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← TED Talks Daily
How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky artwork

How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky

TED Talks Daily
11:46
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Show notes

There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world -- and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language -- from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words for blue in Russian -- that suggest the answer is a resounding yes. "The beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is," Boroditsky says. "Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000." Vote for our show in the Signal Awards for Most Inspirational podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky — TED Talks Daily | Podcast | Josplay Music