TOK

Optional Theme: Language and Knowledge

Lesson 7: Lost in Translation

In today’s lesson, we are going to watch a TED Talk from linguistics expert Lena Boroditsky
entitled “How Language Shapes The Way We Think” and then study her article in the Wall
Street Journal.

TASK 1

Now that we have watched the video clip and read the article, write short responses to the
following questions:

1. What is lost in translation from one language to another? Why?

2. Do people think differently because they speak differently?
3. Or do people speak differently because they think differently? Or both?
4. Does the language we speak reflect the way we think?
5. Does the language we speak shape the way we think and know?
6. Is it possible to translate A to B if we A and B represent different ‘souls’, ‘values’,
‘thoughts’, concepts etc?
7. If people speak more than one language, is what they know different in each
language?
8. Does each language provide a new framework for reality?
9. Are bilingual people more knowledgeable?
10. What happens if a language dies? Does a culture die?
11. To what degree might different languages shape in their speakers different concepts
of themselves and the world? What are the implications of such differences for
knowledge?
12. Can you find examples in your own language on the way in which language shapes
thought?
13. What did Aldous Huxley mean when he observed that ‘Words form the thread on
which we string our experiences’?
14. What is the role of language in sustaining relationships of authority?
15. What is the role of language in creating and reinforcing social distinctions, such as
class, ethnicity and gender?
16. How can language be used to deliberately change thought in people?
17. What if we take away language? Can we still think the same way? Can we
experience the world in the same way? Can we express our thoughts fully in another
language if the word we need does not exist? Are we still as intelligent?

TASK 2

Is language a ‘uniquely human gift’? Based on what we have learned in this unit so far, write
a paragraph of between 8-10 lines in which you argue whether or not this perspective of
language is correct. Which examples could you use to support your argument?