Language, thought and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Overview

Piaget's view that thought comes before language, the strong and weak Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and the evidence from colour naming, Hopi, Navajo and the Dani.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does Piaget's theory claim about the relationship between language and thought?

   Model answer

   Piaget claimed that language depends on thought. A child must understand a concept before they can use the words for it correctly.

2. 2

   What example supports Piaget's view that thought comes before language?

   Model answer

   Babies start using words such as 'gone' only after they understand object permanence. The word appears once the concept is already in place.

3. 3

   What did Sinclair-de-Zwart find when she taught non-conserving children words for quantity?

   Model answer

   Sinclair-de-Zwart taught children who could not conserve words such as 'more', 'less', 'longer' and 'shorter'. Few of the children then learned to conserve, so the words had not changed their thinking.

4. 4

   Why did Piaget see young children's egocentric speech as support for his view?

   Model answer

   Piaget argued that young children's speech is egocentric because their thinking is egocentric. Speech reflects the stage of thought the child has reached.

5. 5

   Give one weakness of Piaget's view of language and thought.

   Model answer

   Piaget underplays the part language plays in helping thinking develop. Vygotsky argued that language and social interaction actively shape children's thinking.

6. 6

   What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claim?

   Model answer

   The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claims that thinking depends on language. The language a person speaks shapes how they see and think about the world.

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