Language and thought

Question 1

Linguistic relativity - Structure versus Domain Centered Approach - Lucy 1992

Question 2

Semiotic Relativity

Answer 2

• looking at those with language and comparing to those without
• investigating what cognition is like without a language system
• looking at prelinguistic infants or rare cases (Genie Wiley) - compare to ‘normal’ linguistic development

Question 3

Spelke 1994 - Infant cognition

Answer 3

Studies of infant cognition show rich conceptual structure before child has learnt specific language

Question 4

Functional Relativity

Answer 4

• language usage differs within communities
• compare dialects and contexts
• how do different patterns of usage within the same community affect cogntiion
  e.g. literacy, schooling

Question 5

Saphir Whorf Hypothesis (1956)

Answer 5

• language affect thought
• humans do not experience the world objectively
• importance of language habits of the group
• Whorf believed in relativity in thinking but universality in perception

Question 6

Boroditsky (2001) - Language affects how we think about time

Answer 6

• found that language depicting time affects how time is thought about and perceived.
• In Mandarin Chinese, time is represented vertically and ‘up’ means earlier/before, and ‘down’ means after/later,
  In experiments speakers shown to perceive time in a vertical manner .

In English, time is represented horizontally, with ‘left’ meaning earlier/before and ‘right’ meaning later/after. So people of this language think of time horizontally

argues that English speakers conceive time in a way that is analogous to their conception of spatial horizontal movement, whereas native Mandarin speakers associate it with vertical movement. She has also stated that these differences do not totally determine conceptualization, since it is possible for the speakers of a language to be taught to think like the speakers of other languages do, without needing to learn any such language

Question 7

Levinson 2004

Answer 7

• challenges strong version of linguistic determinism, argues for more nuanced view
• suggests whilst language may influence certain aspects of thinking, other factors such as culture, social context and individual experience may play significant roles
• cross cultural research, examines how linguistic structures differ
• emphasises importance of considering multiple factors beyond language

Question 8

Thinking-for-speaking (Slobin)

Answer 8

• language influences thought, but only when we are actively using it
• weaker version of linguistic relativity
• the way we think is not determined by the structure of our language, but rather by the way we use language in specific contexts
• speakers of different languages tend to use different strategies for encoding and organizing information, depending on the demands of their particular language
  -bilinguals use different cognitive strategies depending on which language they are speaking, thus showing that language can influence thought
• suggests that this influence is not absolute or deterministic, but rather it occurs on a more subtle, pragmatic level

Question 9

Wilhelm von Humboldt 1836

Answer 9

Language is the formative organ of thought
Thought and language are one and inseparable from eachother

Question 10

Wilhelm von Humboldt 1836

Answer 10

Language is the formative organ of thought
Thought and language are one and inseparable from eachother

Question 11

Román Jakobson 1959

Answer 11

The true difference between languages is not in what May or May not be expressed but in what must or must not be conveyed by speakers