Renewable Energy
The Limits of My Language
I often think about this. It does seem plausible that people who speak and read different languages experience their lives in ways that may be materially different than I do my own. This seems to imply that our conversance with our language affects the way we think.
But I wonder if this is simply a frailty of the Western world. Do those who achieved Zen Buddhist enlightenment mentally pronounce each word of their thoughts, like I do my own? I doubt it.
I used to know a polyglot who told me that when she travelled, it would take her a couple of days before she started to dream in the local language. That’s food for thought, isn’t it?