Language and thought

"I think, therefore I am."

- Descartes

Or should it rather be 'I am, therefore I think'? Today I would like to write about how thinking influences language and how these two aspects are interconnected. In dictionary terms, thinking is the process of processing information, which involves encoding, storing, extracting, and, finally, going beyond the limits of the information provided (reflection). Language, in the words of philosopher Wilhelm von Humboldt, is "the organ of shaping thought".

You see, thinking is how we process information, and language is the tool that shapes our thoughts. They are inextricably connected. Language, as a symbolic system used to communicate and convey information, not only plays an important role in social interactions, but also in shaping our perception of the world and our beliefs and values.

Language influences thinking at different levels:

• At a basic level, the words and grammatical structures of language allow us to organize and categorize our experiences and express our thoughts.

• At a more advanced level, language enables us to create abstract concepts, such as time, causality, or moral values, which are essential for analyzing complex situations and making decisions.

I find the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis intriguing, which posits that the structure of language influences the way its users perceive reality. This theory has two main components:

• Linguistic relativism assumes that different languages have different classification systems, which leads to differences in how their users perceive reality.

• Linguistic determinism, on the other hand, suggests that the structure of language can constrain or shape the way people think and perceive the world.

This theory aligns with Humboldt's conception of language, who believed that language imposes a certain structure within which our perception and understanding of reality are formed. In this view, understanding the world isn't just about taking in what's already there, but it's an active thinking process guided by the way language is structured. The philosopher also argued that every nation and community co-creates their language, thereby shaping its culture.

Humboldt's considerations are applicable to research conducted by Benjamin Lee Whorf, who in 1936 described in his 'Model of the Native American Universe' the effect of the verb-use system of the Hopi language on the Native Americans' understanding of time and space. He described the Hopi language as "a language devoid of time, non-temporal (not time-determined)." In this language, verbs don't talk about past, present, or future; there are none of these three terms in this language. Instead, they focus on the speaker's intentions like events, predictions, and general ideas.

Franz Boas, studying the Eskimo-Aleut languages, drew attention to the diversity of vocabulary related to snow. His hypothesis, often referred to as 'Inuit snow terminology', concerned the number of word stems describing snow, which were supposed to be much higher than in languages such as English.While the number of core words for snow in Eskimo-Aleut languages isn't fundamentally different from English, the ability to modify these core words in various ways allows for a greater range of descriptions.

"The limits of my language determine the limits of my world."

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

This is because the Inuit, living in regions with harsh climates where snow is common and comes in different forms, need a more precise vocabulary to describe different types of snow, its consistency, or weather conditions.

This need for a more precise vocabulary results in a variety of terms for snow found in Eskimo-Aleut languages, such as soft, newly fallen, airy, wet, hard, ice-covered, or covered by a blizzard, among others. This rich terminology allows the Inuit to better understand and predict weather conditions and snow behavior, which is crucial for their daily life, such as when hunting, traveling, or building shelters. This concept of language shaping our understanding of the world can be further exemplified by considering bilingual and multilingual individuals.

Bilingual and multilingual individuals provide an interesting perspective on the relationship between language and thought. These individuals can navigate and think in multiple languages, which often results in a more nuanced understanding of the world. Their ability to switch between languages and understand various cultural contexts may enable them to perceive and interpret situations differently than monolingual speakers, much like how the Inuit's specialized vocabulary for snow influences their perception and interaction with their environment.

In conclusion, the links between language and thinking are undeniable. Philosophers and linguists, such as Wilhelm von Humboldt, Benjamin Lee Whorf, and Franz Boas, have studied the influence of language on our perception of the world, demonstrating that the structure of language affects the way we think and experience reality. The examples of Hopi and Eskimo-Aleut languages illustrate how linguistic diversity can affect the perception of aspects of reality, such as time or natural phenomena like snow.