Linguistic relativity and second language : How learning a second language may reshape cognition

Casaponsa, Aina and Thierry, Guillaume (2023) Linguistic relativity and second language : How learning a second language may reshape cognition. In: The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics :. The Routledge Handbooks in Second Language Acquisition . Routledge, London, pp. 1-16. ISBN 9781032042022

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Abstract

Language is the ultimate tool to describe our environment, communicate about our inner states, and accumulate knowledge that can be transferred between generations. Here, learning a new language is considered to offer new ways of describing, internalizing, and even perceiving the world. As learners accumulate experience with the second language (L2) for extended periods of time, their neurocognitive makeup evolves, like it does when learning new skills. Building on Benjamin Lee Whorf’s and Edward Sapir’s ideas introduced in the middle of the last century, the relationship between language and other cognitive processes is proposed to be dynamic in nature, following on logically from embodiment theory and the functional plasticity of the human brain. This chapter presents the theoretical basis for the idea that learning words and grammatical constructs can affect non-verbal cognition and reviews empirical evidence showcasing how learning an L2 can modulate the perception of colors, objects, and events.