26.psycholinguistics10

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PSY 369: Psycholinguistics

Language, culture, and cognition


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Lanuage and thought How are language and thought related?

Are inner speech and thought the same thing?

How does language impact thought? Are there things that we cant thin! a"out "ecause our

language imposes particular constraints? #oes our language a$$ect how we percei%e the world? &an two people who spea! di$$erent languages

communicate?

'he (uestion has "een de"ated $or a long time And still is today

)ew Yor! 'imesarticle
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/science/22lang.html?ex=1209528000&en=b6d0165220090bc8&ei=5070&emc=eta1http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/science/22lang.html?ex=1209528000&en=b6d0165220090bc8&ei=5070&emc=eta1http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/science/22lang.html?ex=1209528000&en=b6d0165220090bc8&ei=5070&emc=eta1http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/science/22lang.html?ex=1209528000&en=b6d0165220090bc8&ei=5070&emc=eta1


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Some history Plato * Socrates 'H+)+)- . +))/0 SP//&H

Socrates: And do you accept my description o$ the process o$ thin!ing?

'heaetetus: How do you descri"e it?Socrates: As a discourse that the mind carries on with itsel$ a"out any

su"1ect it is considering2 + ha%e a notion that, when the mind is

thin!ing, it is simply tal!ing to itsel$, as!ing (uestions and answering

them2 So + should descri"e thin!ing as a discourse, not aloud to

someone else, "ut silently to onesel$2
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/supplement2.htmlhttp://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/supplement2.html


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Some historyAristotle: SP//&H +S 'H/ SY45L 7 'H8-H'

Spo!en words are the sym"ols o$ mental eperience and written words are

the sym"ols o$ spo!en words2 ust as all men ha%e not the same

writing, so all men ha%e not the same speech sounds; "ut the mental

eperiences, which these directly sym"oli


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Some historyohn 52 =atson >93, early "eha%iorist@:

thought processes are really motor ha"its in the laryn, impro%ements,

short cuts, changes, etc2, in these ha"its are "rought a"out in the same

way that such changes are produced in other motor ha"its2 'his %iew

carries with it the implication that there are no re$lecti%e processes

>centrally initiated processes@2

5ut see Smith, 5rown, 'homas, and -oodman >9B@ C used curare to

temporarily paraly


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Some historyDygots!y >0ussian de%elopmental psychologist@

E Language and thought ha%e di$$erent originsE PreFlinguistic child thin!s independently o$ language

E =ords are not sym"ols $or thought, instead are properties o$

o"1ectsE Speech sounds are not thought

E Language is ac(uired $rom the childs social groupingE Later speech and thought "ecome connected

E Speech "ecomes representationalE

&hildrens monologues are internali


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Some history 7ran< 5oas, $ather o$ American Anthropology

Ggrammatical meaning IcanJ only "e understood in terms o$

the system o$ which it is part

/dward Sapir, student o$ 5oas Gthe Kreal world is to a large etent unconsciously "uild up

on the language ha"its o$ the group2

5en1amin Lee =hor$, student o$ Sapir >and insurance

claims ad1ustor@


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5en1amin Lee =hor$

G/%ery language is a %ast pattern system, di$$erent $rom others, in which areculturally ordained the $orms and categories "y which the personality not onlycommunicates, "ut also analyzesnature, noticesor neglects types o$relationships and phenomena, channelshis reasoning, and "uilds the houseo$ his consciousness2

G=e cut up and organi


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SapirF=hor$ hypothesis Linguistic determinism

Language determines thought >memory, perception, * action@

Linguistic relativity #i$$erent languages map onto the world di$$erently, resulting in

di$$erent cogniti%e structures =hor$ posited that cultural thin!ing di$$erences were the direct

result o$ di$$erences in their languages Spea!ers o$ di$$erent languages see the world in di$$erent,

incompatibleways, "ecause their languages impose di$$erentconceptual structures on their eperiences2

=ea! %ersion>s@ o$ the hypothesis: Language influences thin!ing * how we percei%e the world

#oes language a$$ect thought?

7 min video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX-SIHqw66Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX-SIHqw66I


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'he SapirF=hor$ Hypothesis =hat e%idence led =hor$ to this conclusion?

'he "ul! o$ his e%idence was drawn $rom crossFcultural

comparisons He studied se%eral )ati%e American cultures2

5ut he also used eamples drawn $rom his days as an

insurance in%estigator


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GYet the Kempty drums are perhaps more dangerous >incomparison to the $ull drums@, since they contain eplosi%e%apor2 'he word Kempty is used in two linguistic patterns:

>@ as a %irtual synonym $or Knull and %oid, negati%e, inert, >@ applied in analysis o$ physical situations without regard to, e2g2,

%apor, li(uid %estiges, in the container2 'he situation is named in one pattern >@ and the name is then

Kacted out in another >@, this "eing the general $ormula $or thelinguistic conditioning o$ "eha%ior into ha=hor$,9M6, p2 3M@

#oes language a$$ect thought? =hor$s $amous eample

G/mpty gasoline drums


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Linguistic $orm

#oes language a$$ect thought? =hor$s $amous eample

G/mpty gasoline drums

Linguistic meanings

4ental interpretations

)onlinguistic o"ser%a"les

&ontainer no longercontains intendedcontents

gasoline drumwithout gasoline

drum no longercontains gasoline

empty

null and %oid,negati%e, inert

drum is no longerdangerous; o!ay tosmo!e cigarettes

wor!er smo!escigarettes


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Nanu! Ksnow$la!e Nanir to snow

Nanunge Kto snow Nanugglir Kto snow ane( K$rost

Some o$ the e%idence: =hor$ claimed +nuit ha%e se%eral terms $or snow

aner K"e $rosty ane%%lu! K$ine snow )at(ui! Kdri$ting snow )at(uigte K$or snow to dri$t

along the ground And more

'he SapirF=hor$ Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_words_for_snowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_words_for_snow


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Howe%er, there are many di$$erent +nuit languages and notall posses the same num"er o$ terms2

5oas >9@ reported one group with $our root terms2 'his num"er is pro"a"ly matched or surpassed "y s!iers

regardless o$ their language2 See Pullums -reat /s!imo Hoa >99@

Some o$ the e%idence: =hor$ claimed +nuit ha%e se%eral terms $or snow

'he SapirF=hor$ Hypothesis


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Speciali


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'esting the theory 'wo ma1or approaches ha%e "een employed to test the

SapirF=hor$ hypothesis2 'est the strong %iew C language determines thought "y seeing

i$ the cogniti%e system can ma!e distinctions that are notlinguistically represented

'est a wea!er %iew C that language in$luences thought2

'wo o$ the domains in which this issue has "een studied &olor terms

&ounting and arithmetic

thers include: timeOspace language * grammatical categories


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&ultural Dariations

+$ your language didnt ha%e separate names $or these,

would you see them the same way?


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&olor 'erms 4uch o$ the initial research $ocused on an aspect o$

language which %aries widely across cultures

&olor 'erms 'here are a $ew languages which ha%e only two colorterms, and some with three2

4ost languages draw their color names $rom speci$ic

colors2


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&olor 'erms 5erlin and ay >969@: &olor hierarchy

0ules: &onsist o$ only one morpheme, not contained withinanother color word, not restricted to a small num"er o$

o"1ects, and commonly !nown +n color term languages the terms correspond to 5lac! * =hite +n 3 color term languages they correspond to 5lac!, =hite*0ed Languages with additional terms items are added as $ollows: yellow,

green,"luethen "rown,then purple,pin!,orange,and gray2

'his data runs contrary to =hor$s hypotheses 'hey suggest a uni%ersal physiological "asis $or color

naming, independent o$ language


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&olor 'erms 5rown * Lenne"erg >9M@: So do naming practices

in$luence our a"ility to distinguish or remem"ercolors?

+$ something in a culture is named $re(uently it may "e la"eledwith a "rie$ name, less $re(uently with a longer name, andin$re(uently with a phrase rather than a single word

'he process o$ naming in this manner is !nown as codability2 &oda"ility . how easily a concept can "e descri"ed in a

language, related to the length o$ the word2 As!ed people to name colors > central, 6 others@2 'hose

with longer names were named with hesitations and lessconsistency


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Hieder >9B@>0osch, 9B3 Isame personJ@ #ani tri"e o$ )ew -uinea use only two color names

4ili C coolOdar! shades >e2g2, "lue, green, "lac!@

4ola C warmOlight shades >e2g2, red, yellow, white@ 'hey had no di$$iculty in recogni


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&omparati%e 1udgments among colors are a$$ected

"y color naming practices

ay * empton, >9@ +n%estigated /nglish and 'arahumara +n 'arahumara there are no separate terms $or "lue and green

'he tas! was see 3 chips pic! the one least similar in color Some trials had chips /nglish spea!ers would call & green, &

"lue and &3 was a $ocal eample o$ green "ut $arther away in

light spectrum $rom & than was the case $or & %s2 &

&olor 'erms

- - -

-- 5

5 5 5


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&omparati%e 1udgments among colors are a$$ected

"y color naming practices

ay * empton, >9@ +n%estigated /nglish and 'arahumara +n 'arahumara there are no separate terms $or "lue and green

'he tas! was see 3 chips pic! the one least similar in color

&olor 'erms

Predictions: Disual stimuli as only "asis pic! &3 as odd

)aming practices in$luence pic! & as odd

0esults: 'arahumara spea!ers pic! &3

/nglish spea!ers tended to pic! the chip they would la"el "lue >&@

e%en though in the spectrum it was closer to & than was &3

Support $or a wea! %ersion o$ the =hor$ian hypothesis

- - -

-- 5

5 5 5


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=inawer, 5orodits!y and others >QQB@ /nglish and 0ussian di%ide up "lues di$$erently

0ussian ma!es an o"ligatory distinction "etween lighter "lues >golu"oy@

and dar!er "lues >siniy@2 0esults

0ussian spea!ers were $aster to discriminate two colors when they $ell

into di$$erent linguistic categories >one siniy and the other golu"oy@ than

when they were $rom the same linguistic category >"oth siniy or "oth

golu"oy@2

/nglish spea!ers tested on the identical stimuli did not show a category

ad%antage in any o$ the conditions2

Support $or a wea! %ersion o$ the =hor$ian hypothesis, categories in

language a$$ect per$ormance on simple perceptual color tas!s

&olor 'erms


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Sio!, ay and others >QQ9@ $40+ study

0esults: Leical color in$ormation was accessed in color

discrimination

+t also enhanced the acti%ation o$ color region DO3

#iscussion: GLanguage, "y enhancing the acti%ation le%el o$ the

%isual corte, di$$erentially in$luences the

discrimination o$ colors presented in the le$t andright %isual hemiF$ields2

Support $or a wea! %ersion o$ the =hor$ian

hypothesis, categories in language a$$ect "rain

acti%ation during perceptual color tas!s

&olor 'erms


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Higher &ogniti%e Processes &olor naming may not seem li!e a %ery comple

cogniti%e process: =hat a"out more comple mental processes?

&ounting and other Arithmetic processes


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&ounting * Arithmetic -reen"erg >9B@ has identi$ied some cultures where

the only num"er terms correspond to one, two, many2 Piraha tri"e; -ordon >QQ@ >in con1unction with +S8s #an /%erett@

Hoi >$alling tone . one@, hoi >rising tone . two@, ai"ai >. many@

4atching tas!s F show an array o$ o"1ects, they ha%e to puto"1ects down to match the array

#i$$erent languages terms $or num"ers also has e$$ects on arithmetic

0esults F relati%ely good matching up to or 3, "ut per$ormance

was considera"ly poorer "eyond that up to to Q items


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&ounting * Arithmetic

/nglish and 7rench ha%e comple names $or num"ers

apanese,&hinese and orean ha%e simpler systems

4iller * Stigler >9B@

7rom 4iller * Stigler


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7rom 4iller * Stigler>9B@


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&ounting * Arithmetic

'he greater regularity o$ num"er names in &hinese,

apanese and orean as compared to /nglish or 7rench

$acilitates the learning o$ counting "eha%ior "eyond Q in

those languages2

Another ad%antage is earlier mastery o$ Kplace %alue

>understanding that in R 3 there are tens and 3 ones@

4iller * Stigler >9B@


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&ounting * Arithmetic4iller * Stigler >9B@


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&onclusions At this point it is apparent that the strong %iew o$

=hor$s hypothesis is not supported2

Ste%en Pin!er >'he Language +nstinct, 99@

E G'he $amous SapirF=hor$ hypothesis o$ linguistic determinism is

wrong, all wrong2 'here is no scienti$ic e%idence that languages

dramatically shape their spea!ers ways o$ thin!ing2

E G4ost o$ the eperiments ha%e tested "anal Gwea! %ersions o$ the

=hor$ian hypothesis, namely that words can ha%e some e$$ect on

memory or categori


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&onclusions

Howe%er, there is continued support $or the wea!er

%ersion>s@ o$ the hypothesis 'he data $rom areas o$ in%estigation concerning color naming,

counting * arithmetic, reasoning, %isual memory, and other areas

>e2g2, social in$erence@ indicate that the use o$ certain speci$ic terms

can in$luence how we thin!

'he (uestion that remains is how much o$ the di$$erences are"ecause o$ the language and how much due to the culture?

Pro"lems

Language cannot "e randomly assigned

'here$ore we cannot rule out some third %aria"les

such as culture

At this point it is apparent that the strong %iew o$=hor$s hypothesis is not supported2

26.psycholinguistics10

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