The quote that really stood out to me from Lera Boroditsky’s Ted Talk was the idea that languages actually shape our thoughts, not just help us express them. This simple fact completely changes how I view communication. One example that truly stuck with me was the one about the Aboriginal tribe, which doesn’t use words such as “Left” or “Right”; instead, they use “North,” “South,” “East,” and “West” to point out directions. Instead of saying go straight they would say ”Head North”. This fact alone changed my perception of how I view language and how we interpret it. What really amazed me was during the live demonstration when she asked the audience to point south east, and everybody pointed to a different spot. She then followed this exercise by mentioning how even young children in the Aboriginal tribe will always know where north is. Meanwhile, many of us struggle to point out southeast without using a phone or compass. This makes you wonder what skills might have gained or lost because of the language I learned, how different would the way i express myself become?
Boroditsky, L. (2011). How Language Shapes Thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62–65. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0211-62
What if left and right didn’t exist? TED talk
And So It Was Written
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