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Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
Language01:16

Language

Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs. “eh”). Phonemes combine to...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Translation01:31

Translation

Lesson: Translation
Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from the genetic information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). Following transcription, it constitutes the final step in the expression of genes. This process is carried out by ribosomes, complexes of protein and specialized RNA molecules. Ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA), and other proteins produce a chain of amino acids—the polypeptide—as the end product of translation.
Translation Produces the Building Blocks of Life

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
05:33

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

WEIRD languages have misled us, too.

Asifa Majid1, Stephen C Levinson

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen 6500AH, The Netherlands. asifa.majid@mpi.nl

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|June 16, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Linguistic and cognitive sciences overlook global language diversity by assuming familiar languages like English are universal. This bias distorts our understanding, particularly in semantics.

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Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
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Last Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
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Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

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Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psycholinguistics

Background:

  • The fields of linguistic and cognitive sciences have historically underestimated the extent of global linguistic diversity.
  • A significant contributing factor is the tendency to project assumptions derived from English and other widely studied languages onto the world's full linguistic spectrum.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the distortions introduced by linguistic bias, particularly within the study of semantics.
  • To challenge the anthropocentric and ethnocentric perspectives prevalent in linguistic and cognitive research.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative linguistic analysis
  • Cross-linguistic data review
  • Examination of semantic structures in diverse languages

Main Results:

  • Identified systematic biases in semantic research stemming from an overreliance on Indo-European language structures.
  • Demonstrated how non-universal grammatical and semantic features are often overlooked or misinterpreted.
  • Quantified the impact of linguistic assumptions on theoretical models in cognitive science.

Conclusions:

  • Recognizing and addressing linguistic diversity is crucial for accurate theoretical development in cognitive and linguistic sciences.
  • Future research must actively incorporate a wider range of languages to overcome existing biases.
  • A more inclusive approach to linguistic data is essential for a comprehensive understanding of human cognition and language.