LANGUAGE AND

THINKING
Aloba O.O
 WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE?

 Language as a means of communication:

It serves as a means of communication between members of
the public.
 The function is used in a variety of environments, levels and
interests are diverse, for example: scientific communication,
business communication, workplace communication, and
social communication, and cultural communication.
Functions of language cont’d

 Language as a means of adaptation:

 It is the means of adaptation, and people can express their views
together. 
 For example: the reliability of the work in an institution, the integrity of the
employees in a department, family honor, the integrity of cooperation in
the field of business, the integrity of the nation and state.
Functions of language cont’d

 Language as a means of social control

language is a social control so that people involved in the communication
can understand each other. 

 Every gestures and symbols indicates the direction of communication in

society. This control language can be realized in the form: rules, statutes,
laws – laws and others – others.
Functions of language cont’d

• Language as a means to understand oneself.

• Language as a means to understand the
other person.
• Language as a means of observing the
environment around.
• Languages as a Tool for Self-Expression.
• Languages as a Tool for creativity:
Relationship between language and
thinking…
 Words ideas, people, places and events.
 Can words themselves shape the way we think about things?
 Language shapes thoughts and actions, or whether our thoughts and beliefs shape
our language?
 Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed that language determines
thought.
 Take the word ‘love’ for example…
 The way we think about love depends on the language that we speak (Whorf,
1956)?
Relationship between language and
thinking…cont’d
 Linguistic determinism Language may indeed influence the way that we think.
 English and Mandarin Chinese speakers talk and think about time differently.
 English speakers  tend to talk about time using terms that describe changes
along a horizontal dimension (e.g., “I’m running behind schedule” or “Don’t get
ahead of yourself.”)
 Mandarin Chinese speakers  time in horizontal terms also, it is not uncommon
to also use terms associated with a vertical arrangement.
- past “up”
- future “down”
Relationship between language and
thinking…cont’d
 Language does not completely determine our thoughts—our thoughts are far too
flexible for that.
 Some linguistic practice are associated even with cultural values and social
institution.
- for example, pronoun drop (I and you).
-these refer to the speaker and listener of a speech in English.
- “I went to the movie last night” is fine, but “Went to the movie last night” is not
in standard English.
- In Japanese, pronouns can be, and in fact often are, dropped from sentences.
Relationship between language and
thinking…cont’d
 Pronoun drop languages stronger collectivistic values -group priority rather that
individual (Kashima & Kashima, 1998).
- “you” and “I” may remind speakers the distinction between the self and other.
 Other example of the interplay between language and thinking
- The Dani tribe (Papua New Guinea) have two words for color:
one word for light and one word for dark.
-In contrast, the English language has 11 (or more) color words.
 Thank you for your attention…