ETEC 540 Task 2: Does language shape the way we think?

[11:35] Dr. Boroditsky mentions top 5 nouns in English out of which time ranks the first. It is almost the default setting for advertisement that people would read from left to right as most languages in the world, the sequence for alphabet is from left to right. 

The example of baby products for Nestle is a typical and interesting example to remind us how language would impact the way we do almost everything in life. For English speaker, reading from left to right is the setting for English that's why English speaker, or the audience of the majority of the advertisement is presumably reader from left to right. The structure of a language can affect time.

[11:42] Dr Boroditsky mentions normally people point forward as future, point backward or behind the body as past. The structure of a language can affect spatial relationship.

[18:20] Dr Boroditsky mentions teaching people talk in new way will reshape how people think. Language is like cultural export or has "causal power" on the way people think.

[21:00] Dr Boroditsky discusses gender of language. English doesn't require to show gender of a noun while some languages need, e.g. Russian, in Dr Boroditsky's speech, or French.

[42:05] The sample of changing from prune to plums on the advertisement of dry prunes in California shows the power of language, wording in this case, and how one world can pose different image of a product.

[45:50] French fries to freedom fries. Some taken-for-granted use of words can bring new social issues with the rising awareness of discrimination in modern world.

In her talk "How the Languages We Speak Shape the Ways We Think," Lera Boroditsky explores the relationship between language and thought. She argues that the languages we speak influence our perceptions and cognitive processes, shaping how we understand the world. Boroditsky provides examples from various cultures and languages to illustrate how different linguistic structures can affect memory, spatial reasoning, and even our understanding of time.

Language as a Tool: Language is not just a means of communication but a fundamental tool that shapes our thoughts and perceptions.

Cultural Differences: Different languages encode different cultural perspectives, leading speakers to perceive and categorize experiences in unique ways.

Cognition and Perception: The structure of a language can affect cognitive functions, such as how we perceive colors, time, and spatial relationships.