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BBI15 Introduction to psycholinguistics
Assignment topic Language and thought
1. Introduction
Language and thought, these are the two distinct abilities possessed by human . These two unique abilities had enabled man to be more superior than any other living things in this world.
Cheap Custom Essays on Language and thought
What actually are language and thought? Are they closely related?
Language does not exist in a vacuum. We use it for a variety of purpose and it is therefore molded by many factors. As it is used for transmitting ideas, its structures and function must reflect the ideas. Because it must be spoken and understood easily, its structure and function must be within the limitation of our
psychological and processing capacities.
As people from different social and cultural backgrounds are using language
for communication, these forces molds Its structure and function too. But once it is acquired and used, language wields a power of its own. As it is affected and molded by the above factors, so language affects and molds people's daily lives.
Language helps us to think about something and stops us from thinking of others.
To put this in simple terms, the whole argument is like two sides of the coins. Is it reality , that means the world and the whole experience of living, that gives us the words and the sentences that make up our language, or is it the words and the sentences that are in our language that maks us reality in the way we do? It is a question that is quite difficult to answer.
1
. What is language?
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-
Ilanguage (of a country) is the speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country where as
iilanguage (of communication) is the device used by humans to communicate with each other. In other word, it is a system of sounds and words used for communicating and to encode and deliver thought and ideas.
iiiAccording to Sociolinguistics written by R.A Hudson 1, language is a body of knowledge or rules.
. What is thought?
iAccording to the Essential Activator, Longman, thought is something that you think.
IiAccording to the book ,Sociolinguistics written by R.A Hudson, 1, the term thought covers a number of different types of mental activity, and lies in the province of cognitive psychology.
4.Language and thought
It seems evident that there is a close relation between
language and thought . Everyday experience suggests that most of our thinking is facilitated by language.
Is there a clear identity between the two?
Is it possible to think without language?
Does language dictate the ways in which we are able to think?
A simple answer is certainly not possible but at least we can be clear about the main factors which may give rise to the complication.
4.1The relationships between language and thought
Many kinds of behavior have been referred to as thinking, but not all of them require us to posit a relationship with language.
The thinking which seems to involve language is the reasoned thinking which takes place as we as we work out problems, tell stories, plan strategies and others. It has been called "rational? "directed? or
"propositional?thinking. It involves elements that are both deductive and inductive.
For this kind of thinking, language seems to be very important. The formal properties of language, such as word order any sentence sequencing, constitute the medium in which our connected thoughts can be presented and organized.
Let us now turn to the question of LD (language determination).
To what extent, and in what ways, does language determine thought this question is normally answered with reference to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, according to which language determines thought to a very great extent and in many ways.
4.What the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has to say about language and thought
The 'Sapir-Whorf?hypothesis combines two principles.
The linguistic determination (which states that language determines the way we think) and linguistic relativity (state that the distinctions encoded in one language are not found in any other language)
English speakers having one word for carrying things, in contrast with the malay language, where there are different words for carrying things-
i. junjung (carrying on the head)
ii. Bimbit/pegang(carry for example handphonein the hand)
iii. jinjing (carry for example handbag in the hand)
iv. pikul (carry on the shoulder)
v. tanggung (two person carrying one thing)
most famous quotation that whorf (140) had laid out, whorf is talking about how our thinking is affected by the grammar of our language.
In other words, the only kind of experience that influences our
thought processes is linguistic experience as implied by the phrase linguistic determinism.On the one hand, it claims that our grammar is the only things that influences our thinking---"…?the background linguistic system ……of each language is …… itself the sharper of ideas.?
Sapir and Whorf carried out a hypothesis, which is still alive but controversial over fifty years later. A research project was carried out in the 150's which involved a comparision of English with Navajo.
The general conclusion to which this research points then is that grammar does influence our thinking in ways that go beyond the use of language, but that it is only one of the things that does --- contrary to the extreme view of 'linguistic determinism?
Another more recent research project carried out by John Lucy (Lucy 1b) which supports the same view. The study was carried out over
a decade of work with a community in Mexico whose language is Yucatec Maya.
4
The purpose was to compare the cognitive effects of speaking this language with those of speaking English and specifically the work focused on a very general grammatical difference between the two languages, their treatment of number differences in nouns
In conclusions, it seems that there is good evidence that some
semantic contrasts which are expressed by grammar are also applied outside the strictly linguistic realm of language use.
Whether or not a person applies these contrasts concerned,
so it seems reasonable to assume that language is the cause and the thought-pattern is the effect. In short, language does affect thought
in ways that go beyond the rather obvious effects of specific lexical items .
5.Universals and Relativity
Let's now look at the argument that we had discussed in the introduction part of this assingment.
The two sides of the same argument whether it is the world and the whole experienmce of living , that gives us the words and sentences that make up our language OR is it the words and sentences that are in our language that makes us reality in the way that we do , are termed as linguistis universals and linguistics relativity.
If languages are molded in part by the propositions, physiological and processing capacities and social factors, then they should have certain common features . These are termed LINGUISTIC UNIVERSALS. There will no doubt be differnces from language to language due to different conditions.
5
At the apposite is LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY. If language molds people's lives, it is only logical to deduce that people who speak different languages will think differently. The garo is able to think about rice in more ways than any European simply because they have more words for rice. What Whorf claims (language influence thought, i.e. how you perceive and organize your reality ) is infact a very important statement about the relation between language and thought.
However, we just cannot consider linguistic relativity without condidering universals. If we were to describe three shirts, we can't do so without presupposing that they are made of cloth. We can talk about differences in colour, texture, sleeve length etc. Differences can only be described with respect to canstancies. The same is true for languages. As we have stated that the Garo has more words (nouns) for rice than European. But to state this presupposes that both languages have nouns. It would seem then that linguistic relativity presupposes linguistics universals.
Linguistics universals have a direct link to languages and is therefore worth further study. In a world that is getting smaller each day, language as a communication tool has taken immense importance. This is especially true for "global?language like English. It follows then that teaching and learning this language are important pursuits. Towards finding an efficient and effective way of teaching and learning languages, examining linguistics universals could shed some useful light. The differences in language definitely have obvious limits. Every human language, because it is used by humans living on earth, must
?be learned by children
?be spoken and understood by adults easily and efficiently
?contain the ideas people normally want to convey
?function as a communication system
6
From the points above, we may find that it is not difficult to list down the common features in all human languages. If we know what is common to all languages, it might be possible to describe what is inherent in human ability to speak, understand and acquire language. If these linguistic universals could be delineated, learning a foreign language may not be that difficult anymore as each of us would already have common , basic structures and processing capacities.
6.Conclusion
Whether language is influenced by thought or whether it is thought that is influenced by language, the debate is still going on. This debate has acquired greater significance in the world that we live in now due to the advances in technology in the world that has made global communication an everyday occurrence. No matter what it is, what is important is we know that learning more than one language is advantageous; consequently, second and foreign language pedagogy has received much focus. Knowing what underlines all languages would help greatly in their teaching. And perhaps , for individuals or students like us, we will be able to widen our horizons and be more successful in life..
REFERENCES
1.Aitchison, Jean. 18. The Articulate Mammal An Introduction to Psycholinguistics(Forth Edition). London Routledge
.Steinberg, Danny D. 1. An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London
Longman.
.R.A. Hudson .1. Siciolinguistics(second edition), Cambridge University Press
4Sharifah Zainab Syed Abd. Rahman 001 The Module for BBI15 Introduction To Psycholinguistics. Universiti Putra Malaysia.
7
CONTENT PAGE
1.Introduction1
.What is language ?
.What is thought ?
4.Language and thought
4.1The relationship between language and thought
4.What the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has to say about
language and thought
5.Universals and Relativity5
6.Conclusion7
BBI15 Introduction to psycholinguistics
Assignment topic Language and thought
1. Introduction
Language and thought, these are the two distinct abilities possessed by human . These two unique abilities had enabled man to be more superior than any other living things in this world.
What actually are language and thought? Are they closely related?
Language does not exist in a vacuum. We use it for a variety of purpose and it is therefore molded by many factors. As it is used for transmitting ideas, its structures and function must reflect the ideas. Because it must be spoken and understood easily, its structure and function must be within the limitation of our
psychological and processing capacities.
As people from different social and cultural backgrounds are using language
for communication, these forces molds Its structure and function too. But once it is acquired and used, language wields a power of its own. As it is affected and molded by the above factors, so language affects and molds people's daily lives.
Language helps us to think about something and stops us from thinking of others.
To put this in simple terms, the whole argument is like two sides of the coins. Is it reality , that means the world and the whole experience of living, that gives us the words and the sentences that make up our language, or is it the words and the sentences that are in our language that maks us reality in the way we do? It is a question that is quite difficult to answer.
1
. What is language?
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-
Ilanguage (of a country) is the speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country where as
iilanguage (of communication) is the device used by humans to communicate with each other. In other word, it is a system of sounds and words used for communicating and to encode and deliver thought and ideas.
iiiAccording to Sociolinguistics written by R.A Hudson 1, language is a body of knowledge or rules.
. What is thought?
iAccording to the Essential Activator, Longman, thought is something that you think.
IiAccording to the book ,Sociolinguistics written by R.A Hudson, 1, the term thought covers a number of different types of mental activity, and lies in the province of cognitive psychology.
4.Language and thought
It seems evident that there is a close relation between
language and thought . Everyday experience suggests that most of our thinking is facilitated by language.
Is there a clear identity between the two?
Is it possible to think without language?
Does language dictate the ways in which we are able to think?
A simple answer is certainly not possible but at least we can be clear about the main factors which may give rise to the complication.
4.1The relationships between language and thought
Many kinds of behavior have been referred to as thinking, but not all of them require us to posit a relationship with language.
The thinking which seems to involve language is the reasoned thinking which takes place as we as we work out problems, tell stories, plan strategies and others. It has been called "rational? "directed? or
"propositional?thinking. It involves elements that are both deductive and inductive.
For this kind of thinking, language seems to be very important. The formal properties of language, such as word order any sentence sequencing, constitute the medium in which our connected thoughts can be presented and organized.
Let us now turn to the question of LD (language determination).
To what extent, and in what ways, does language determine thought this question is normally answered with reference to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, according to which language determines thought to a very great extent and in many ways.
4.What the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has to say about language and thought
The 'Sapir-Whorf?hypothesis combines two principles.
The linguistic determination (which states that language determines the way we think) and linguistic relativity (state that the distinctions encoded in one language are not found in any other language)
English speakers having one word for carrying things, in contrast with the malay language, where there are different words for carrying things-
i. junjung (carrying on the head)
ii. Bimbit/pegang(carry for example handphonein the hand)
iii. jinjing (carry for example handbag in the hand)
iv. pikul (carry on the shoulder)
v. tanggung (two person carrying one thing)
most famous quotation that whorf (140) had laid out, whorf is talking about how our thinking is affected by the grammar of our language.
In other words, the only kind of experience that influences our
thought processes is linguistic experience as implied by the phrase linguistic determinism.On the one hand, it claims that our grammar is the only things that influences our thinking---"…?the background linguistic system ……of each language is …… itself the sharper of ideas.?
Sapir and Whorf carried out a hypothesis, which is still alive but controversial over fifty years later. A research project was carried out in the 150's which involved a comparision of English with Navajo.
The general conclusion to which this research points then is that grammar does influence our thinking in ways that go beyond the use of language, but that it is only one of the things that does --- contrary to the extreme view of 'linguistic determinism?
Another more recent research project carried out by John Lucy (Lucy 1b) which supports the same view. The study was carried out over
a decade of work with a community in Mexico whose language is Yucatec Maya.
4
The purpose was to compare the cognitive effects of speaking this language with those of speaking English and specifically the work focused on a very general grammatical difference between the two languages, their treatment of number differences in nouns
In conclusions, it seems that there is good evidence that some
semantic contrasts which are expressed by grammar are also applied outside the strictly linguistic realm of language use.
Whether or not a person applies these contrasts concerned,
so it seems reasonable to assume that language is the cause and the thought-pattern is the effect. In short, language does affect thought
in ways that go beyond the rather obvious effects of specific lexical items .
5.Universals and Relativity
Let's now look at the argument that we had discussed in the introduction part of this assingment.
The two sides of the same argument whether it is the world and the whole experienmce of living , that gives us the words and sentences that make up our language OR is it the words and sentences that are in our language that makes us reality in the way that we do , are termed as linguistis universals and linguistics relativity.
If languages are molded in part by the propositions, physiological and processing capacities and social factors, then they should have certain common features . These are termed LINGUISTIC UNIVERSALS. There will no doubt be differnces from language to language due to different conditions.
5
At the apposite is LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY. If language molds people's lives, it is only logical to deduce that people who speak different languages will think differently. The garo is able to think about rice in more ways than any European simply because they have more words for rice. What Whorf claims (language influence thought, i.e. how you perceive and organize your reality ) is infact a very important statement about the relation between language and thought.
However, we just cannot consider linguistic relativity without condidering universals. If we were to describe three shirts, we can't do so without presupposing that they are made of cloth. We can talk about differences in colour, texture, sleeve length etc. Differences can only be described with respect to canstancies. The same is true for languages. As we have stated that the Garo has more words (nouns) for rice than European. But to state this presupposes that both languages have nouns. It would seem then that linguistic relativity presupposes linguistics universals.
Linguistics universals have a direct link to languages and is therefore worth further study. In a world that is getting smaller each day, language as a communication tool has taken immense importance. This is especially true for "global?language like English. It follows then that teaching and learning this language are important pursuits. Towards finding an efficient and effective way of teaching and learning languages, examining linguistics universals could shed some useful light. The differences in language definitely have obvious limits. Every human language, because it is used by humans living on earth, must
?be learned by children
?be spoken and understood by adults easily and efficiently
?contain the ideas people normally want to convey
?function as a communication system
6
From the points above, we may find that it is not difficult to list down the common features in all human languages. If we know what is common to all languages, it might be possible to describe what is inherent in human ability to speak, understand and acquire language. If these linguistic universals could be delineated, learning a foreign language may not be that difficult anymore as each of us would already have common , basic structures and processing capacities.
6.Conclusion
Whether language is influenced by thought or whether it is thought that is influenced by language, the debate is still going on. This debate has acquired greater significance in the world that we live in now due to the advances in technology in the world that has made global communication an everyday occurrence. No matter what it is, what is important is we know that learning more than one language is advantageous; consequently, second and foreign language pedagogy has received much focus. Knowing what underlines all languages would help greatly in their teaching. And perhaps , for individuals or students like us, we will be able to widen our horizons and be more successful in life..
REFERENCES
1.Aitchison, Jean. 18. The Articulate Mammal An Introduction to Psycholinguistics(Forth Edition). London Routledge
.Steinberg, Danny D. 1. An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London
Longman.
.R.A. Hudson .1. Siciolinguistics(second edition), Cambridge University Press
4Sharifah Zainab Syed Abd. Rahman 001 The Module for BBI15 Introduction To Psycholinguistics. Universiti Putra Malaysia.
7
CONTENT PAGE
1.Introduction1
.What is language ?
.What is thought ?
4.Language and thought
4.1The relationship between language and thought
4.What the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has to say about
language and thought
5.Universals and Relativity5
6.Conclusion7
REFERENCES7
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