Imagine that you're spending a lovely afternoon with your friend in his home and you're starting to have a headache. You want to buy some drugs so you ask him where is the closest pharmacy. The friend tells you: "The pharmacy is north from you". Is it helpful?
It is believed that human beings are not good in distinguishing the world directions without using some divices. Most of languages have an egocentric coordination system that refers to the human body (your "right side" might be someone else's "left side"; it depends on your positions). But there are some languages, for example Tseltal Mayan (spoken in one region of Mexico), where the world directions might be taken as reference.
Across languages, there are also differences in describing relations between objects. It can be observed by comparing different preposition systems: English (as French and Polish) makes a distinction between the prepositions on and above. In the first case, the object is in physical contact with another object (for example
I put the book on the table) and in the second situation, there is a relation between two objects but they are separeted (the poster that hangs above your bed). However, in Japanese there is only one word to describe this kind of space relation.
Using different structures in describing space relations can considerably change our perception. When you ask a French speaker to imagine himself on a street, he or she is more focused on the sourroundings (like buildings or bus stops) than a Polish or English speaker who is concentrated on the road. What is more, the French one perceives the space (in this particular case) more three-dimensionally. Why? In French, we say être dans la rue what means to be in the street. The preposition might change more than you expect.
In conclusion, you can see that the space is the next aspect of the way that we see the world that is influenced by the structures that are employed in our language. The differences might seem not really important. The probability that you will meet a Tseltal Mayan speaker is definitely not very big. However, these comparisons give us chance to understand that the representations of the world in our mind are deeply shaped by our mother tongue. When you are aware of it, you see more.
When you turn left, the North is all the time in the same place. Wouldn't it be amazing, if we learned from Tseltal Mayan speakers and became a little bit less egocentric? ;)
Learn more: link.
It is believed that human beings are not good in distinguishing the world directions without using some divices. Most of languages have an egocentric coordination system that refers to the human body (your "right side" might be someone else's "left side"; it depends on your positions). But there are some languages, for example Tseltal Mayan (spoken in one region of Mexico), where the world directions might be taken as reference.
Across languages, there are also differences in describing relations between objects. It can be observed by comparing different preposition systems: English (as French and Polish) makes a distinction between the prepositions on and above. In the first case, the object is in physical contact with another object (for example
I put the book on the table) and in the second situation, there is a relation between two objects but they are separeted (the poster that hangs above your bed). However, in Japanese there is only one word to describe this kind of space relation.
Using different structures in describing space relations can considerably change our perception. When you ask a French speaker to imagine himself on a street, he or she is more focused on the sourroundings (like buildings or bus stops) than a Polish or English speaker who is concentrated on the road. What is more, the French one perceives the space (in this particular case) more three-dimensionally. Why? In French, we say être dans la rue what means to be in the street. The preposition might change more than you expect.
In conclusion, you can see that the space is the next aspect of the way that we see the world that is influenced by the structures that are employed in our language. The differences might seem not really important. The probability that you will meet a Tseltal Mayan speaker is definitely not very big. However, these comparisons give us chance to understand that the representations of the world in our mind are deeply shaped by our mother tongue. When you are aware of it, you see more.
When you turn left, the North is all the time in the same place. Wouldn't it be amazing, if we learned from Tseltal Mayan speakers and became a little bit less egocentric? ;)
Learn more: link.
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