As you view this lecture, identify at least 6 statements that strike you or you relate to at a personal level.
[10:42] Dr. Boroditsky mentions a quote from Jerry Fodor that he hates relativism more than he hates anything else. Jerry detests relativism as the language they speak can shape and influence our thinking. It makes me ponder on what language my thoughts are conducted in. As someone who speaks mandarin, English and is learning Korean, I realize I often think in English even though I am speaking another language. Even while speaking mandarin to my parents, I am directly translating English to mandarin instead of thinking of solely mandarin.
[29:37] Dr. Boroditsky mentions that in the English language, there is no strong distinction between an accident and an intentional accident. The language of “he broke the vase” does not distinguish if the action of breaking the vase was intentional or an accident. It relates to myself on a personal level as with my second language of mandarin, there are often a multitude of describing words that are just not available in the English language. For example, there are four ways (of level of fullness) to say you are full after a meal. The level of distribution among languages can differ significantly.
[35:35] Dr. Boroditsky mentions that numbers are culturally different at times too. We may assume numbers are universal and they are all the same but from my personal experience, I do not feel that between my two languages of English and Mandarin. When talking with my family about big numbers, in the mandarin language, our base number is 10,000 so we do not say ten thousand we just say the base number. It often takes me time to translate it to English since the base numbers are different. I have to do simple math to understand the number in a different language and it can be frustrating at times.
Another thought I had when talking about cultural differences is an episode of Kim’s Convenience where a Korean and Indian man were discussing what sound a frog makes. As they grew up in different cultures, the mimicking sounds they made of frogs were different as well. One would say “ribbit” while the other would say “croak croak”.
[45:09] Dr. Boroditsky mentions that linguistic diversity is a testament to the incredible flexibility and ingenuity of the human mind. I recall a study where multilingualism can often influence other areas of human intellect such as enhancing cognitive abilities, improved communication skills and brain plasticity. Others study conclude that speaking and understanding multiple languages does not necessarily make one more intelligent.
[50:45] Dr. Boroditsky mentions that translation between languages will most likely lose or change some of its meaning. It mentions in times of translation between languages, there may be a third language involved due to logistics. It made me ponder on the importance of truly understanding a language and how no language may truly be understood completely. I also wonder how language was learned when someone first encountered it. For example, an unknown culture has been revealed to the world, what is the process of communicating with the culture? Dr. Boroditsky also jokes on how even when two speak the same language, they often has miscommunication (marriages haha).
[58:59] A member in the audience asked what conclusions may occur when a person who speaks a language learns English as their second language. Dr. Boroditsky responds that there has been research on that topic and one conclusion is that the way the person speaks their native language adjusts and their thinking adjusts too. For myself, I did learn second as my second language however it did become my native language so there are some differences to the question. I experienced similar results to what Dr. Boroditsky mentioned where the way I speak mandarin has evolved. I try to add more emotion to my sentences to convey my personal thoughts while in my experience with others who mainly only speak mandarin if there are more statement focused. Instead of saying “I think” or “I believe”, they will often say “it is” and “It says” kind of feeling.
Considering all you have read and experienced to this point, try to make explicit connections with what Dr. Boroditsky is saying.
Dr. Lera Boroditsky’s concepts and conclusions based on her extensive research and observation is truly fascinating and it made me feel connected on a deeper level. My initial thought after the readings and the video was that the way she spoke made me feel she had a deep understanding of language. Her thoughts were so articulate and her flow was natural. As a music teacher, I often call music the universal language to my students. It is the language that can connect the world and something that is shared among all cultures. After the readings and lecture my views have been altered slightly. I still believe that music is the universal language of the world however everyone’s interpretation of music is different. The meaning and purpose of music changes from culture to culture. I felt this as many of the concepts brought by Dr. Boroditsky related to my bilingual lifestyle. My thinking process is often adjusting based on the language I speak. For example the frog difference in one of my statements where the Korean man and Indian man understood the sound of a frog as a different word. I believe music may be the same. In western music we often associate certain pitch intervals with emotions however in eastern societies, music is completely different. Different pitch intervals and tonalities are utilized to convey emotions. In fact, some cultures don’t even have 12 standard pitches to utilize in the creation of music. Culture and the thought process of language have a huge influence on the way we interpret knowledge and understanding. One of my all time favorite pieces is Mt.Everest by Rossane Galante as the piece makes me feel as if I am climbing the mountain through its melodic motifs. I wonder if this piece was performed for non-western cultures, if it would convey a similar emotion to myself. Language is finicky but once you understand that, Dr. Boroditsky mentions that we understand how our thoughts are shaped. Understanding language makes us smarter and it also reduces cognitive entropy. There are so many languages in the order and it feels like untapped knowledge that we should tap into. They are cognitive tools that can unlock a whole new world of understanding.
References:
Boroditsky, L. (2011). How Language Shapes Thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62–65. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26002395
Diamond, J. (2010). The benefits of multilingualism. Science, 330(6002), 332-333.