是文化影響認知？還是語言影響認知？

Lucy and Gaskins (2001)有一系列的研究試圖回答這個問題。他們先讓受試者看目標物，接著會給受試者兩個選項，讓他們選擇其認為和目標物最相似的物品。一個物品和目標物的形狀是一樣，但是材質是不一樣的；另一個物品則是相同材質，但是形狀不一樣。受試者不會聽到任何新的詞語。英語母語者的選擇傾向以形狀來決定兩個物品的相似；但是來自墨西哥的一個馬雅語言尤卡特語(Yucatec Maya)人則傾向根據材質。

Lucy and Gaskins (2001) Lucy gaskin把同樣的任務讓七歲的英語和尤卡特語母語者進行，結果並沒有發現如成人的傾向，也就是不論英語或尤卡特語的小孩都傾向以形狀來決定兩個物品的相似。如果我們把兩個實驗一起看的話，七歲小孩也是能夠自由運用語言的人，但在七歲小孩身上沒發現差異，但是成人身上會發現差異，那語言影響的可能性應該就比較低，文化影響認知的可能性比較高。

回答相同的問題，Levinson (1996) 採用不同的取徑。有一些語言習慣用相對位置來描述事物的位置，有一些語言則傾向用絕對的位置，德語符合前者，Tenejapa符合後者。讓受試者坐在桌子前面，桌上依序由左至右擺著牛、豬、馬、羊四個小玩具，受試者被要求記下這個位置後，受試者向後轉(轉了180度)，然後依照記下來的位置，在另一張桌上擺出來。結果，德語母語者仍然會依照自己的視角，由左至右擺了四個小玩具。但是Tenejapa卻以先前的絕對位置，由左至右擺放了羊、馬、豬、牛。

另一個實驗則讓Tenejapa面向北方看一個卡通，卡通裡的人物都從東邊往西邊運動，接著再請受試者到另一個房間報告剛剛看到的卡通。德語母語者仍保持相對位置的描述；Tenejapa則是把卡通人物剛剛出現的方向以絕對位置報告出來。

Levinson (1996) 認為，這是因為傾向絕對或相對位置的語言使人們有如此不一樣的概念表徵。

雖然，這樣子的結果似乎說明了語言影響了認知，但是這個絕對位置和相對位置的系統在許多生物身上都有，因此它是獨立於語言的認知。不論德語母語者或Tenejapa，他們肯定也有有絕對位置和相對位置的概念，只是他們的傾向不一樣。如果語言對於空間的認知有影響的話，那不會是因為語言而對空間有了新的認知，而且語言使人們選擇那個他更習慣的空間思考。

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