CAREER: Relationships between language and thought

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

Do the quirks of different languages affect how speakers think about the world? Do English, Mandarin, Russian, or Turkish speakers experience the world differently simply because they speak different languages? Do they partition the world in different ways or remember things differently? Does learning a new language change the way you think? Do speakers of multiple languages think differently when speaking different languages? Dr. Lera Boroditsky seeks answers to these and other questions in her National Science Foundation funded research. A different way to ask the previous questions is: What is core or universal in human cognition? The question of universality has long been a touchstone for controversy. Despite much attention and debate, however, definitive answers have not been forthcoming. Dr. Boroditsky reformulates the relations between language and thought toward resolving this debate. She introduces innovative and subtle methods that have greater sensitivity to interactions between language and thought. The intellectual merits of the research come from her fresh creative approach to a problem that most other scientists had put aside. Broader impacts of this funded project are in its educational benefits. These include many terrific research opportunities for students. The focus on languages in addition to English insures participation of groups who are underrepresented in American science. The funded research is also the basis for two new courses at MIT aimed at both graduate and undergraduate students, and for a new textbook for undergraduates.