How much does language shape our thinking?

I want to pass on this link to Manvir Singh's article in The New Yorker which has the title of this post.  I enjoyed reading the article. 

Also, I've been comparing the responses of LLMs  (Chat GPT 4o, Perplexity, Anthropic, Gemini) to the very simple prompt:  "Please summarize the following essay with the title: ......".  I'm frequently finding the Perplexity response most useful. It provides a list of steps it is following and HTML links to the sources it is using.  I estimate it would take me at least 30 min to prepare a summary of similar quality to the following Perplexity summary of the Singh article:

The essay explores the profound question of how language shapes human thought, examining cultural, cognitive, and social dimensions of this relationship.

Key Themes and Arguments:

 1. Language as Empowerment: The essay opens with the story of Angrezi Devi, the “Goddess English,” created by Dalit writer Chandra Bhan Prasad in India to symbolize the liberating potential of English for marginalized communities. Prasad argues that English offers Dalits a pathway out of caste oppression, contrasting it with Hindi, which he sees as reinforcing caste biases. 

2. Global Dominance of English: English is highlighted as the world’s dominant lingua franca, used in international institutions and pursued globally for its economic and social opportunities. However, its spread is accompanied by concerns about cultural homogenization and “cognitive hegemony,” where English’s structures might shape thought in ways aligned with Western norms. 

3. Linguistic Relativity and Whorfianism: The essay revisits Benjamin Lee Whorf’s theory that language influences thought, contrasting “strong Whorfianism” (language determines thought) with “weak Whorfianism” (language subtly shapes cognition). Examples include studies showing how Russian speakers distinguish shades of blue more effectively than English speakers due to their language’s lexical distinctions. 

 4. Cultural Variations in Cognition: Research reveals striking differences in how languages shape perceptions of time, space, and sensory experiences. For instance: • Aymara speakers conceptualize time with the past “in front” and the future “behind,” reflecting their linguistic metaphors. • Jahai speakers possess a rich vocabulary for smells, unlike English speakers who struggle to describe odors abstractly. 

5. Critiques and Nuances: While critics like Steven Pinker dismiss extreme Whorfian claims as overblown, recent research supports nuanced effects of language on cognition. Language influences attention, memory, and problem-solving in culturally specific ways but does not wholly dictate thought. 

6. Language Evolution and Adaptation: The essay emphasizes that languages evolve to reflect local contexts. For example, Indian English integrates native linguistic features like honorifics and unique phrases, showing how English adapts to diverse cultural environments rather than imposing uniformity.

Conclusion:
The essay concludes that while language profoundly influences thought, this relationship is dynamic and bidirectional. Languages shape how we perceive the world, but human cognition also transforms languages over time. Linguistic diversity is celebrated as a testament to humanity’s ingenuity and adaptability.