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So, do we think differently

So do we think differently

in different languages?

in different languages

OK.

(Speaking Russian)

Speaking Russian

Sorry, it's like a tongue twister.

Sorry it's like a tongue twister

That's a brilliant question.

That's a brilliant question

The Whorfian hypothesis as it's known,

The Whorfian hypothesis as it's known

which is the idea that our language affects our thinking,

which is the idea that our language affects our thinking

has been debated for decades,

has been debated for decades

even centuries.

even centuries

There's a growing amount of experimental evidence

that differences across languages have an influence

on the way speakers of those languages

conceive of the world.

conceive of the world

We can see that different languages

structure the world in different ways,

structure the world in different ways

they carve up the various continua

and different types of relations in the world.

and different types of relations in the world

The way that different languages chop up the world almost can vary,

The way that different languages chop up the world almost can vary

and that does actually influence how you see that world.

and that does actually influence how you see that world

I think language changes everything about the way you think.

I think language changes everything about the way you think

I go into a certain mindset, I sound deeper. I don't know why.

I go into a certain mindset I sound deeper I don't know why

I perceive situations differently, I react differently.

I perceive situations differently I react differently

I think I'm more grounded and more in touch with my emotions in German.

I think I'm more grounded and more in touch with my emotions in German

Yeah, it makes me feel more assertive when I'm speaking Dutch

Yeah it makes me feel more assertive when I'm speaking Dutch

because you just get straight to the point.

because you just get straight to the point

It's not just for talking -

It's not just for talking

language is for organising an otherwise messy world

into identifiable categories.

into identifiable categories

It gives us ready labels.

It gives us ready labels

It's like Lego, you add another word to the word

It's like Lego you add another word to the word

and that makes it more precise.

and that makes it more precise

Language in French is super gendered -

Language in French is super gendered

so everything has a masculine or feminine.

so everything has a masculine or feminine

And it just makes everything feel a bit more one or the other.

And it just makes everything feel a bit more one or the other

If you have a word like bridge,

If you have a word like bridge

if it's in a language where it is carrying a masculine gender

then bridges will be described by people slightly differently.

then bridges will be described by people slightly differently

So, it might be its usefulness

So it might be its usefulness

or its power might be more associated with the feminine gender

whereas its strength and its size

might be more associated with the masculine gender.

might be more associated with the masculine gender

The structure of a language forces us to attend to certain aspects

of reality that are relevant for a language,

of reality that are relevant for a language

at the moment of using that language.

at the moment of using that language

It's known as the thinking for speaking hypothesis.

It's known as the thinking for speaking hypothesis

There's evidence that language involves

some kind of image simulation

and that that has a consequence for how we perceive of certain events.

and that that has a consequence for how we perceive of certain events

Colour is quite a complex property of a visual world.

Colour is quite a complex property of a visual world

Your brain is decoding colour in quite a complicated way.

Your brain is decoding colour in quite a complicated way

So you have many languages

that have a term to denote both green and blue

and typically we call this a grue term.

and typically we call this a grue term

You find this in languages like the Himba, for example,

You find this in languages like the Himba for example

in the Namibian plains.

in the Namibian plains

In this experiment

we asked participants to look at the colour tile

and then after 30 seconds we show them the full array of colours

and we say, "Now, pick the one that you just saw."

and we say Now pick the one that you just saw

And it's a very difficult task if you're an English speaker

but a Himba speaker can do it like child's play

because that colour is central to them.

because that colour is central to them

You simply cannot recognise colours that are not easily encoded

in your native language.

in your native language

I think by virtue of being born into a particular culture

and the language that goes with that culture

we're almost certainly given to think in a particular way.

we're almost certainly given to think in a particular way

The human brain doesn’t work out of the box.

The human brain doesn’t work out of the box

You grow up and you're growing up learning languages

in particular environments.

in particular environments

By the time you're dealing with an adult,

By the time you're dealing with an adult

you're dealing with a brain that has been trained up to be an expert

along a number of quite specific dimensions.

along a number of quite specific dimensions

There's actually another very, very good reason to learn a language.

There's actually another very very good reason to learn a language

That's simply to gain another perspective on the world.

That's simply to gain another perspective on the world

You can actually say a lot more, a lot quicker,

You can actually say a lot more a lot quicker

in Uzbek than you can in English which is quite interesting.

in Uzbek than you can in English which is quite interesting

They used to be nomadic

which meant that the language has to be a lot quicker

because you were speaking to people while moving around

and all this kind of stuff.

and all this kind of stuff

But in a sense, language is culture and culture is language.

But in a sense language is culture and culture is language

Speaking a different language is almost a gateway

into a completely different cultural understanding.

into a completely different cultural understanding

(Korean) Do we think differently in different languages?

Korean Do we think differently in different languages

(Russian) Do we think differently in different languages?

Russian Do we think differently in different languages

(Portuguese) Do we think differently in different languages?

Portuguese Do we think differently in different languages

Cognitive diversity I think is at the core of human nature.

Cognitive diversity I think is at the core of human nature

It is probably, if you are looking for universals,

It is probably if you are looking for universals

diversity is probably the one true universal of humanity.

diversity is probably the one true universal of humanity

Thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching

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