Why are some things—such as the Dutch word gezelligheid—so hard to translate? Will technology make language learning obsolete? Does speaking a foreign language change how you look at the world? In this episode, Joseph Shaules and Yvonne van der Pol explore such questions from the brain and mind science perspective. They talk about linguaculture—language and culture as two parts of a larger, complex, dynamic whole. They discuss embodied simulation theory, which proposes that language use involves an embodied process of mental simulation; it’s much more than a manipulation of mental symbols. All this helps us understand why language learning helps us enter into other cultural worlds, and remains important for intercultural bridge people everywhere.
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