Youtube Exercise » English Grammar Homework

how language shapes the way we think

Anna Howard

243K views 7 months ago

Warm-up Questions

When you hear the title “how language shapes the way we think,” what is one example you can imagine from your own life?
Do you think speaking more than one language can change your personality or worldview? Why or why not?
What topics do you expect the video to connect to language (for example: emotions, morality, the internet, nature)?

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how language shapes the way we think

Language, identity, and the Sapir–Whorf idea (00:00 – 06:50)

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1. What is one problem the speaker notices about how English talks about emotions and identity?

English has no words for emotions like sadness or anxiety.
English forces people to speak in metaphors all the time.
English often frames emotions as permanent identity labels (e.g., “I am sad”).
English has too many verb forms for emotions.

2. What does the speaker find striking about the Spanish verb related to “experimentation”?

Spanish uses two completely unrelated verbs for “experiment” and “experience.”
In Spanish it only means “to experiment,” not “to experience.”
Spanish cannot form verbs from nouns ending in -tion.
In Spanish, the same verb can mean both “to experiment” and “to experience.”

3. According to the definition the speaker reads, what does the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis claim?

All languages are basically identical in how they structure thought.
Learning vocabulary alone is enough to understand a culture.
The structure of a language influences how native speakers perceive and categorize experience.
People can only think in pictures, not in words.

how language shapes the way we think

Metaphors, ‘lingicide,’ and how language normalizes power (06:50 – 12:16)

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1. Which metaphor does the speaker list as common in English?

Argument is war.
Time is a storyteller.
Love is gravity.
Truth is a tree.

2. In the Irish-language example, how is “I am sad” expressed (in meaning, not exact spelling)?

“Sadness is money,” suggesting it has value.
“I am sadness,” suggesting it is permanent.
“I fought sadness,” suggesting argument is war.
“I have sadness on me,” suggesting it is a passing state.

3. What warning does the speaker quote about language and violence?

“Metaphors should be banned from public speech.”
“Language has no effect on politics.”
“Only laws—not words—shape morality.”
“The state has the power of violence, but language has the power to normalize it.”

how language shapes the way we think

Internet ‘babelification,’ animacy, and what languages can teach us (12:16 – 27:22)

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1. What is “babelification,” according to the quoted essay about the internet?

A process where splintered digital groups develop unique language that makes reintegration difficult.
A policy that forces everyone to use the same dictionary definitions.
A method for translating memes into other languages accurately.
A process where people stop using slang online.

2. In the Potawatomi example from Braiding Sweetgrass, what is unusual about how the language treats things like a bay or Saturday?

They refuse to name days of the week.
They treat many things as verbs (“to be a bay,” “to be a Saturday”) in a world where everything is alive.
They use only past tense for nature words.
They avoid verbs and prefer nouns for everything.

3. What final message does the speaker take from the Cheyenne elder’s advice (as quoted)?

The internet is the best place to learn indigenous languages.
If you speak from the heart (“here,” patting the chest), the living world will hear you even without the old language.
You must speak only the old language out loud for nature to ‘hear’ you.
Time is money, so learning languages is always a waste.

how language shapes the way we think

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1. Which idea best matches the speaker’s overall view of language in this video?

Language is only about vocabulary size, not grammar or metaphor.
Language differences are unimportant because translation is always perfect.
Language shapes identity, morality, perception, and relationships—with other people and the natural world.
Language is mostly decorative; it doesn’t affect how we live.

2. What is one major risk the speaker associates with online ‘niche’ language and coded speech?

It eliminates metaphors from English.
It can isolate groups, increase misunderstanding, and hide political messaging through code.
It guarantees people will agree more often.
It makes everyone’s spelling improve.

3. Why does the speaker connect language loss to colonization and harm?

Because language loss only affects grammar, not people.
Because losing a language can erase ways of seeing and living in the world, including indigenous wisdom and embodied cultural knowledge.
Because dictionaries stop being printed when a language disappears.
Because colonization always increases the number of languages spoken.

Discussion Questions

Discuss the ideas from this video

how language shapes the way we think

The speaker contrasts “I am sad” with “I am experiencing sadness” (or “there is sadness on me”). How might these different expressions change how someone feels about themselves?
Do you agree that metaphors like “time is money” can change a society’s values? What metaphor would you prefer for time?
Have you ever felt confused by online language (memes, slang, coded phrases) even though it was “technically English”? What happened?
What does it mean to “speak the grammar of animacy” in everyday life, even if you only speak one language?