5 examples of how the languages we speak can affect the way we think
Leave a commentFebruary 20, 2013 by Teresa Rodriguez
Economist Keith Chen starts today’s talk with an observation: to say, “This is my uncle,” in Chinese, you have no choice but to encode more information about said uncle. The language requires that you denote the side the uncle is on, whether he’s related by marriage or birth and, if it’s your father’s brother, whether he’s older or younger.
“All of this information is obligatory.
TED speaker Keith Chen illustrates with five examples what I had earlier discussed in posts like Thinking in Chinese and Defining culture specific emotions - that languages can and do affect the way we think.
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