How Language Shapes the Way We Think

Language is an astonishing gift that lets us share ideas across time and space. (📷:tasminnews) L anguage is a unique human gift: it lets us express ideas across vast distances and generations . By uttering a sentence like “ Imagine a jellyfish dancing in a library ”, a person instantly places a vivid, never-before-seen image into another’s mind. But this power raises a profound question: does language merely label the world around us, or does it actually shape how we see that world? Charlemagne once said “To have a second language is to have a second soul” , implying that language creates a new identity. Shakespeare’s Juliet replied, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” , suggesting that words may not alter reality. These contrasting ideas capture the age-old debate. Only in recent decades have scientists begun to test this question. As Boroditsky notes, “until recently, there wasn’t any data to help us decide either way.” Now, experiments are showing that th...