Language
Language is a strange thing. I have been thinking about language’s effects on thought since Nadeem asked me the other day whether I think in Turkish or English. It’s a difficult question to answer. My first response was “I don’t think in a specific language” but now I am not so sure. I know that in Turkish if I had to think/talk about emotions I would have many more ways to do so as opposed to in English. But only in English I can reach the logical conclusions and reasons around my emotions. It’s widely talked about that there are languages which have several names for a certain concept while another language might not have a single word for it. Does the access we have to a new set of vocabulary change the way we think? If I only knew Turkish would I be a lot more of a romantic?
This awesome talk by Patricia Ryan added to my confusion around language:
