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Just a moment...
www.cell.comEnglish is the dominant language in the study of human cognition and behavior: the
individuals studied by cognitive scientists, as well as most of the scientists themselves,
are frequently English speakers. However, English differs from other languages in
ways that have consequences for the whole of the cognitive sciences, reaching far
beyond the study of language itself. Here, we review an emerging body of evidence
that highlights how the particular characteristics of English and the linguistic habits
of English speakers bias the field by both warping research programs (e.g., overemphasizing
features and mechanisms present in English over others) and overgeneralizing observations
from English speakers’ behaviors, brains, and cognition to our entire species.
I first was introduced to this concept through a TED talk on behavioral economics as it relates to language - as mentioned in this article, languages which grammatically associate the future and the present together also happen to save more money for retirement, practice safer sex, prioritize their physical health, etc. It’s made me think a lot about all the other ways language likely interacts with how we think, what values we place on society (and society places on us) and other far reaching effects of language on cognition. Thank you for this article as it talks through, in detail, many of these differences based on language structure and has provided me with a plethora of papers to read through!