Raymond Yu, Q3 Week 2 - Does Language Influence Thought?
Q3 Week 2 - Does Language Influence Thought?
By Raymond Yu
(Spaghetti brains make spaghetti words)
Recently, I was reading an article called "The Power of Language: We Translate Our Thoughts Into Words, But Words Also Affect the Way We Think" by Guillaume Thierry and wanted to share the contents of the article. The article essentially discusses how many languages have compound words (superwords) that describe ideas that the language did not have words for before. The author uses the examples of "butterfly" and "whatsoever" to explain how languages often form these superwords from two or more distinct words and the end product has no direct relation to the meaning of those words separately. Thierry points out how these words are often unique to each language which causes trouble in translations, since the whole is greater than the parts, preventing a literal understanding. Thierry then points out that many languages also have unique words which are practically untranslatable to another language. These points are all tied into the main topic by the proposal that different words in different languages can influence thinking patterns to become different as well. The author brings up the example of how people with more words for colors can distinguish colors better but ultimately dismisses it as superficial. Thierry concludes that while languages may slightly influence thought patterns, everyone is unique, making the impact of language negligible.
This article is very interesting in its presentation of ideas since the examples and commentary are so thoughtfully organized in their progression that it almost feels like the reader themselves are developing these ideas. Both the subject and the article are examples of the power of language. The subject shows how language has the power to affect thought processes while the article shows how people can use language to influence others. In this case, the article carefully uses language to implant an idea into the reader's mind in a way that the reader cannot help but agree with. After all, if it feels natural like you thought of it yourself, how can you disagree? Read this article yourself and tell me what you think!
Image Source: https://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-396197804/stock-vector-two-heads-of-people-with-confused-thoughts-in-their-heads-are-talking-and-talking-nonsense-misunder
Article Source:
Thierry, Guillaume. “The Power of Language: We Translate Our Thoughts into Words, but Words Also Affect the Way We Think.” The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2019, theconversation.com/the-power-of-language-we-translate-our-thoughts-into-words-but-words-also-affect-the-way-we-think-111801.
There is this famous, I think, that asked if we can think without using words. I can't give a well thought out answer to that question right now but I would say that no, I wouldn't be able to formulate thought without the use of words. My very blog post for APENG actually discussed the idea that patterns in words influence the culture the language pertains to or at the very least reflects these cultural values. In mandarin, the word for homeless and the word for wandering differ by only one character. And this minute difference essentially portrays the nature of wandering in a negative light. Personally, I can't help but think to the word homeless whenever I hear the word wandering in Mandarin. I guess this too is a testament to the power of language in its possible influence on the development of an entire culture of prejudice.
ReplyDeleteHi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post on how language changes the very way we think fascinating, and it draws a clear connection between language and the power it has over us as a species. Your writing reminds me of a philosophy theory I learned about when I was studying AP Psychology, and it asserts that language gives humans the ability to think in the first place. The rationale is as follows: human are incapable at birth of understanding abstract ideas, yet language provides a framework to comprehend ideas beyond the natural world and express relations between them, so it is vital to reason. Thus, I think the inverse can also be argued: language gives humans power.
Sincerely,
Krish
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteYou know, I still find it amusing that the human brain had the audacity to name itself. No other form of natural apparatus is capable of performing such a feat, which really ties together the beauty of consciousness. Thought is the foundation of everything we know, and language is an extension of that power. Language is what separates us from our ancestors; it is what allows us to create society and form structure. Your blog post commemorates that concept, very cool!
Sincerely,
Sean
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteIt is so interesting to say that our language affects our own thinking. I think this is on its own a power of language as changing our thinking is usually a gradual process, and knowing language can contribute is interesting. The one thing I didn't know was that this change is negligible in compared to the uniqueness of everyone.
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hi Raymond, I would really like to know who decided to name those little colorfully-winged insects "butterflies." Now that you've mentioned it, it really makes no sense. It would be really interesting to know the thought process behind the people who come up with those illogical terms. Language and thought have a very interesting connection, and it seems like most of the time it doesn't really make sense. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteSome other examples of compound words that popped up in my head and are formed from two distinct words but make perfect sense are bullfrog, angelfish, billboard, and cannot. I know this point wasn't the main idea of your blog, but I find these words really cool. This reminds me of oxymorons, and how the juxtaposition of words can create a big impact of its meaning and how it is perceived.
Hey Raymond,
ReplyDeleteWe recently just went over a unit in AP Psychology that talks about the effects of what language someone is speaking. As it turns out, what language someone is speaking can also effect how they describe themselves. For example, a person speaking Japanese would describe themselves in a much more modest way than in another language. I think its very interesting that languages are often thought as just tools for communication, but they oftentimes help shape our communication too.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI found the part where the author wrote the words for colors off as superficial very interesting. It reminded me about this idea that was brought up in a movie I watched. A character had said that the number system was all superficial as numbers are a unit that was made up to make the universe make more sense. I believe this is also applicable to words. Thus, this makes words powerful and powerless all at the same time. Although words can give more understanding and description, there could be anything else in place of words to do the same thing.
Hey Raymond!
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very interesting to me because I have never thought about language as a separate identity. To me language has always just seemed like something that just comes to us naturally as humans. It has never occurred to me that the language we learn could affect us as people. This brings up a question of how does English affect someone because a good majority people in the world are able to speak some English at the very least. It is an interesting theory and I hope to learn more about it.