Neurolinguistic relativity How language flexes human perception and cognition
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- 2016 Neurolinguistic Relativity
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DOI
Time has come, perhaps, to go beyond acknowledging that language is a core
manifestation of the workings of the human mind and that it relates interactively to all
aspects of thinking. The issue, thus, is not to decide whether language and human
thought may be ineluctably linked (they just are) but rather to determine what the
characteristics of this relationship may be and to understand how language
influences –and may be influenced by– nonverbal information processing. Here I
review neurolinguistic studies from our group that have shown a link between
linguistic distinctions and perception or conceptualization in an attempt to demystify
linguistic relativity. On the basis of empirical evidence showing effects of terminology
on perception, language-idiosyncratic relationships in semantic memory, grammatical
skewing of event conceptualisation, and unconscious modulation of executive
functioning by verbal input, I advocate a neurofunctional approach through which we
can systematically explore how languages shape human thought
Keywords
- PSYCHOLOGY
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 690-713 |
Journal | Language Learning |
Volume | 66 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 19 Jun 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2016 |
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