Psycholinguistics (Language, Thought, Reality)

Can we think without language? Or is it only language that enables us to form thoughts? And what is the connection between language and thinking? Philosophy of language tries to answer questions like these. It has been a sub-field of linguistics since the middle of the 19th century, but the problem of language and thought was already addressed in antiquity. Philosophy of language is studied by philosophers and linguists alike, but this article looks at the subject exclusively from a linguistic perspective.

Piaget: Thought determines the possibilities of forming and using language

Although Piaget was not a linguist, but a biologist and developmental psychologist, his investigations into children’s language acquisition allow conclusions to be drawn about the connection between language and cognition. He assumes that „cognitive development (i.e. the gradual acquisition of thinking strategies) decisively determines our language development and language“ (Beyer/ Gerlach 2018, 206).

As evidence, he refers to experiments on quantity perception in children. In one of these experiments, the same amount of water is poured from one container into a differently shaped container whose shape results in a higher standing water level. The children believe that it must now be more water. It is only from the age of 5 to 8 that children come to believe „that changes in the appearance of the quantity do not affect the quantity itself“ (Szagun 2016, 207). According to Piaget, this insight is not influenced by language, as it is a „fundamental change in thinking“ (Szagun 2016, 207).

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: language determines our thinking

Two of the best-known representatives of the opposite position are Benjamin Lee Whorf and Edward Sapir. The so-called Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states „that our native language determines the way we think and perceive the world“ (Deutscher 2010, 149).

The hypothesis is often equated with the principle of linguistic determinism or the principle of linguistic relativity, as it is based on these principles.

The principle of linguistic determinism states that the particular language spoken by a person determines, i.e. determines, thinking. The principle of linguistic relativity assumes that speakers of different languages perceive reality differently (cf. Werlen 2002, 201).

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has been strongly criticised over time. One of the main criticisms is that, according to the hypothesis, „our mother tongue sets limits to our intellectual horizons and restricts our ability to understand ideas or distinctions used in other languages“ (Deutscher 2010, 267).

Boas and Jakobson: The connection between culture and language

The anthropologist Franz Boas is not concerned in his research with the connection between language and thought, but with the connection between culture and language. In his view, every culture can express everything linguistically, but the respective needs of a culture dictate that its members must express certain information linguistically, while other information is not explicitly required (cf. Werner 2002, 183 f.).

The linguist Roman Jakobson takes up Boas‘ anthropological considerations and transfers them to linguistics. Jakobson, too, takes the approach that every culture or every language is theoretically capable of expressing everything and established the maxim that languages differ „in the information [that] every language forces its speakers to reproduce“ (Deutscher 2010, 173).

Deutscher: The Boas-Jakobson Principle

Following on from Boas and Jakobson, Deutscher posits the Boas-Jakobson principle as a response to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Taking Boas‘ and Jakobson’s explanations into account, he describes the influence of language on thinking. If a language induces its speakers to express certain information linguistically, this information must also be taken into account mentally (cf. Deutscher 2010, 175).

In this sense, our mother tongue forces us to pay attention to specific details, to distinguish certain terms and to have certain associations (cf. Deutscher 2010, 267). Thus, „language habits can eventually solidify into mental habits“ (Deutscher 2010, 175). Deutscher cites experiments and studies that prove that our mother tongue has a cognitive influence on memory, perception and associations as well as an influence on our practical abilities, such as our sense of direction (cf. Deutscher 2010, 267 f.)