Does Language Change How We Think?

I came across an article about a 17 year old that is currently fluent in 20 languages. He mainly started when he was 13, so in 4 years he's learned 20 languages. I would never have thought anything like that was possible. Please watch the short video, this guy is amazing.

http://bigthink.com/big-think-tv/do...ail&utm_term=0_6d098f42ff-dbf6f7a00e-40637361

 

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Yes!

 

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Do you have any personal experience that prompted your answer?

 

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A 17 years old 20 language , perhaps child language which have a low vocabulary , and if he will stop using some of the languages for a period of time he will mix in words from one language into other.

 

Linguistic relativity aroused both curiosity and a high degree of criticism during the 20th century. Not surprising since a kind of default universalist stance dominated, even though the latter had not emerged early on as a clear theory itself (rivalry from LR may have stimulated it to finally get its act together). There's at least a renewal and serious exploration of LR now, with acceptance in many quarters that the variability of languages can affect, to only a limited degree, a human's thought and world views.

Benjamin Whorf was often dismissed by critics as an amateur who didn't actually formulate his ideas as a hypothesis; but his interest in trying to investigate LR as a scientific pursuit (as opposed to philosophy in prior eras), made him the key figure -- or rather his papers, following his death in the '40s, for jump starting the controversy in that prior century. His proponents lamented that he was misrepresented by the universalists, and eventually Whorf's tentative endeavors were judged fit for the junk-science pit. But a decade or so later, one started seeing sporadic revivals trickling around, even making appearances in the popular science media, like this one in 2003: She Explores The World Of Language And Thought

 

Of course language in general changes how we think, a better question to ask is does one individual language manipulate thought compared to another, affirmation of this is called the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis... I'm against it, I hold to the counter theory that in general our thoughts are intrinsic and would not vary much no matter the language.

 

Fraggle Rocker & arauca


Do you two consider yourselves polyglot? It did say that you need to speak 3 or 4 languages at a high level and you've both admitted to speaking 4 languages.

About the kid speaking 20 languages at 17. I'd like to keep track of his progress and see where he's at, at about 30. He must be in world record range already. Speaking of the world record do either of you know what the most languages spoken by a single person is or ever was?

 

To add to Fraggle Rocker's contribution I recall in Dubai arranging an event with a Lebanese catering manager. During our discussion the phone went so he answered, speaking in Arabic to a business contact. After 5 mins of pleasantries he switched to English to discuss the business issue. When the call had ended, I asked him why, since Arabic evidently was the 1st language of both speakers, he chose to hold the business discussion in English. He said: "Oh that's because, if we had done it in Arabic, it would have taken twice as long and at the end of it we would not be sure exactly what we had agreed!"

This imprecision in the language made me wonder if it accounted for a lot of frustrations we experienced as European expats in the Middle East, since it suggested to me that there might be a certain imprecision in the thinking of the people, compared to what we were used to. On the other hand , it seems Arabic is a wonderful langauge for poetry....so horses for courses, perhaps....

 

Does Your Language Shape How You Think?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

Good example.

 

That was quite an article, thanks for posting it. Many good examples there.

 

I speak Spanish better then English My mother tong is Ukrainian were among yourself in the family I used to translate Russian technical literature to English , I am reviving my child German and I read Hebrew. Some time when you can not immediately a word in the language you have a conversation you help yourself with an other language . Since Latin derived words are in many European languages . The Slavic languages have many word in common , this will include Polish

 

Imagine a language where words which describe ownership such as "my", "your", "have", "belong" "borrow", "buy" etc. don't exist. You would have no concept of ownership, you would consider everything to belong to everyone. So yes language can change how we think.

 

If removed from their Amazonian context and plunked down somewhere in the history of Europe or Asia, The Matses / Mayoruna might seem to be the ideal stuff for engendering a nation of philosophers.

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So long ago since reading it, I couldn't remember whether or not Jack Vance included a philosopher society in his The Languages of Pao novel or not. Checking an online source for a summary (other than that review), there were only warrior, technical, and mercantile castes created for the "experiment". Each with their specialized, languages named Valiant, Technicant and Cogitant -- which were designed to either intensify or perfect the interests / functions of those cultures.

"A quick, worthwhile read, and though I’m sure it’s probably not Vance’s best work..." --Emil Jung

Definitely not his best. Just one of the first significant glimmers of what his developing style would eventually blossom into. There are people who even read him for his ornate descriptive prose and in-between-the-lines subtext alone, and couldn't have cared less about what a particular story's plot or theme concerned.

 

Sorry but I really can't imagine that. But if you can come up with an example, that might help a bit. I just don't see that concept as being in the nature of humans.

 

The idea of collective sharing is actually more unnatural and abstract that that of individual ownership. Animals for instance mark their territories successfully without the need for possessive pronouns and verbs. In the natural world, possession is nine tenths of the law. If the predator killed it, it's HIS. If the tree is peed on it, it's HIS. If a mother has offspring, they're HER'S. Ownership is hardwired into our DNA. The ideal of community and sharing comes much later, after species form societies and indivduals depend on each other to support each other.