Containment and Division
Language matters. It’s as much about the words we use, as it is about what those words reveal about how we think. This is because a language is a culturally transmitted system (Tomasello, 2014). No speaker can ever possess, or even know, the entire code that makes up the system. Instead, speakers h...
Saved in:
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Liverpool John Moores University
2018-12-01
|
Series: | PRISM |
Online Access: | https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/prism/article/view/295 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
_version_ | 1832557723903852544 |
---|---|
author | Terry McDonough |
author_facet | Terry McDonough |
author_sort | Terry McDonough |
collection | DOAJ |
description |
Language matters. It’s as much about the words we use, as it is about what those words reveal about how we think. This is because a language is a culturally transmitted system (Tomasello, 2014). No speaker can ever possess, or even know, the entire code that makes up the system. Instead, speakers have access to the parts that they use the most. Even then, there can be a lot of variation between speakers. There is a good deal of variation between languages, too. Different languages conceptualise the world in different ways. For an English speaker, time moves horizontally from left to right; for a Chinese speaker, time moves vertically from the top down (Boroditsky, 2000). Wherever we look, time is always associated with space. It seems we can’t even think about time without also thinking about space.
|
format | Article |
id | doaj-art-c33ae20d0eba47f9beacfdad68e2400d |
institution | Kabale University |
issn | 2514-5347 |
language | English |
publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
publisher | Liverpool John Moores University |
record_format | Article |
series | PRISM |
spelling | doaj-art-c33ae20d0eba47f9beacfdad68e2400d2025-02-03T03:18:13ZengLiverpool John Moores UniversityPRISM2514-53472018-12-0121Containment and DivisionTerry McDonough0University Centre at Blackburn College Language matters. It’s as much about the words we use, as it is about what those words reveal about how we think. This is because a language is a culturally transmitted system (Tomasello, 2014). No speaker can ever possess, or even know, the entire code that makes up the system. Instead, speakers have access to the parts that they use the most. Even then, there can be a lot of variation between speakers. There is a good deal of variation between languages, too. Different languages conceptualise the world in different ways. For an English speaker, time moves horizontally from left to right; for a Chinese speaker, time moves vertically from the top down (Boroditsky, 2000). Wherever we look, time is always associated with space. It seems we can’t even think about time without also thinking about space. https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/prism/article/view/295 |
spellingShingle | Terry McDonough Containment and Division PRISM |
title | Containment and Division |
title_full | Containment and Division |
title_fullStr | Containment and Division |
title_full_unstemmed | Containment and Division |
title_short | Containment and Division |
title_sort | containment and division |
url | https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/prism/article/view/295 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT terrymcdonough containmentanddivision |