An article published in Psychological Science and reviewed in Scientific American discusses a fascinating study on the impact of bilingualism on color perception and categorization, particularly in the context of the Tsimane’ people of Bolivia, who traditionally categorize colors into three broad groups: blackish, reddish, and whitish. The study explores how Tsimane’ speakers, who are also fluent in Spanish, begin to integrate new color concepts, such as blue, green, and yellow, into their language without borrowing the Spanish words. Instead, they repurpose existing Tsimane’ terms to describe these new color categories, indicating a conceptual restructuring influenced by bilingualism.

Lead author Saima Malik-Moraleda (along with three co-authors) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, “asked 152 people who spoke Tsimane’ or Spanish, or both, to name and sort a set of 84 differently colored chips. Bilingual participants sorted the colors into narrower categories in both languages.” Accordingly, their research “adds to the evidence that the languages we speak affect how we slice up the rainbow into color categories.”

Benjamin Lee Whorf & Linguistic Relativity

This finding supports Whorf’s Theory of Linguistic Determinism to a certain extent. According to Whorf, the structure of a language significantly influences its speakers’ worldview and cognition. The study by Malik-Moraleda et al. exemplifies how language can shape thought, as bilingual Tsimane’ speakers demonstrate a refined categorization of colors influenced by their knowledge of Spanish. This change suggests that learning a second language can alter how individuals conceptualize abstract concepts like color, supporting the idea that language and thought are interrelated.

Whorf had an unconventional background for one whose writings have influenced linguistics and related academic fields. As noted by John B. Carroll, a colleague, “Whorf maintained a successful corporate career throughout his life, and he never held an academic appointment; however, he transcended the status of “amateur” or “hobbyist” scholar as his work continues to be among the most cited by linguists, anthropologists, and psychologists.”

An American Indian Model of the Universe

The Tsimane’ study resonates with Benjamin Lee Whorf’s arguments about the Hopi language and their conceptualization of time, as presented in his posthumously published study of the Hopi language where he argues for a linguistic relativity hypothesis. Whorf posited that the structure of a language affects its speakers’ worldview and cognition. This hypothesis suggests that language is not just a tool for expressing thoughts but that it fundamentally shapes thought itself.

Whorf’s study on the Hopi language is one of the most cited examples of linguistic relativity. He argued that the Hopi language encapsulates a view of time fundamentally different from that of Indo-European languages. According to Whorf, the Hopi do not represent time through a linear, segmented approach (with discrete units like seconds, minutes, hours) but instead perceive it as a continuous cycle. This difference in linguistic representation led Whorf to conclude that the Hopi have a different understanding and conceptualization of time, illustrating how linguistic structures can influence cognitive processes.

This line from the Tsimane’ study, “These results add to the evidence that the languages we speak affect how we slice up the rainbow into color categories,” directly echoes Whorf’s broader claims. Just as Whorf suggested that language influences our concepts of time, the study on Tsimane’ bilinguals illustrates how language affects our categorization and perception of color. Both examples support the idea that linguistic differences can lead to different ways of understanding and interacting with the world.

In the context of Tsimane’ study, the influence of bilingualism on color categorization provides contemporary empirical support for linguistic relativity. It shows that exposure to a second language can expand or modify the conceptual categories of speakers, leading to a reorganization of cognitive categories such as color. This real-time observation of language evolution and conceptual change adds to the body of evidence supporting the interrelation of language, thought, and perception, aligning with the principles outlined by Whorf regarding linguistic determinism and relativity.

Lera Boroditsky – How Language Shapes Thought

The research of Malik-Moraleda et al. echoes the work of Lera Boroditsky, an influential cognitive scientist and professor who has extensively studied how language shapes thought and perception. Although she has been affiliated with various institutions, her work aligns with the influence of language on perception. Boroditsky has given TED Talks on the subject, where she shares fascinating insights into how different languages can influence their speakers’ thoughts about time, space, colors, and other aspects of reality.

Her research provides compelling evidence supporting the theory of linguistic relativity, demonstrating through various studies how linguistic structures can significantly influence cognitive processes. Boroditsky’s work is often cited in discussions about how language and thought interconnect and influence each other, making her a prominent figure in cognitive science and psycholinguistics. Dr. Neel Burton, for example, discusses Boroditsky and other notable thinkers like Wittgenstein in an article that appears in Psychology Today.

References

Anderson, D. J. (2024, February 21). Languages and linguistic relativity. NightCafé Studio. Retrieved February 23, 2024, from https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/SpTazLdGEelnWXpFYOG5

Boroditsky, L. (2011). How language shapes thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62-65. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26002395

Burton, N. (2018, August 8). How the language you speak influences the way you think: The relationship between language and thought is far from straightforward. Psychology Today. Revised November 24, 2020. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201808/how-the-language-you-speak-influences-the-way-you-think

Whorf, B. L. (1956). An American Indian model of the universe. In J. B. Carroll (Ed.), Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf (pp. 57-64). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

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