Does Language Affect Our View of the World?

Although there is no specific date to place the birth of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (or whorfianism), it is fundamentally associated with the 1920s to 1940s. It gets its name from the linguists Edward Sapir, who originally formulated it, and Benjamin Lee Whorf, who further developed it. The theory asserts that the structure of a language has an indelible impact on its speakers' worldview, as well as their cognition.

A Closer View of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Linguistic relativity, aka the above-mentioned hypothesis, suggests that people who speak different languages comprehend and think about the world differently. As is expected, this theory has led to many debates and consequent research, since it essentially challenges our understanding of the relationship between thought, language, and culture. Let us take a look at how it works.

Basically, if a language has countless words for the same concept, speakers may notice and think about this concept more than those with fewer terms.

A famous example of this is that Inuit Languages have multiple words for various types of snow, as a result of the environment in which the languages developed. These linguistic differences might enable their speakers to observe and understand subtle differences in snow conditions much better than those who speak languages with fewer snow-related terms. This makes sense if you think about it- it is a linguistic adaptation that developed in response to natural surroundings.

Another, even more intricate example is some languages separate present and future tenses while others do not. In languages that do not have this distinction, the future seems closer  and therefore the speakers behave differently. They save more money, they retire with more savings, they eat healthier, and they exercise more. A few examples of languages where future and present are not separate are German, Japanese, and Dutch, and each of these countries ranks highly in financial and physical health metrics.  

On the contrary, native speakers of languages that distinguish heavily between present and future do not save as much money, do not think ahead about their retirement options, and pay less attention to wellbeing in their younger years. Three examples of these languages and their corresponding populations are: Castilian Spanish, French, and Greek.

These are prime examples of linguistic relativity, or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. 

Cognitive Processes Affected by Language

In addition to the examples above, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis extends to broader cognitive processes as well. It suggests that language influences decision-making, memory, problem-solving, and other cognitive outputs. For example, extensive research has shown that bilingual individuals can produce different patterns of thought depending on the language they are using at the time. If we consider language to be a lens for how we interpret the world, this makes total sense. 

This fascinating cognitive flexibility emphasizes how language can form thought processes and change our approach to different situations, underlining the connection between linguistic structures and cognitive functions.

Language is Not a Lonely Human Trait

In view of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, it is evident that language is only one part of the cultural baggage that each society carries with them. It comes together with popular history, art, geography, gastronomy, and other features of each social group. As a result, it could be argued that the way in which people interpret and interact with their surroundings is affected not only by language, but by all the above-mentioned characteristics and many more. 

We become who we are individually and collectively as part of our life processes, within our specific times and locations. This context, undoubtedly, includes our language, as language is perhaps the most crucial aspect of cultural identity and social interaction.