Practice question · Multiple choice
The Russian-blues advantage disappears when speakers perform a verbal task at the same time. Why does that detail matter so much?
Hints
- Ask what it means that occupying language removes the effect.
- If the effect needs language to be free, language is being used during the task.
Show the answer
B. It suggests language is recruited as a strategy during the task rather than perception being permanently altered
Why
Because an effect that vanishes when language is occupied is an effect using language, not one built into perception. That supports a narrow and defensible version of relativity, habitual categories are recruited when useful, and undercuts the strong claim that speakers of different languages perceive different worlds.
Practise Origins, Evolution and Linguistic Relativity
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