It has been long thought that there was a significant connection bewteen language and the human mind. A plethora of educated professionals have attempted to take a shot at the theory, but few can provide substantial proof to support their hypotheses.In the article, " Language and Thought", by Lila Gleitman and Anna Papafragou, the authors explore the idea that language and thought are not only necessary, but imparitive to each other. They introduce the question of whether our thoughts actually take place within language, and also question openly if formal aspects of language aid in the organization of its users thought processes. The authors use citation from well known individuals, such as Hellen Keller, to add a sense of validity between the connection of languages and thoughts. There is also a biblical reference included in the text for imagery.They explore opposing views to their query and present enough evidence to allow the reader to try and do some critical thiniking about the subject on their own.
Similarly, in her article, " Language may shape human thought", Celeste Biever refers to a counting study involving a hunter-gathering tribe from the country of Brazil- The Piraha. She suggests that the tribe's lack of a numerical system exceeding the number two in their language is the reason for the lack of understanding for all numbers greater than two. If an idea or word is not represented in a particular language, how then is a user of that language able to grasp the concept of the meaning? Is it or is not possible? These are the questions presented in Biever's article. Like many quality articles, Biever utilizes direct quotation, from scientists at esteemed universities. However, the questions still seem to remain unanswered and the debate of whether language actually shapes human thought remains open.
William J. Cromie takes a slightly different approach of the topic in his article, " Which comes first, language or thought?". While the other articles briefly examine the relationship that infants have with the brain and language, Cromie has a greater emphasis on that relationship. He evaluates the ability of the child of an english speaking couple to be sensitive to korean language distinctions.Like Biever, he refers to research and quotes from a respected source, a proffesor Spelke of Harvard University. He discovers that the professor's study is parallel with other studies done with infants, and that, in fact, babies hold a sensitivity for all languages upon birth. The sensitivity drops as the child becomes older and learns to ignore the language sensitivity that is not relevent to them. His article also explains that people are born with some universal ideas, but it is not understood whether or not language helps to express pre-exsisting ideas.
Finally, in Sharon Begley's, " What's in a word?",the meanings of the french and german words for bridge is compared. Begley explores the role that gender related words play in languages, and how they cause people to have opposing ideas about, what could be, the very same thing. Begley also uses, experiements, quotes, and other research to give her article the authenticity that is needed.