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Published on: April 1, 2016
Does language shape thought? Mandarin and English speakers' conceptions of time
1Department of Psychology, Stanford University, CA 94305-2130, USA. lera@psych.stanford.edu
Cognitive Psychology
|August 7, 2001
Summary
Language influences how we perceive abstract concepts like time. Mandarin speakers, who use vertical time metaphors, show a vertical thinking bias, unlike English speakers. This highlights language
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests language influences thought.
- Cross-linguistic differences in temporal metaphors (horizontal in English, vertical in Mandarin) may impact cognitive processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if linguistic differences in time conceptualization affect how speakers think about time.
- To explore the role of bilingualism and language learning in shaping temporal cognition.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted comparing English and Mandarin speakers.
- Studies involved reaction time tasks measuring vertical vs. horizontal time judgments.
- Investigated bilinguals' age of acquisition and trained English speakers in vertical time metaphors.
Main Results:
- Mandarin speakers demonstrated a vertical time bias, influenced by recent visual cues.
- English speakers showed a horizontal bias, with the reverse pattern observed.
- Bilinguals' vertical thinking correlated with their age of English acquisition.
- Trained English speakers adopted vertical time thinking patterns.
Conclusions:
- Language significantly shapes habitual thought about abstract domains.
- Native language influences temporal cognition, but does not rigidly determine it.
- The study supports a nuanced view of linguistic relativity, not strict linguistic determinism.
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