Culture and Language

Pemikiran merujuk kepada suatu yang difikirkan dan dicernakan dalam bentuk idea, saranan atau konsep yang boleh dilakukan atau dilaksanakan sehingga bangsa itu memiliki dan mewarisi pemikiran itu (Aziz Deraman, 2007)

The other side of the argument, known as the universalist hypothesis, suggests that thought determines language. This means that we have concepts and categories in our minds that we then try to express through language. For example, we all have the concept of "blue", and we all have words to express this concept, regardless of what language we speak. This suggests that language is simply a tool we use to communicate our thoughts, and that it does not shape our thoughts themselves.

The truth is likely somewhere in between these two extremes. Language and thought are not independent of each other, but they do not determine each other either. They are constantly influencing each other in a complex and dynamic way.

Here are some examples of how language can influence thought:

Language can limit our ability to think about certain concepts. For example, if a language does not have a word for "blue", it may be difficult for speakers of that language to think about the concept of blue.

Language can lead us to think in certain ways. For example, if a language always frames a particular event in a negative light, this may lead speakers of that language to think about that event in a negative way as well.

Here are some examples of how thought can influence language:

Our thoughts can influence the way we speak. For example, if we are thinking about something sad, we may be more likely to use words that are associated with sadness.

Our thoughts can influence the words we choose to use. For example, if we are trying to persuade someone to do something, we may be more likely to use words that are associated with persuasion.

Overall, the relationship between thought and language is complex and fascinating. It is an area that is still being actively researched, and there is still much that we do not understand. However, it is clear that language and thought are not independent of each other, and that they are constantly influencing each other in a way that shapes our understanding of the world. [Group 4]

Group 3: Language determines thought

Language is more than just item labels. We may communicate intricate concepts and thoughts to others through language, both in writing and speech. We may also elicit emotion, creativity, and action through words (Zagada, 2020)

Link: https://www.gofluent.com/us-en/blog/how-language-affects-the-way-we-think/

Group 3

When we speak one language, we agree that words are representations of ideas, people, places, and events. The given language that children learn is connected to their culture and surroundings.

The relationship between thought and language is dynamic; while our thoughts influence the language we use, the language we speak also shapes and channels our thoughts. It's a reciprocal connection where one influences the other. For example, Imagine someone who speaks multiple languages fluently. Depending on the language they are using, their thought patterns and expression may vary. For instance, we might feel more expressive or emotionally connected when using one language compared to another, showcasing how their thoughts are influenced by the specific language they are using at the moment.

GROUP 3- THE SAPIR WHORF HYPOTHESIS

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also known as linguistic relativity, refers to the idea that the language a person speaks can influence their worldview, thought and even how they experience and understand the world.

According to research, thought comes before language. A child is born with the ability to think about objects before they learn language. Although thought comes first, the language an individual speaks influences their mind and ability to interact with the world around them.( Langford. L & Muscato. C). 2022.

Group 2

The linguistic relativity hypothesis, the proposal that the particular language we speak influences the way we think about reality, forms one part of the broader question of how language influences thought.

Group 2

the Sapir - Whorf hypothesis claims that people from different cultures think differently because of difference in their languages. - GROUP 1

Please divided into 4 groups (2 each).

Group 1&3 language determine thoughts

Group 2 & 4 Our thoughts determine language.

Please find evidences to support your statements.

Group 2:

Language tu medium (method) penyampaian je

-adiela

Thought -> disampaikan melalui Language

 Soalan: Thoughts dulu atau Language dulu?

Answer: Thoughts dulu baru language

Group 2

1. According to Piaget, children undergo distinct stages of cognitive development, from sensorimotor (0-2 years) to formal operational (12+ years). His theory emphasizes that children progress through these stages by interacting with their environment and constructing mental representations of the world.

In the preoperational stage (2-7 years), children develop symbolic thinking but lack logical reasoning. They exhibit egocentrism, symbolic play, and language development. However, their thought processes precede their language abilities. Children think in terms of mental images, symbols, and intuitive thoughts before acquiring language to express these ideas.

This theory suggests that cognitive development, including thoughts, occurs before and during the period when language skills are being acquired. It implies that thoughts form the basis upon which language is built, indicating that thoughts precede and drive language development.

2. Meaning and mind: Wittgenstein’s relevance for the

‘Does Language Shape Thought?’ debate by Diane Proudfoot

doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2008.04.012

According to Pinker:

- There are many ways in which language connects to thought, some banal, some radical. . The radical versions are the ones that excite people but the boring versions are the ones consistent with the discoveries (2007, p. 126)

- On Pinker’s version of the connection between language and thought, language does not shape thought in any philosophically interesting sense. In this paper I have argued that Pinker’s account is remarkably Lockean, despite his opposition to Locke. In addition, it is vulnerable to Wittgenstein’s powerful criticisms of the ‘accompanying picture’. For Wittgenstein, language shapes thought, in a fundamental sense. Wittgenstein’s account is very different from Pinker’s characterisation of it. It is consistent with the ‘discoveries’ Pinker cites, and easily survives Pinker’s other criticisms of ‘radical’ approaches to the relation between language and thought.

Adiela Amiera.

Group 4

Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development

According to Piaget's theory, language is preceded by and depends on thought. Before children can use words correctly they need to first develop an understanding of the concepts behind them. This occurs through the development of schem

Thought and cognition also shape language. Our mental representations and concepts can Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development

influence how we use language and what we communicate. For example, if we have a concept of "justice" in our minds, we are likely to use words like "fairness," "equality," and "impartiality" to express it (Qoura.com)

Language provide the framework for an individual's conscious and subconscious thought. However thought comes first before language. The language an individual speak influens mind and ability to interact. For example, children are not born with language but they born with the instinct to learn language.

Group 4

Group 3

Language determines thought.

The founder of the Sapir Whorf hypothesis had worked as an investigator in a fire insurance company. He found that workers are more careless around gasoline drums being "empty" as they define it as being "null or void" when "empty" in this case could refer to "applied in analysis of situations without regard to, e.g. vapor or liquid vestiges in the contain". So in essence, the "empty" drums may still be dangerous and require careful handling. But since the workers think of "empty" as a safe drum with nothing in it, instead of potentially having the gas remains, they tend to make mistakes.

So Whorf concluded that language has a huge influence in thought.

Zhao, J., & Yue, Z. (2019) Language: the Basis of Thought. 7th International Education, Economics, Social Science, Arts, Sports and Management Engineering Conference.

The results have been mixed. In most cases, human thought and action are overdetermined by an array of causes, so the structure of language may not play a central causal role. Linguistic determinism can best be demonstrated in situations in which language is the principal means of drawing people's attention to a particular aspect of experience. For example, if you regularly speak a language in which you must pick a form of second-person address (you) that marks your social relationship to your interlocutor—such as Spanish tu ('you' for friends and family and for those socially subordinate) vs. usted ('you' for those socially above in status or for those with whom you have no close connection) or French tu versus vous—you must categorize every person you talk to in terms of the relevant social dimensions. (Bernard Comrie,n.d)

Jean Piaget said that children need to understand a concept before they can acquire the particular language from which expresses the concept

focus on first stage which is sensorimotor (0-2 y/o)

Evidence for thought determining language

There is some evidence to suggest that thought determines language. For example, studies have shown that people have difficulty naming objects or colors if they do not have the appropriate words in their language. This suggests that language is necessary to represent and access certain thoughts.

Additionally, bilinguals often report that they think about the world in different ways depending on the language they are speaking. This suggests that language can shape our thoughts and perceptions of the world. [Group 4]

 (Chomsky 2000: 125). On this view, then, linguistic expressions provide a perspective (in the form of a conceptual structure) on the world, for it is only via language that certain perspectives are available to us and to our thought processes. This is the sense in which I take language to be an instrument of thought

-group 1-

Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about

group 3

Group 4

Piaget's theory - language is preceded by and depends on thought. Before children can use words correctly they need to first develop an understanding of the concepts behind them

Humberto Maturana

"Contruction of reality"

- Mind cannot be understood without and outside of language -

group 3

GROUP 3

" the idea is born,becomes an object and returns, perceived anew such, into the subjective mind. For this, language is inevitable"- Humboldt.

Implying that without language we would be thoughtless even mindless.

Henry Sweet, an English phonetician and language scholar, stated: “Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into thoughts.”

Group 1

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also known as linguistic relativity, refers to the idea that the language a person speaks can influence their worldview, thought, and even how they experience and understand the world.

Group 1

Others have examined such issues as the continuing and increasingly subtle ways in which sexism, or racist suppression or misrepresentation of ethnic minorities are sustanined through the ways language is used in the media or in public documents. - GROUP 1

An existing impasse in the study of this relationship (i.e., between language and mind) cannot be overcome as long as the problem itself is not reformulated to rid it of the intrinsically dualistic assumption that there is, in fact, a phenomenon called ‘language’ that is ontologically independent of the phenomenon called ‘mind.’ […] mind cannot be understood without and outside of language. (Kravchenko, 2011, p. 355) - GROUP 1