Sunday, November 27, 2011

Language and Thought

Linguistic determinism has been majorly debated for years and years without any satisfactory conclusion. "Do the limits of our language really mean the limit of our world?" Well, for the sake of my sanity, I won't go too deep into the confusing details of the theory. It's much safer for my average mind to remain where its understanding makes its stop. And this stop is on Peter Gordon's hypothesis that states that "language MAY shape human thought!" I've purposely capitalized "may" for obvious reasons... Anyway, this is the question that prompted this post; do humans always think in a language they know, or does thought have its own unique language? I've tried to quietly listen to my thoughts a number of times to make sense of it all but I still can't come up with a favorable answer. I know for sure that I think in a particular language when I'm writing,reciting or rehearsing a speech. For I'm more conscious then. But does the same apply when I'm thinking unconsciously? I've never thought so! It's like the mind has its own unique language...a language only the mind understands. Damn, trying to explain this is harder than I thought. Well, sod it! Language may shape human thought but at the end of the day it's the thought that creates language! I'm done here!

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