Culture and language processing

A foundational aspect of communication is language, as the use of language allows for the presentation and transfer of knowledge, thoughts, and ideas ( Altarriba et al. 2023 ). The world has become more and more linguistically diverse, not only in terms of the number of spoken or known languages, but in terms of the richness of those languages and the degree to which individuals master and use multiple languages ( Altarriba and Heredia 2008 ). Yet linguistic knowledge is often influenced by the surrounding cultural context in which it is used. A longstanding question within the study of language and communication has been whether language influences thought or if thought influences language ( Carroll 1956 ; Fedorenko and Varley 2016 ; Gleitman and Papafragou 2005 , 2013 ). There has been some question as to whether or not thought can exist without language or whether thought and language are two separate entities ( Fedorenko and Varley 2016 ; Gleitman and Papafragou 2005 , 2013 ). However, it is important to note that this question of whether thought or language acts as a dominant, influencing factor in communication often neglects to take culture into account and whether culture acts as a moderating variable within the language-thought relationship (see, e.g., Altarriba 1993 ). For the purposes of this chapter, culture is defined as the surrounding sociocultural context that either affects or is affected by language use, form, and function. The works reviewed in this chapter highlight the importance of understanding the relationship between culture, language, and cognition, and understanding to what degree culture and language influence cognition.