Why Languages Do not Shape Cognition: Psycho- and Neurolinguistic Evidence

It is popularly believed by language learners and teachers that
languages differ in the way they influence thought and perception.
For example because Japanese employs different linguistic
structures from English, speakers of Japanese will sometimes
differ from speakers of English in their world view. This
notion, called language relativity or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis,
has been subject to empirical scrutiny over the past forty
years, and contrary to popular belief, there has been little
evidence in support of linguistic relativity. This paper reviews
the prerequisites necessary for empirical investigation
of the Sapir-Whorl hypothesis, then summarizes several of
the experiments that have been undertaken to validate its
possible effects, and finally concludes with some observations
about what this lack of supporting evidence might mean
to the process of learning and teaching a second language.