 Each language has its own sound and structure and feels a certain way. Italian is musical, while German is harsher, and the same person fluent in both can seem like they have two distinct personalities. But can language really influence who we are? Linguistic relativity theory suggests that the languages we pick up and use influence how we see the world, the perception of our surroundings, our sense of time, our memories, our behavior, and even our sense of self. First, there's our perception. Each language has different words that describe the things around us, and these differences change the way we perceive these things. For example, an Italian might see objects as male or female, while an English speaker won't, a phenomenon that extends to the perception of space. The Cooktioor, an aboriginal tribe, does not use left or right in their language. Instead, they rely on cardinal directions, north, east, south, and west. They might say, pass me the salt on the south-west of the pepper. It's probably no coincidence that they have supernatural navigational skills. There is the sense of time. Because languages are written in different directions, people who write left to right will perceive the sequence of events accordingly. Speakers of Arabic and Hebrew might do so the other way around. In the Amil language in Papua New Guinea, there are three forms of past tense. Today's past tense, yesterday's, and remote past tense. To use the correct verb, speakers need to pay close attention to when something has happened, and hence may perceive the past in greater detail. Language also affects our memories. In English, if a child breaks a vase accidentally, we may say he broke the vase, putting the responsibility on the kid. In Spanish, people would say el jarón se rompió, or the vase broke, giving more credit to the environment, a small difference with big consequences. Studies show that speakers of languages like Spanish that tend to consider these kind of events accidental are less likely to recall the people involved. In languages that emphasize an intention, the actors are remembered more clearly, and if things end up in court, the accused is more likely to be found guilty if the language used during the trial is active, like English. Then there is our behavior. Languages are often associated with culture and with the context in which it was learned. As a result, those who speak various languages access different parts of themselves. One study on Spanish-English bilinguals showed that people exhibit different personality traits when switching their language. When speaking English, subjects were more agreeable, but when they switched to Spanish, they were more neurotic. And finally, our sense of self. The words we speak also influence how we feel about ourselves. Self-affirming language, for example, activates brain areas linked to reward and self-perception and can increase our confidence, an effect that extends to how we perceive pain. Bilinguals report greater levels of pain when they speak the language to which they relate the most. The theory, if one language represents a bigger part of their identity, they also perceive the sensations inside their body with greater intensity. With about 7,000 languages all around us, nobody knows exactly how they affect our minds, but they certainly frame our thoughts and influence the way we look at the world. In Thai, for example, the word for heart, jai, is woven into their language to describe a variety of human traits. Someone friendly is jai-di, literally a good heart. Someone that's patient is jai-yen, a cool heart. And someone generous is jai-guang, a big heart. As Benjamin Lee Worf, the linguist behind the theory, wrote, language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas, but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the individual's mental activity. So if you ever learn a new language, remember, you're not just learning new words, you're opening your mind to a new way of seeing and interacting with the world. What do you think? Do you speak more than one language? And if so, do you feel like your behavior changes when you switch between them? Tell us your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. This video was brought to you by wiseone.io. Wiseone is an all-in-one browser extension that offers a new way of reading and exploring information online. It consists of five useful features. Focus helps you understand complex concepts and words. Crosscheck helps you access factual and reliable sources reporting on the same subject to get diverse perspectives. 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