WK1 lecture introduction & Whorf

• What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?


  It suggests that language influences thought and perception.
• Who proposed the concept of Linguistic Relativity?

  Whorf
• What does Linguistic Determinism imply?


  It implies that language determines thought.
• What does the "modularity of the mind" concept suggest?


  It suggests that language is a module that interacts minimally with other parts of the mind.
• What does Whorf mean by “We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages”?


  It means that our native languages shape how we categorize and understand the world.
• How do words in a language categorize the world according to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?

  Words carve out the world into categories, differing across languages.
• How do Russian and English speakers differ in their perception of blue?


  Russian speakers have distinct words for light and dark blue, affecting their ability to distinguish shades.
• What was the prediction of Winawer et al. (2007) regarding Russian speakers' performance in distinguishing shades of blue?


  Russian speakers should better differentiate shades of blue from different categories than from the same category.
• What were the two conditions compared in the study by Winawer et al. (2007)?


  Different category and same category.
• What does the term "linguistic mediation" refer to?


  It refers to how language mediates our perception of the world.
• What was the purpose of adding an interference task in the study by Winawer et al. (2007)?


  To determine if language activation affects colour discrimination performance.
• What were the three types of interference tasks used in the study?


  No secondary task, spatial task, and language-interference task.
• What was the conclusion regarding Russian speakers' performance across different secondary task conditions?

  If Russians see blues differently, the advantage should remain across all conditions.
• What did the study conclude about the activation of word-colour labels in Russian speakers?

  Word-colour labels are automatically activated due to the need to differentiate shades from an early age.
• What was the main finding of the wine expert study by Croijmans et al. (2021)?


  Wine experts are better at recognizing wine odours than novices.
• How did the performance of wine experts change in the language-interference condition?


  The advantage in recognizing odours remained evident in the language-interference condition.

  
• What implications can be drawn from the studies on word-colour and word-odour labels?


  Whether labels are automatically activated may depend on early practice with those labels.
• How does language influence perception according to the studies discussed?


  Language influences but does not determine abilities in colour and smell perception.
• What is the general observation about East Asian children and mathematics?


  East Asian children/teenagers are generally better at Maths.
• How might language play a role in the mathematical abilities of East Asian children?


  The numeral system in some Asian languages is more consistent than in English or French.
• What are the key concepts related to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?


  • Linguistic Relativity: Language influences thought.
  • Linguistic Determinism: Language determines thought.
  • Modularity of the Mind: Language is a separate module in the mind.

  
• What are the findings regarding language and colour perception from Winawer et al. (2007)?


  • Russian speakers better differentiate shades of blue from different categories.
  • English speakers show no difference in performance across categories.
  • Language mediates perception through activation of corresponding colour-words.

  
• What are the implications of the studies on linguistic mediation and expertise?


  • Automatic activation of labels may depend on early exposure.
  • Language influences perception but does not determine it.
  • Expertise can affect recognition abilities in specific domains.

  
• How does language influence higher-order cognition like mathematics?


  • Language can affect mathematical abilities.
  • Consistency in numeral systems can enhance understanding.
  • East Asian children often outperform in mathematics due to language structure.

  
• What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?


  It suggests that language influences thought and perception.
• What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?


  It suggests that language influences thought and perception.
• Who proposed the concept of Linguistic Relativity?

  Whorf
• What does Linguistic Relativity imply?


  It implies that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview.