: yesterday I hurt my knee
What was the Sapir-Wholf hypothesis?
- Grammatical categories of particular languages will lead speakers to think about things in different ways
How to study linguistic relativity?
- which aspects
- which shape
- how strong?
What are the three angles of linguistic relativity?
- Semiotic relativity
- Structural relativity
- Discursive relativity
What is semiotic relativity?
The general use of language.
- explores the conncetion between the mind and meanings created.
main question: does having any language influence thinking?
- How do cognitive process influence thinking for people who know one language differ from animals, and a person who knows no language (can be observed by tests studied (looking at non-human communication, and child).
What is an example of semiotic relativity?
Animals focus on here and now. So does knowing a particular language form the ability to use convetional symbols, and complex grammatical structures.
- sign, object, and interpret
- Nim appears to show that some animals have the ability to process info, understand complex situations (remains limited, no syntax)
What is structural relativity?
The structure of language.
- exemplifies the kind of structure we use for language, is the kind of logic we deploy.
Main question: how does speaking one or more languages influence thinking?
How do specific structures within a particular language (grammatical categories), influence thinking or behaviour).
- focus on how morphosyntactic configurations of meaning affect thinking. Tests are usually comparative across languages.
What is discursive relativity?
The way language is used.
- explores the idea that different speakers (culture, and discourses) have different world views.
Main question: does language in a particular way influence thinking?
Can language use have an impact on cognition?
