Linguistic Relativity
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Linguistic Relativity
Introduction
As much as Wolff & Holmes (2011) present realistic and well-contented arguments regarding the relationship between language and cognition, there are many contradictory views on this hypothesis. Wolff & Holmes (2011) cite the Whorfian theory that indicates that people who speak different languages think differently. From another perspective, there are many counterarguments against the theory that have some logic on the grounds that they claim show that even people speaking the same language cannot have the same thinking processes or capabilities. However, research from the field of psychology demonstrates that language influences thinking process in light of the fact that different languages have different semantics that create divergent mental images. This paper explores the Whorfian hypothesis in relation to language and disparities in thinking process in order to determine the believability of arguments presented by Wolff & Holmes (2011).
Analysis of Linguistic Relativity
Many researchers in the field of human psychology demonstrate that language has effects on domains such as color, motion, and spatial relations. Then again, these domains have affect how people think or perceive objects and situations. For this reason, it can be contended that language has direct and indirect implications on human thinking process. Usually, different languages have certain impact on mental visualizations of color and motion. It could be argued that the descriptive characteristics of a language create cognitive perceptions that influence how people think. Wolff & Holmes (2011) cite a past research that claims that people speaking different languages have different eye movements. From a critical point of view, this does not necessarily imply that eye movements have a direct connection to how people think. For this reason, most of the arguments that are pro-Whorfian theory can be considered to be relatively biased to one school of thought.
In the article by Wolff & Holmes (2011), there is a lot of focus on the connection between language and thinking process without considering other factors that may affect the thinking process. For example, it is highly likely that people who speak the same language and particularly with a similar accent have been grown up in the same geographical region. From that point of view, these people have been subjected to the same cultural practices that not only impact their language but also their thinking process (Pecher & Zwaan, 2005). This is based on the influence of adaptive skills rather than cognitive abilities. Therefore, Wolff & Holmes (2011) failed to focus their attention on the possibility of other factors that may have implications on how people speaking the different languages think differently. What is more, it is evident that the authors focused on the meddling influence of language in terms of color, motion, augmentation, number, special relations, category learning, and false belief understanding. However, it is debatable all other factors could also have an influence on the meddling effect.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is high credibility in terms of how the article presents arguments that supporting the Whorfian hypothesis that people who speak the same language have a similar way of thinking. However, there are many questions regarding the believability of this hypothesis because the research does not consider other factors that that influence the human thinking system. Therefore, it is evident that there is need for deeper and wider researcher on the extent to which language and thing are correlated.
References
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Pecher, D., & Zwaan, R. A. (2005). Grounding cognition: The role of perception and action in memory, language, and thinking. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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Wolff, P., & Holmes, K. J. (May 01, 2011). Linguistic relativity. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2, 3, 253-265.
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