When given a set of cards depicting a series of events, English speakers arranged the cards from left to right, speakers of Hebrew usually arranged the cards from right to left, and speakers of Kuuk Thaayorre, the language of the Cape York Australian aboriginals, used a temporal sequence from east to west in arranging the cards. These findings lend support to the
A)semantic differential theory.
B)transformational rule of language.
C)law of linguistic effect.
D)linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The findings support the linguistic relativity hypothesis, which suggests that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview or cognition. In this case, the directionality of reading in a language (left to right for English, right to left for Hebrew) and the cultural orientation towards cardinal directions (east to west for Kuuk Thaayorre speakers) influence how speakers of different languages perceive and organize temporal sequences.

When Given a Set of Cards Depicting a Series of Events