Editing Language and thought (section)

== Studies concerning the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis ==
===Counting===
Different cultures use numbers in different ways. The [[Munduruku language]], for example, has number words only up to five. In addition, it refers to the number 5 as "a hand" and the number 10 as "two hands". Numbers above 10 are usually referred to as "many".

Perhaps the [[counting]] system that is the most different from that of modern [[Western civilisation]] is the "one-two-many" system used in the [[Pirahã language]] in which quantities larger than two are referred to simply as "many". In larger quantities, "one" can also mean a small amount and "many" a larger amount. Research was conducted with the Pirahã by using various matching tasks. The non-linguistic tasks were analyzed to see if their counting system or, more importantly, their language affected their cognitive abilities. The results showed that they perform quite differently from, for example, an [[English language|English]]-speaking person who has a language with words for numbers more than two. For example, they represented numbers 1 and 2 accurately using their fingers, but as the quantities grew larger (up to 10), their accuracy diminished. This phenomenon is also called the "analog estimation", as numbers get bigger the estimation grows.<ref>Gordon, P., (2004). Numerical Cognition Without Words: Evidence from Amazonia. Science. 306, pp. 496–499.</ref> Their declined performance is an example of how a language can affect thought and great evidence to support the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis.

===Orientation===
Language also seems to shape how people from different cultures [[Orientation (geometry)|orient]] themselves in space. For instance, many [[Australian Aboriginal]] cultures, such as the [[Kuuk Thaayorre]], use exclusively [[cardinal directions]] ("north", "south", "east" and "west") and never define space with [[relative directions]] from the observer. Instead of using terms like "left", "right", "back" and "forward", speakers from such cultures would say, "There is a spider on your northeast leg" or "Pass the ball to the south-southwest". In fact, instead of "hello", the greeting in such cultures is, "Where are you going?" and sometimes even "Where are you coming from?" Such a greeting would be followed by a directional answer: "To the northeast in the middle distance". Using such language has the consequence that speakers need to be constantly oriented in space, or they cannot express themselves properly or even get past a greeting. Speakers of languages that rely on absolute reference frames have a greater navigational ability and spatial knowledge compared to speakers of languages that use relative reference frames. In comparison with English-speakers, speakers of languages such as Kuuk Thaayorre are also much better at staying oriented even in unfamiliar spaces, and there is strong evidence that their language is what enables them to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.edge.org/conversation/how-does-our-language-shape-the-way-we-think|title=How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think? |website=edge.org |first=Lera |last=Boroditsky |date=June 11, 2009}}</ref>

===Color===
{{See also|Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate}}
Language may influence color processing. Having more names for different colors or different shades of colors makes it easier for both children and adults to recognize them.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schacter|first=Daniel L.|title=Psychology Second Edition|year=2011|publisher=Worth Publishers|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4292-3719-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/psychology0000scha/page/360 360–362]|url=https://archive.org/details/psychology0000scha/page/360}}</ref> Research has found that all languages have names for black and white and that the colors defined by each language follow a certain pattern (i.e. a language with three colors also defines red; one with four defines green or yellow; and one with six defines blue, brown, and then other colors).<ref name=BCT>{{cite book|last1=Berlin|first1=Brent|last2=Kay|first2=Paul|title=Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution|date=1969|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley}}</ref>