Task 2: How Languages Shape The Way We Think?
SAR School for Advanced Research. (2017, June 7). Lera Boroditsky, how the languages we speak shape the way we think [Video]. YouTube.
SAR School for Advanced Research. (2017, June 7). Lera Boroditsky, how the languages we speak shape the way we think [Video]. YouTube.
Hi April,
Thank you for sharing your connections so thoughtfully. Your comment about counting in another language resonated with me. Like you, I too count in Chinese! Growing up, I learned multiplication/timetables in Cantonese, so instinctively I would count and complete computations in Chinese. Like your experience, I never knew why but noticed I did that. I wonder in what ways has this changed or influenced our thinking if language plays a significant role in shaping our way of thinking? The workshop you mentioned regarding counting in English versus in Mandarin intrigues me. It does seem like counting in Chinese may be easier, but once the numbers get bigger such as 1000, 10,000, and 100,000 it gets confusing. Like in Chinese, why is 10,000 said as 一万/一萬 and not as ten thousand like in English and so forth? I’ve had this discussion with my brother before and agreed that this confused us when we were young. What was your experience was like?
Lucy
Hi Lucy,
I often think about how language shapes our thinking, especially because counting numbers in Mandarin feels more natural to me. However, as you pointed out, I still struggle with larger numbers! After 10,000, I tend to use direct English translations, which aren’t correct terms at all, but they work when I communicate with my mom about it. Despite this, I don’t feel confident negotiating numbers with others in Chinese would go well for me. One tricky aspect is percentages-where in Chinese, it’s reversed (e.g., 80% off is 20%). I’ll never forget when I tried to negotiate a better deal but accidentally decreased the percentage off because of this reversal! I’ve certainly learned from that experience.