[…] And yet the question of how language shapes who you are — or whether it does at all; or if it does, to what extent — is a fiercely contested one in the field of linguistics, and has been for many decades. “Depending on whom you ask,” as Collins phrases it, “languages are either prescription glasses (changing the way you see the world) or vanity contact lenses (basically negligible).”

The debate over linguistic relativism, the term for the notion that the language you speak is at least partially responsible for your perception of the world, can be traced at least as far back as the 18th century, but Collins writes that the figure responsible for influencing our modern way of thinking about this is likely the mid-century linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf. More.

See: Science of Us

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