Throughout history, the relation between language and thought has been of interest for scholars of different fields such as philosophy, psychology and linguistics. Whereas Wittgenstein was convinced that language is thought, as “[n]ow it is becoming clear why [he] thought that thinking and language were the same. For thinking is a kind of language,” (1969) others like Pinker (1994) and Fodor (1975) believed there is no relation whatsoever and that thought is independent of language. However, with regard to studies confirming the notion of language indeed having an effect on cognition, the broad consensus is that neither of these extreme approaches is correct and that the truth is situated somewhere in between.
In this context, it is the Sapir–Whorf (or Whorfian) hypothesis–better known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis–that has gained great attention amongst psycholinguists, for at its heart it holds the very idea that the languages we speak at least influence the way we think. Evidence supporting this theory stems from various domains describing differences between languages with respect to perceptions and judgments of concepts, such as quantity, space and time.
In recent decades, however, the grammatical gender of nouns in particular, as one aspect of grammar, has been the focus of investigations and debates on linguistic relativity. Several cross-linguistic studies indicate that speakers of languages which have a gender system tend to assign stereotypical attributes and properties to inanimate objects congruent with their grammatical gender. Though there is empirical evidence substantiating this hypothesis, there is a considerable amount of research findings which show little to no support, which therefore leads to the question whether grammatical gender is a useful tool for the investigation of linguistic relativity after all.
By this token, the present paper will provide a collection of works which outline this discussion, showing that certain aspects need to be taken into consideration when assessing the grammatical gender as evidence for language's influence on thought. The choice of selection is based on the fact that their research findings build up on each other’s content and allow transitions in a logical manner. Definitions and elaborations of linguistic relativity and grammatical gender in the beginning and a recently published review of empirical studies as an outlook for future research ultimately frame this piece of work.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The relation between language and thought
2.1 The effect of language on thought
2.2 Linguistic relativity - a definition and discussion
3. The grammatical gender and its impact on thought
3.1 Grammatical gender - a definition
3.2 Empirical research on grammatical gender and its effect on the categorization of inanimate objects
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the linguistic relativity hypothesis with a specific focus on how grammatical gender influences the mental categorization of inanimate objects. It explores whether the gender system of a language shapes how speakers perceive and conceptualize non-human entities, analyzing both classic and contemporary empirical research to determine the extent of this cognitive influence.
- The Sapir-Whorf (Linguistic Relativity) hypothesis and its historical development.
- Distinctions between strong deterministic and weak cognitive influence approaches.
- The role of grammatical gender in biasing perceptions of inanimate objects.
- Cognitive effects of bilingualism and learning a second language with a different gender system.
- Limits of non-linguistic tasks in experimental research on language and cognition.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Empirical research on grammatical gender and its effect on categorization of inanimate objects
As they provide the basis for investigation, a series of experiments and observations by Phillips and Boroditsky (2003) will serve as the starting point in their attempt to find out to which extent grammatical gender influences the perception, representation and categorization of inanimate objects on the cognitive level.
The first experiment was conducted to see if speakers would rate same-gender pairs which are concordant with the gender system of the language they consider their native language as more similar. Hence, Spanish-English bilinguals and German-English bilinguals (ages 17 to 69) were asked to rate the similarity of objects and animals to human males and females on a scale from 1 to 9 (9 being the number for greatest similarity). All instructions were given in English –a language in which both groups were highly proficient – and all items were presented as unlabeled pictures having opposite genders in the respective languages (for instance ‘toaster’ is masculine in German, but feminine in Spanish). The pictures referring to persons included a ballerina, a girl, a woman and a bride in the female group and a giant, a king, a boy and a man in the male one. The results showed that the subjects indeed found greater similarity between people and objects of matching gender, supporting the theory that speakers think about objects as more similar to biological males and females, when they have experience with a (native) language in which the grammatical gender is the same.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the long-standing debate regarding the relationship between language and thought, introducing the linguistic relativity hypothesis and the specific focus on grammatical gender.
2. The relation between language and thought: This section details John A. Lucy's classification of language effects—semiotic, structural, and functional—and establishes the theoretical foundation of linguistic relativity from Sapir and Whorf to contemporary interpretations.
2.1 The effect of language on thought: This section delineates the different types of linguistic influences on human cognition, distinguishing between symbolic transformation and domain-centered structural differences.
2.2 Linguistic relativity - a definition and discussion: This section traces the historical origins of the principle of linguistic relativity, discussing the transition from strong linguistic determinism to modern "thinking for speaking" approaches.
3. The grammatical gender and its impact on thought: This chapter connects the general theory of linguistic relativity to the specific mechanism of how gendered noun systems categorize the world.
3.1 Grammatical gender - a definition: This section defines grammatical gender as a classification system for nouns and examines the arbitrary nature of gender assignment in many languages.
3.2 Empirical research on grammatical gender and its effect on the categorization of inanimate objects: This section presents a review of key experiments—including works by Phillips and Boroditsky, Kurinski and Sera, and Bassetti—to evaluate how language-specific gender influences mental representations and if these effects persist in bilinguals.
4. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the findings, noting that while there is some evidence for language-induced categorization, the results remain context-dependent and subject to various methodological challenges.
Keywords
Linguistic relativity, Grammatical gender, Linguistic determinism, Cognition, Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, Mental categorization, Inanimate objects, Bilingualism, Psycholinguistics, Language influence, Conceptualization, Structural approach, Empirical research, Gender-loaded languages, Cognitive bias.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper explores the relationship between grammar and thought, specifically investigating whether the grammatical gender of nouns in a language influences how speakers categorize inanimate objects.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The main themes include linguistic relativity, the distinction between biological and grammatical gender, the impact of learning a second gender system on cognition, and the methodological challenges in designing non-linguistic tasks for psychological studies.
What is the primary objective of the research?
The primary objective is to evaluate whether there is empirical evidence suggesting that grammatical gender acts as a tool that shapes cognitive perception and categorization of the world.
Which scientific methods are analyzed?
The paper analyzes comparative cross-linguistic studies, longitudinal studies regarding language acquisition, and similarity-rating tasks combined with voice-assignment experiments.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body covers the theoretical definition of linguistic relativity, the mechanics of grammatical gender, and a detailed critique of empirical studies that examine participants' gender-based categorizations of objects.
Which keywords categorize this work?
Key terms include linguistic relativity, grammatical gender, cognition, psycholinguistics, and empirical categorization experiments.
What did the experiments with "Gumbuzi" demonstrate?
The "Gumbuzi" experiment sought to eliminate cultural bias by creating a fictional language to see if participants would spontaneously categorize objects according to newly defined, arbitrary gender rules.
How does bilingualism impact the influence of grammatical gender?
The paper discusses evidence suggesting that in bilinguals where two languages assign conflicting genders to the same object, the cognitive bias of grammatical gender may be lessened or eliminated.
What critiques does the paper offer regarding current research?
The paper highlights that many studies struggle to create truly "non-linguistic" tasks and that external factors like cultural stereotypes or the specific case system of a language can skew results.
Does the paper conclude that grammar determines thought?
No, it concludes that while some correlations exist, the results are highly task-dependent and that the direct influence of grammatical gender on thought remains a complex, unresolved issue in psycholinguistic research.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Seda Demirkaya (Autor:in), 2019, Grammatical gender and its impact on the categorization of inanimate objects, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1305375
