Language is our operating system (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis) (Ep.11)

Description: In this episode, I talk about linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. Intro music by Lundstroem Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649 To shadow slow, go to 4:38 To shadow fast, go to 16:07 Transcript: Hello everyone. Sticking with the theme of language for now…I thought I would talk about one very interesting theory in linguistics called linguistic relativity. This is also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, the name is derived from two linguists, Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, who made significant contributions to this theory. So, the theory is…in a nutshell, that whatever language we speak shapes our thoughts, perception, and understanding of the world. Or, using a computer analogy, languages are kind of like our operating system in which the other programs of our mind run. Ever since I have heard of this theory, I have felt intuitively that this is true. And once you start learning a second language, I think you begin to realize quickly how languages can affect the way you think or perceive things.   One example is color. I have read an article that apparently shows that Russians have separate names for blue and light blue. Whereas in English, both can fall into the category of blue. Because of this, Russians are purportedly more sensitive to the different shades of blues than English speakers…although of course, we are able to distinguish if prompted to do so. But the interesting thing is how language can make us more sensitive or less sensitive to the phenomena around us at any given time.  Also, I remember when I gave a coloring activity to some Japanese kindergartners. Whenever the Japanese kids colored the sun, they without fail used the color red, whereas I would imagine most westerners would use the color yellow. Of course, the sun can be perceived to be either color, but language, or perhaps culture in this case…shapes how we perceive it, or at least communicate about it. Another example is in Japanese, they often use the words くれる when someone receives something, and あげる when something is given. These verbs are not only stand-alone verbs, but can attach to other verbs, thus these words are used to express a sense of appreciation for receiving something, in the case of ,くれる or to express that you did something for someone in the case of あげる. For example, in English, I could say, Mr. Smith taught me piano. But in Japanese, to say the same thing would be ピアノを教えてくれた。 And that final kureta adds a feeling of appreciation, that Mr. Smith did it for me..for my sake. You can say the same sentence without kureta but it would be considered weird.  So, yeah…it seems language guides our attention. In the case of くれる　and あげる in Japanese, it directs our attention to the receiver or giver of something…which is something that English does not pay as much attention to. So, I believe the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or linguistic relativity theory, would make the case that whatever language directs our attention to can then affect our perception of reality to some degree. This change in the perception of reality can in turn have an effect on how we think about the world. I just gave a few examples, but can you think of any others from your own experiences? Please let me know by leaving a comment in the episode of Youtube! Thank you for listening! See you next time!