Language differences

Willhelm Von Humboldt

1767 - 1835

Prussia (North Germany)

Philosopher and Linguist

Language is a rule-based system

Said it before Chomsky

Humboldt ALSO said …

Language carries the spirit of a nation

The way we think is mixed up with language

The way we see the world is mixed up with language

No – language is SEPARATE from everything

Universal Grammar

Language MODULE in the brain

SEPARATE!

The way we see the world is mixed up with language

MIXED UP!!

Shut up! SEPARATE!

Edward Sapir

Benjamin Lee Whorf

Language shapes thought

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Strong version – language determines thought

Weak version – language INFLUENCES thought

Shut up! SEPARATE!

Who is right?

• I • Don’t• know

Cognitive Linguistics

• No evidence for Universal Grammar• Language and thought cannot be separated• Language and thought influence each other• A bit like the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Shut up! SEPARATE!

Blank slate (John Locke)

Nativism (innateness) – Immanuel Kant

Nativism – we are born with knowledge

Nativism -- Descartes

It’s an old argument

• Who’s right?• I• Don’t • Know

George Lakoff

Mind and body are connected

Language is embodied

Language CANNOT be separate

How about colors?

Different language classify ….

… in different ways

What’s this?

青

Any other language differences?

Clusivity

• We are the greatest!• Does this INCLUDE the person you are

speaking to?• Or not?• Not clear in English• Some languages make this clear• How about Japanese?

Agreement

• So you aren’t going to the party tomorrow• How do you answer?• Let’s say it’s true that you aren’t going to the

party• So you answer “No”• That means “No. I’m not going to the party”

• So you’re not going to the party tomorrow?• No.• No. I’m not.• No. I’m not going to the party.

• Are you going to the party tomorrow?• No (I’m not)• Yes (I am)

• Didn’t you do the homework?• Yes• Yes, I did• No• No, I didn’t

• So you don’t like me• Yes, I do like you (?)• No, I don’t like you

• It’s confusing• What’s going on?• Anyway, some languages do things very

differently

Word order

• English• SVO

• Japanese• SOV

• Welsh• VSO

• SVO• About 36% of languages

• SOV• About 41% of languages

• VSO• Only about 9% of languages

Word order in English is kind of fixed

Some languages have special markers

-wa or –ga marking subjects

-o marking objects

Case markers

Usually makes it easier to move things around

Only certain words marked for case

He is subject-marked

Nominative case

Object-marking

• I saw him• Him is marked as an object-like word• I gave the book to him

• I consider him to be a genius• Accusative case

Anyway

• If languages have case markers• Or don’t have case markers• Does that have an effect on the way we think• Or see the world?

How about questions?

How do the world’s languages handle questions?

English

• John saw [Mary]• [Who] did John see?

• Words moving around and changing order?• What for?• It’s pointless!

Most languages DON’T do that

• John saw Mary• They use question-markers somewhere• Q John saw Mary• John saw Mary Q

• Or intonation• John saw Mary?

Most languages?

• Over 60% of languages use question markers• Just like Japanese• So English is VERY unusual• Is it OK to think all languages are basically the

same?

Yes

What do I think?

• I• Don’t• Know

What do you think?

• Less than 2% of the world’s languages move words around in questions

• The point is what?• What is the point?

How about politeness?

• Languages like Japanese have special polite word endings

• Verbs mark levels of formality• English doesn’t do that

English-speakers don’t care about politeness

• Lend me your pen• Could you lend me your pen?• I wonder if you could lend my your pen?• I was just wondering if it might be at all

possible for you to lend me your pen.

Politeness is more creative in English?

• Do English speakers care more about politeness than Japanese speakers?

Time

• Time is always mixed up in English sentences• I saw John• That’s in the past• I saw John yesterday• We know it’s in the past because it’s yesterday• Why do we need the information on the verb?• I see John yesterday (Very bad)

Why is English obsessed with time?

• I had already eaten the apple by the time you came home yesterday.

• Chinese doesn’t have time mixed up with verbs• They don’t have a problem understanding• Why does English do that?• And can all languages really be basically the

same?

Tone

Differences in pitch

Higher or lower

All languages have differences in pitch

Differences in pitch

• Are you completely crazy?• I am completely sick of this boring class!• I feel like crying.

In some languages …

… the meaning of words changes …

… depending on the pitch

We call them tones

So Chinese is a tonal language

Tonal languages are rare in Europe

Rare in Asia (except East Asia)

Maybe 70% of languages are tonal!

Funny sounds

• Languages like Xhosa• From South Africa• Seven million speakers• Lots of funny click noises• How does this affect the way you think?• Are they just cleverer than us?

Frame of reference

Everything is relative

To your left or right

It depends on the person or objct

Next to

To the left … to the right

Some languages don’t do it like this

Some languages have NO words like this!!?

Guugu Yimithirr

• Australian aboriginal language• No relative direction words• Everything is North, South etc!!

• So they ALWAYS know the direction!!• I NEVER know the direction!!!• They ARE cleverer than us!

Guugu Yimithirr

• Australian aboriginal language• No relative direction words• Everything is North, South etc!!

• What happens if you lose the ability to tell North?

• You also lose the ability to speak the language?

Guugu Yimithirr

• You have got to be joking!• Notice the pitch differences in that sentence

• Anyway, I don’t know• But what do you think?• I was just wondering if you might like to think

about these language differences?• Aren’t I polite?