Does the language we speak shape how we think?

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

1. Do you think in words or in images?
2. Do you ever think in English?
3. Does your mother tongue give you a different view of the world?
4. Which English word does not exist in your language?
5. Have you noticed that different languages divide the world differently?
6. If you had grown up in another country, would you be a different person?

Read each word and the example. Then say a sentence about language and thought.

Choose the word that fits.

1. Our of colour may depend partly on the words we have for it.
2. The that language shapes thought has been debated for decades.
3. There is little to support the strong version of the theory.
4. Grammar divides nouns into , such as masculine and feminine.
5. Navy is a dark of blue.
6. Babies can between sounds that adults no longer hear.
7. Each in the study had to name the colours as quickly as possible.
8. The results were not enough to prove the claim.

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

1. perception is the way you
   travel abroadsee and understand thingspay your bills
2. a hypothesis is an idea that must be
   forgottentestedtranslated
3. evidence is
   a strong opinionfacts that show something is truea kind of exam
4. spatial = connected with
   time and moneysound and tastespace and position
5. a mother tongue is the
   language of your countryfirst language you learnlanguage of your job
6. robust =
   hard to readstrong and reliablevery old

Use these phrases to weigh evidence and to speculate.

• There is some evidence that...Є певні докази того, що...There is some evidence that language affects memory.
• The findings suggest that...Результати свідчать, що...The findings suggest that colour words matter.
• If I had grown up..., I would...Якби я виріс..., я б...If I had grown up abroad, I would feel more at home in English.
• If I spoke..., I would have...Якби я говорив..., я б...If I spoke French, I would have studied in Paris.
• That's hard to prove.Це важко довести.That's hard to prove with a small study.
• I'm not convinced that...Я не переконаний, що...I'm not convinced that language controls thought.
• It may well be that...Цілком можливо, що...It may well be that both views are partly right.
• What this suggests is...Це свідчить про те, що...What this suggests is that the effect is small.

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

1. Most researchers still accept the strong version of linguistic relativity.
   TrueFalse
2. Greek has separate basic words for light blue and dark blue.
   TrueFalse
3. The experiment found a very large difference between Greek and English speakers.
   TrueFalse
4. Some studies have failed to repeat the original results.
   TrueFalse
5. The text says language is the only influence on thought.
   TrueFalse

1. Which of your habits of thought come from your language?
2. Would your personality be different if you had grown up abroad?
3. Why is it hard to prove that language shapes thought?
4. Is it useful to know two languages for thinking?

Common mistakes: in a mixed conditional keep the two parts consistent in time: If + past perfect, would + infinitive (past cause, present result) or If + past simple, would have + past participle (present state, past result). ✗ If I had grown up bilingual, I would have found it easier now → I would find it easier now. ✗ If I spoke Greek, I would notice earlier → I would have noticed earlier.

1. If I
   had grown upgrew up
   bilingual, I would find languages easier now.
2. If she
   had studiedstudied
   linguistics, she would understand the debate better.
3. If I
   spokehad spoken
   Greek, I would have noticed the difference earlier.
4. If he
   had beenwere
   more patient, he would have finished the study.
5. If they had grown up there, they
   would have spokenwould speak
   the language now.
6. If they
   didn't movehadn't moved
   abroad as children, they would speak only Polish now.
7. If we had asked more people, our results
   would bewould have been
   more reliable now.
8. If she
   hadn't beenweren't
   so shy, she would have asked the question.

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

1. If I had grown up bilingual, I would have found it easier now. →
2. If I spoke Greek, I would notice earlier. →
3. If she studied linguistics, she would understand better now. →
4. If he was more patient, he would have finished. →
5. If they had lived abroad, they would speak better. →
6. If I would have known more, I would have joined the study. →

Answer in detail. Use mixed conditionals and hedging.

1. If you had grown up in another country, how would your life be different now?
2. If you spoke another language fluently, what would you have done differently?
3. Which word in your mother tongue does English not have?
4. Do you think about your own language differently since you started English?
5. Is there any evidence from your own life that language shapes thought?
6. Which examples in this lesson convinced you most? Which convinced you least?

Three people discuss whether language shapes thought. Compare them. Who accepts the strong version of the idea? Who is the most cautious? Whose view is closest to yours?

Your teacher will time you.

1. Plan for one minute, then speak for one or two minutes.
2. Part 1: explain the idea that language shapes thought, in your own words.
3. Part 2: give one example or piece of evidence, with careful language.
4. Part 3: use a mixed conditional to say how your life would differ if you had grown up speaking another language.

1. Do you think in words or in pictures?
2. Which language do you count in?
3. Do you think differently in English?
4. What words does your language have that English lacks?
5. What would you have studied if you had spoken another language?
6. Which colour words does your language have?
7. Do you dream in your mother tongue?
8. Do you think the study of languages is useful?

1. Who in your family speaks two languages?
2. Who first showed you that other languages see the world differently?
3. Who do you know with a strong sense of direction?
4. Who argues about the meaning of words?
5. Who would be a good participant in a language experiment?
6. Who corrects your pronunciation?

1. Can language limit what we can think?
2. Should every child learn at least two languages?
3. Is it possible to think without language?
4. Does grammar affect the way we act?
5. Are experiments with language reliable?