Language shapes thought

· 6 min read

I borrow the title from “How Language Shapes Thought (2011)”1 article. It was a good short, engaging reading resource that introduces you to the topic of how different language can make you think different. It also became one of the primary bases for this post.

Originally, I was looking for materials that can make me understand why reading my notes that are written in my mother tongue feels more absorbable than reading notes I wrote in English, even though I’m pretty confident in my English reading proficiency.

To my surprise, this 3 AM curiosity (literally) led me to some fascinating discoveries about the impact of languages on how we view the world. So in this post, I’m gonna compile my favorite points from what I’ve read to share to other people who found this on the internet.

Your language can affect how you perceive an event

Your mother tongue can actually affect how you perceive an event, for example, A Japanese and an English speaker can perceive the same event they see or experience in a different way.

Imagine an event where a person named Joko spilled his coffee, The English speaker might say something like “Joko spilled the coffee” to describe that event. But, the Japanese might say something like “コーヒーがこぼれた — Kōhī ga koboreta” or “The coffee was spilled”.

That’s because different languages actually guide attention in different ways! English tends to focus on the agent (the person who caused the action), even if the event was accidental. In contrast to that, Japanese often focused more on the event itself rather than who caused it, especially when describing accidents.

And it turns out, even this small difference in how events are described actually shaped how people remember them. English speakers, who naturally highlight the agent in their language, are better at remembering who caused an action. On the other hand, Japanese speakers, who often leave out the agent when talking about accidents, are less likely to remember who was responsible.

Your language can affect how you learn

This one is so interesting because we often talk about how Chinese kids are so smart because of the culture there, we often bring up how their parents are way more strict on forcing them to study, well this may be true in some sense. But who would’ve thought that their language may actually have an effect as well?

In Mandarin, numbers are named in a more straightforward way than in English. For example, 11 is “十一” (shí yī), which means “ten-one,” and 23 is “二十三” (èr shí sān), or “two-ten-three.” This clear pattern makes it easier for kids to grasp place value and number relationships early on.

The differences in languages also led some kids to learn about their gender sooner than other kids who speak different languages, this due to the presence of gender markers in some languages like German, French, etc.

Your language can affect your spatial perception

There’s a small Indigenous community in Australia called the Thaayorre. They speak a language called Kuuk Thaayorre, and it’s completely different from English when it comes to talking about directions.

In English, we mostly use words like “left”, “right” for nearby things, and only use “north” or “west” when talking about bigger areas like cities or maps. But in Kuuk Thaayorre, people always use cardinal directions like north, south, east, and west, even for tiny everyday things.

For example, instead of saying “the cup is to the left of the plate,” they’d say “the cup is southeast of the plate.” Or instead of “the boy standing to the right of Jane,” they’d say “the boy standing south of Jane.” So, to speak correctly, you always have to know exactly where you’re facing!

Researchers tested this by asking people to arrange pictures of a story. English speakers laid them out left to right, while Hebrew speakers, whose writing goes right to left, did the opposite.

But Kuuk Thaayorre speakers did it differently, they organized the cards according to the direction they were facing.

  • If they faced south, they laid the cards out left to right.
  • If they faced north, it was right to left.
  • If they faced east, the cards came toward their body, and so on.

I was so excited when learning this, it’s like learning a different language can give you new super power.

Your language can affect your thinking and reasoning

When we think or make decisions, we actually use two different systems. One is more analytic, rule-based, and systematic, where you really have to think things through carefully. The other is more intuitive, emotional, and quick, kind of like when you go with your gut.

It turns out that the language you use can push you toward one system or the other. When you’re using your mother tongue, your brain taps deeper into emotional and contextual processing. That’s because your native language is tied to your memories, culture, and personal experiences. So when you think in it, everything feels more natural, but you’re also more influenced by emotions.

But when you switch to a foreign language, things change. A foreign language is usually processed more cognitively than intuitively. Since it takes more mental effort to make sure you’re saying things right, your brain has to work harder. This extra cognitive load creates a bit of distance between you and your immediate feelings. It pushes you into a more logical, deliberate, and systematic way of thinking.

Decisions made in a foreign language are often slower, but also more rational and less emotional. You’re less likely to jump to conclusions or let feelings cloud your judgment because you’re too busy just trying to get the words right and understand what’s going on. It’s like your brain switches from “autopilot” to “manual mode.”

Conclusion

These are just some of the interesting research discoveries I came across. It was so random that I stumbled upon these materials. I really love learning new things like these to take a break from computer stuff. I hope you find them interesting too!

Feel free to email me your thoughts on these discoveries, or if you have any other feedback. I’m always available at dimas@litegral.com. Thank you for reading!

Footnotes

  1. http://lera.ucsd.edu/papers/sci-am-2011.pdf I encourage you to read it! ↩