Abstract
The relationship between language and thought has been explored in research on linguistic relativity, which is based on the hypothesis that speakers of different natural languages think differently about the world. I argue that this kind of research is particularly relevant to contemporary cognitive science because it gives a key position to cross-culturalism and enables us to understand that cognitive science cannot ignore the situatedness and contextuality of individuals. I suggest that linguistic relativity research, although typically conceptualized from the perspective of classical or standard cognitive science, has affinities with embodiment that have not been sufficiently explored. Its internal logic of seeking evidence for linguistic effects in non-linguistic cognitive tasks makes it particularly well suited to fill gaps in embodied accounts of language that attempt to avoid invoking disembodied and decontextualized internal mental representations. To demonstrate the usefulness of linguistic relativity research for radically embodied cognition, I begin with a historical account of linguistic relativity research, which is necessary to avoid confusion with linguistic determinism or the justly criticized ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis’. I then outline the logic underlying research on linguistic relativity on the example of current evidence for cross-cultural and cross-linguistic diversity in thought. Finally, I argue that constraint-based accounts and a cultural-affordance framework allow us to describe research on linguistic relativity from the perspective of a radically embodied cognitive science, without relying on internalism or mental representations. This gives us a theoretical framework that places cross-cultural diversity at the center of cognitive science.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in the Humanities
KEYWORDS
Linguistic Relativity, Intercultural Perspectives, Embodiment, Cultural Diversity, Cognitive Science, Philosophy
