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Lera Boroditsky: How Language Shapes Thought

Long Now

CHAPTER

The Effect of Grammatical Gender on Semantics

As a child, Andrei Maikin absorbed all the sounds of Charlotte's language, French. He says he swam in them without wondering why that glint in the grass was masculine or feminine. In another study, Spanish-speaking kids were starting to pick voices that were congruent with grammatical genders. They'd act like a man for Monday, but like a woman for Wednesday.

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