--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Linguists have long debated the links…" description: "\"“Linguists have long debated the links between language, culture, and cognition. The theory of linguistic relativity posits that language itself—the sp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/emily-anthes-34205_language_linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-be_1041643.jpg" --- # Linguists have long debated the links between language… ![“Linguists have long debated the links between language, culture, and cognition. The theory of linguistic relativity posits that language itself—the specific tongue that we happen to speak—shapes our thoughts and perceptions'.” quote by Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/emily-anthes-34205_language_linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-be_1041643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/emily-anthes-34205_language_linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-be_1041643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/emily-anthes-34205_language_linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-be_1041643.jpg) > ““Linguists have long debated the links between language, culture, and cognition. The theory of linguistic relativity posits that language itself—the specific tongue that we happen to speak—shapes our thoughts and perceptions'.”” [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language influences how we think and perceive reality, but the relationship is complex and debated. **In simple terms:** Language shapes thought. Key Takeaway Consider how your language affects your view. Themes language culture cognition relativity debate Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - cross‑cultural communication - education - translation - policy making - intercultural training Key Concepts SapirWhorf hypothesis cognitive linguistics cultural determinism Questions to Reflect On - How does your native language limit or expand your thinking? - Can you think of a concept that exists in one language but not another? A Different Perspective The effect may be bidirectional, not just language shaping thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture Cognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-cognition-2437661/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-culture/) [Linguistic Relativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linguistic-relativity-2437660/) [Linguists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linguists/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Theory Linguistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-linguistic-2437659/) ## Related quotes > [More than ever, I feel that the human race is one. There are differences of colour, language, culture and opportunities, but people's feelings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/more-than-ever-i-feel-that-the-human-race-is-one-there-are/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [“One has to put aside the popular notion that language and culture are endlessly passed on from generation to generation, rather as if ‘Scottishness’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/one-has-to-put-aside-the-popular-notion-that-language-and-culture-are/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) > [Italian language and culture are beloved throughout the U.S.A.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cuomo/italian-language-and-culture-are-beloved-throughout-the-u-s-a/) [Margaret Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cuomo/) > [If our language and culture are not passed on to immigrants, where will they learn to value integrity in government and the rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-our-language-and-culture-are-not-passed-on-to-immigrants-where/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Learning a foreign language, and the culture that goes with it, is one of the most useful things we can do to broaden the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gove/learning-a-foreign-language-and-the-culture-that-goes-with-it-is-one/) [Michael Gove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gove/) > [“It happens all too often - people regret that their language and culture are being lost but at the same time decide not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dalby/it-happens-all-too-often-people-regret-that-their-language-and/) [Andrew Dalby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dalby/) > [I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigrees of nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-always-sorry-when-any-language-is-lost-because-languages-are-the-2/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I think that our language, culture, age, fortune, property, and our fame is all a facade. In the end, we're all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-think-that-our-language-culture-age-fortune-property-and-our-fame/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [In a country like India, we don't want to put everyone in one big mixture. We have a different language, culture and cuisine for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/in-a-country-like-india-we-don-t-want-to-put-everyone-in-one-big/) [Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/) > [I took Japanese in high school. I'm Chinese, though, and I just fell in love with the language and the culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-moy/i-took-japanese-in-high-school-i-m-chinese-though-and-i-just-fell-in/) [Matthew Moy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-moy/) > [Some stories are meant to be experienced by everyone and language and culture are no bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalyani-priyadarshan/some-stories-are-meant-to-be-experienced-by-everyone-and-language-and/) [Kalyani Priyadarshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalyani-priyadarshan/) > [The more English is heard in the world, the more gratifying it seems to speak French, and above all to know the culture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-pivot/the-more-english-is-heard-in-the-world-the-more-gratifying-it-seems/) [Bernard Pivot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-pivot/) > [Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-bengis/words-are-a-form-of-action-capable-of-influencing-change/) [Ingrid Bengis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-bengis/) > [Once a story is set to a particular city, language and culture, the rest just follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rockline-venkatesh/once-a-story-is-set-to-a-particular-city-language-and-culture-the/) [Rockline Venkatesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rockline-venkatesh/) > [My language is part of my culture, and I'm not gonna have someone change that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/my-language-is-part-of-my-culture-and-i-m-not-gonna-have-someone/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) ## More by Emily Anthes > [“We’ve always had strong moral responsibility, or we should have had, to other species,’ says Richard Twine, the British sociologist. ‘We just haven’t exercised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/we-ve-always-had-strong-moral-responsibility-or-we-should-have-had-to/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“… To many biologists, cloning is all sizzle and no substance, a high-tech spectacle that fails to address habitat loss, poaching, pollution, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/to-many-biologists-cloning-is-all-sizzle-and-no-substance-a-high-tech/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“Take tail docking…in which the last several inches of a puppy’s tail are removed, usually without anesthesia, sometimes with extremely crude instruments such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/take-tail-docking-in-which-the-last-several-inches-of-a-puppy-s-tail/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“Over the generations, we have bred and inbred our canine companions to the point of disease and deformity. One analysis of popular dog breeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/over-the-generations-we-have-bred-and-inbred-our-canine-companions-to/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“The important thing is that we do not throw the genetically modified baby out with the bathwater. We spend so much time discussing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/the-important-thing-is-that-we-do-not-throw-the-genetically-modified/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“As Rollin put it in his book The Frankenstein Syndrome, ‘It is simply false that all genetic engineering must harm animals. Unless one assumes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/as-rollin-put-it-in-his-book-the-frankenstein-syndrome-it-is-simply/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“Though the ostensible goal of engineering pain-free animals is to minimize other species’ discomfort, what it’s really doing is alleviating our own. if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/though-the-ostensible-goal-of-engineering-pain-free-animals-is-to/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“For the vast majority of us who reside in the troubled middle, there are no easy answers to the ethical dilemmas that biotechnology can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/for-the-vast-majority-of-us-who-reside-in-the-troubled-middle-there/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“The troubled middle is…a place where it’s possible to truly love animals and still accept their occasional role as resources, objects, and tools. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/the-troubled-middle-is-a-place-where-it-s-possible-to-truly-love/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“Cloning is reproduction—it’s not resurrection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/cloning-is-reproduction-it-s-not-resurrection/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“The latest, greatest cyborg critters may come not from state-of-the-art labs, but the minds of curious kids and individual hobbyists. Though scientists will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/the-latest-greatest-cyborg-critters-may-come-not-from-state-of-the/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“The controversy over pet cloning is a debate over what it means to love an animal, and it involves values and judgments that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/the-controversy-over-pet-cloning-is-a-debate-over-what-it-means-to/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) > [“Humans are a force of nature—we are, in some senses, THE force of nature—and we influence animals whether we intend to or not. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/humans-are-a-force-of-nature-we-are-in-some-senses-the-force-of/) [Emily Anthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) [Explore all 14 Emily Anthes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) [TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Linguists have long debated the links between language, culture, and cognition. The theory of linguistic relativity posits that language itself—the specific tongue that we happen to speak—shapes our thoughts and perceptions'.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Anthes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-between-language-culture-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-between-language-culture-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/emily-anthes-34205_language_linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-be_1041643.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/emily-anthes-34205_language_linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-be_1041643.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/emily-anthes-34205_language_linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-be_1041643.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Linguists have long debated the links between language, culture, and cognition. The theory of linguistic…” — Emily Anthes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Anthes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-anthes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Linguists have long debated the links...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-between-language-culture-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-anthes/linguists-have-long-debated-the-links-between-language-culture-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```