Lera Boroditky Lost In Translation Analysis

Lera Boroditsky, a professor at Stanford, introduces readers to the question of whether a person’s language can shape their thought processes and views of the world around them through her research conducted at Stanford and MIT. Boroditsky explores further into the questioning about a language’s influence in her article “Lost in Translation”. Boroditsky proves to an audience of broad audience of scholars and people interested in cultural psychology that a person’s language not only influences the way a person thinks but can change a person’s perception of the world and media around them. Lera Boroditsky, through her use of rhetorical questions, comparisons, and addressing the counterargument achieves her purpose of proving that language does

Boroditsky begins her article by looking at the classic nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty”. Boroditsky breaks down this classic tale by analyzing how people who speak different languages perceive and understand this same form of media. Boroditsky starts her analyzation by stating that “In English, we have to mark the verb tense…” (Boroditsky 437) she then continues her analysis by comparing English to how “In Indonesian you need not (in fact you can’t) change the verb to mark tense.” (Boroditsky 437) and “In Russian you would have to mark tense and also gender, changing the verb if Mrs. Dumpty did the sitting.” (Borditsky 437) and lastly how “In Turkish, you would have to include in the verb how you acquired this information.” (Boroditsky 437). Boroditsky uses this analysis to further prove that even subtle differences in grammar between different languages can completely change the meaning and perception of even something as commonly known as “Humpty Dumpty”. Lera Boroditsky uses the element of comparison throughout her entire article in order to further show the differences in cultures perception of media. In paragraph fifteen Boroditsky begins to analyze how people who speak different languages arrange space and time. Boroditsky starts by talking about

All of this together creates a valid argument and leads the reader to agree with Boroditsky and her theory of language and its influences. Boroditsky wrote this argument to present to the reader a better understanding about language and culture and the effect that those two elements have on a person’s perception. The reader really walks away from this article with a better understanding and knowing that a person’s language does indeed influence a person’s perception of the world around