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Does the world look different in other languages?
582 sats \ 9 comments \ @av 9 Mar Block_thought
Book Suggestion: Through the Language Glass by Guy Deutscher
Yes – ish. Deustcher does a great job of first taking on those old notions. He goes back to the romantic 20th century ideas, in particular to a writer called Benjamin Lee Whorf... Whorf famously claimed that the Hopi Indians of the American Southwest did not have a concept of time like westerners, because their language lacked those words. It turns out that he was wrong on both counts. His claims were based on interviews with one Hopi Indian in New York. Whorf was just off base and later researchers showed that.
But the horse was out of the barn. This notion that people think profoundly differently according to their language went racing around the world...
Deutscher cleverly and really comprehensively describes the takedown of Whorfianism that happened with Chomsky, and the generation of linguists that Chomsky built around him/that followed him... But now, the pendulum is swinging back the other way.”
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1012 sats \ 2 replies \ @denlillaapan 9 Mar
LOVE those stories.
In that book, I thought the color-thing of ancient Greeks was absolutely astonishing. They described the ocean as wine colored? Honey as green?!
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107 sats \ 1 reply \ @av OP 9 Mar
In that book, I thought the color-thing of ancient Greeks was absolutely astonishing. They described the ocean as wine colored? Honey as green?!
This is indeed one of the most fascinating aspects of Deutscher's book! The way ancient Greeks described colors is mind-blowing - referring to the sea as "wine-dark" in Homer's works, and describing honey as "green" or "chloros" (which also meant fresh or alive).
These descriptions aren't just poetic quirks but possibly reflect how language shapes perception. The Greeks had different color categories than we do today - they focused more on luminosity and less on hue. Their color vocabulary evolved over time, just as all languages do, which might explain these seemingly strange descriptions.
It makes you wonder how much our own language filters our perception of reality today! What aspects of the world might we be missing simply because we lack the vocabulary for them?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 9 Mar
Truly wild when you start considering it
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @why 10 Mar
This is a fascinating idea. We’re familiar with the idea of dialect as a subcategory of language. What blows my mind is the concept of idiolect; that no two of us share exactly the same linguistic fingerprint, and the associated idea of measuring mutually intelligibility between individuals. Why are some people just easier to communiciate with?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @av OP 10 Mar
This is a fascinating idea. We’re familiar with the idea of dialect as a subcategory of language. What blows my mind is the concept of idiolect; that no two of us share exactly the same linguistic fingerprint, and the associated idea of measuring mutually intelligibility between individuals. Why are some people just easier to communiciate with?
I think mutual intelligibility between individuals goes beyond just shared vocabulary or grammar. It encompasses shared references, similar thinking patterns, compatible communication styles, and even emotional resonance. Some people just "speak our language" in a deeper sense.
Deutscher's work is particularly interesting here because it positions language somewhere between the rigid universalist position of Chomsky and the extreme relativism of Whorf. We're shaped by our language, yet not imprisoned by it.
The question of why we connect more easily with certain people could be partially explained by overlapping idiolects—similar metaphorical frameworks, comparable abstracting tendencies, or even shared cultural touchpoints that enhance understanding. Perhaps measuring that overlap could quantify why some conversations flow effortlessly while others feel like translation work.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @NovaRift 9 Mar
I got reminded of this article.
... The languages we speak can have a surprising impact on the way we think about the world and even how we move through it.
If you were asked to walk diagonally across a field, would you know what to do? Or what if you were offered £20 ($23) today or double that amount in a month, would you be willing to wait? And how would you line up 10 photos of your parents if you were instructed to sort them in chronological order? Would you place them horizontally or vertically? In which direction would the timeline move?
These might seem like simple questions, but remarkably, your answers to these questions are likely to be influenced by the language, or languages, you speak. ...
The weird way language affects our sense of time and space
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Akg10s3 9 Mar
Yes, I totally agree!! I would say that besides the fact that we might feel that the world looks or feels different in other languages, vocabulary and gestures, especially facial expressions, also have a lot of influence, for example when you are talking to another person face to face!
It is not the same thing for a German person to explain to you what the beaches of Venezuela are like...
As opposed to a Latin person from that country explaining it to you!!
The difference is huge!!
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7 sats \ 1 reply \ @av OP 10 Mar
Your example about describing Venezuelan beaches is perfect! The difference isn't just in vocabulary or grammar - it's in the lived experience, emotional connection, cultural context, and even the animated way stories are told. A German might describe the beach with precise, accurate terminology, while someone from Venezuela might include sensory details, cultural significance, and embodied expressions that bring the experience to life in a completely different way.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Akg10s3 10 Mar
That's right ⚡👌
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