How language shapes the way we think with Lera Boroditsky (Video)

Lera discusses the diversity of language and how language shapes our thinking. She discusses the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which “holds that our thoughts are shaped by our native language, and that speakers of different languages therefore think about the world in different ways.” For example, different languages may have different ways of expressing time, spatial relationships, or even color categories, which can impact how speakers of those languages perceive and understand those concepts. Boroditsky discusses how language can influence our social cognition, including our perception of gender roles and stereotypes. She presents research that shows how gendered languages, which assign gender to inanimate objects, can shape speakers' attitudes and behaviors toward objects and their perceived attributes.