The Cognition Hypothesis Revisited

Does the language we speak affect the way we think? Alternatively, are our thoughts independently arrived at and merely reflected in our language-with differing degrees of adequacy depending on the resources of the language we speak? The former position has usually been identified with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf and is often referred to as the Whorfian hypothesis. In recent use it has taken two basic forms. The “ strong” form asserts that the language we speak determines what we think, whereas the “ weak” form makes the claim that the language we speak merely predisposes us to think in certain ways. The opposing viewpoint, that particular thought processes are ontogenetically prior to and developmentally prerequisite for language develop­ ment, has usually been associated with the Piagetian school. The fact that both views have beeri forcefully advocated and that evidence has been presented for each indicates the possibility that both views are somehow right even though they seem to be diametrically opposed.