Linguistic Relativity: Language and Cognition of Chinese-English Bilinguals
Submission Type
Pre-recorded Research Talk
Area of Study or Work
International Studies, Literature and Culture Studies in English Translation
Faculty Advisor
Chuck Springwood
Expected Graduation Date
2021
Start Date
4-10-2021 8:00 AM
End Date
4-11-2021 5:00 PM
Abstract
Researchers have long studied how language may affect, or perhaps even determine, the cognitive processes of its speakers--a theory known as linguistic relativity, introduced by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf. In contrast, Noam Chomsky's theory of universal grammar took the linguistic world by storm. It proposes that all languages are fundamentally the same, and that everyone has a language capability hardwired into their DNA. Proponents of a universal grammar are skeptical that speakers of different languages have different ways of thinking or perceiving reality. In this research project, I will investigate these hypotheses, as well as other linguistic theories of linguistic acquisition, by assessing their strengths and weaknesses. Building upon a renewed confidence in linguistic relativity from Boroditsky's research with Mandarin and English speakers, I will interview four Chinese-English bilinguals about their personal experiences and observations of the impact of Chinese and English on their various thought processes and ways of perceiving the world. Ultimately, this review of the literature and the results of the interviews will allow me to offer an integrated model for how language affects thought.
Linguistic Relativity: Language and Cognition of Chinese-English Bilinguals
Researchers have long studied how language may affect, or perhaps even determine, the cognitive processes of its speakers--a theory known as linguistic relativity, introduced by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf. In contrast, Noam Chomsky's theory of universal grammar took the linguistic world by storm. It proposes that all languages are fundamentally the same, and that everyone has a language capability hardwired into their DNA. Proponents of a universal grammar are skeptical that speakers of different languages have different ways of thinking or perceiving reality. In this research project, I will investigate these hypotheses, as well as other linguistic theories of linguistic acquisition, by assessing their strengths and weaknesses. Building upon a renewed confidence in linguistic relativity from Boroditsky's research with Mandarin and English speakers, I will interview four Chinese-English bilinguals about their personal experiences and observations of the impact of Chinese and English on their various thought processes and ways of perceiving the world. Ultimately, this review of the literature and the results of the interviews will allow me to offer an integrated model for how language affects thought.