History Main / LanguageEqualsThought

** The Dragons in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' make no distinction between "debating" and "fighting"--two dragons breathing fire at each other are just having a particularly [[{{Pun}} heated]] argument. Furthermore, dragons' thoughts when voiced are able to [[RealityWarper alter reality]], so when they [[MakeMeWannaShout Shout]] they are not merely casting a spell, but willing fire into existence with a word. Language equals Thought Equals Being, in other words. This is {{exploited}} with the "Dragonrend" ''thu'um'': Dragons have words for the concepts of "mortal," "finite," and "temporary," but as immortal Aedric beings they will never truly grasp them like they do the words for fire, ice and so forth. "Dragonrend" uses those words to [[BrownNote briefly force dragons to experience concepts utterly antithetical to their very nature]], leaving them temporarily unable to Shout or fly.

* In Gary Gulman's special ''It's About Time'', he states that "Eskimos have 100 words for snow, and Jews have 100 words for [[JewsLoveToArgue loser]].

* ''Fanfic/AChangedWorld'' has Captain Kanril Eleya of the Federation Starship ''Bajor'' introduce herself in Bajoran as "'''Colonel''' Kanril Eleya of the Federation '''Spacecraft''' ''Bajor''". The Bajoran she's talking to also addresses her as Colonel Kanril.

* ''Fanfic/RealityIsFluid'' at one point has a [[LizardFolk Saurian]] ensign on the USS ''Bajor'''s bridge crew struggling to explain to her mammalian crewmates what color something is when you can see ultraviolet light. Federation Standard having been created by species with humanlike visual spectra, it has literally no equivalent words for the [[spoiler:Undine ships']] colors as she perceives them.

** The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' novels expand on the [[ProudMerchantRace Ferengi]] language, saying they have 57 words for "customer" (one of which also means "river sludge") and several words for "no" (which one you use indicates [[EveryManHasHisPrice how much latinum is needed to change your mind]]).

** ''Literature/TalesFromJabbasPalace'': C-3PO explains that because Hutts are able to consume most any substance with no ill effect there are no Huttese words for "poison". "Fierfek", the Huttese word most other races assume to mean poison, is actually slang for "hex".

--->'''Quark''': Right now it's ''glemmening'' out there!

*** In the pilot, Hoshi informs Captain Archer that she doesn't think the Klingons have a word for "Thank you", and that he "didn't want to know" the actual phrase he had taken for gratitude. (This is either [[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels Hoshi's mistake]] or [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign the writers]]: ''The Klingon Dictionary'' actually does include a verb for "to thank", ''[=tlho'=]'', though this is indeed not what the Klingon Chancellor said. However, since this is a prequel, it's quite possible Hoshi doesn't have access to this information.)

** The Tau have a dozen different subtle distinctions of the phrase "[[JustTheFirstCitizen first among equals]]". Their social ideal, the "Greater Good", could best be summed up as a mix of communism and patriotic utilitarianism.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity Linguistic relativity]] states that [[ThePowerOfLanguage a person's language(s), through its vocabulary and structure, shapes the way that person habitually perceives reality, thinks, and behaves.]] In RealLife, this theory is usually misunderstood and, as a result, highly controversial; it comes in a semi-infinite variety of interpretations, some of which are trivially false ("if you don't have a word for it, you can't think about it"), some trivially true ("it's a lot easier to speak intelligibly about things you've got words for"), and many untested, possibly untestable.[[note]]Hypotheses in science are defined as being testable and falsifiable. That means none of these things count as hypotheses until you've come up with an experiment to test them with. People go right on saying "hypothesis" when they mean "conjecture;" linguists get really mad, nobody learns anything, and [[YouKeepUsingThatWord We Keep Using That Word]] anyway.[[/note]] In actuality, linguistic relativity refers only to how people ''casually'' and ''habitually'' approach reality. According to the theory, language does not keep anyone from consciously taking the effort to meditate and focus upon something for which he or she knows no words; rather, the theory points out the eminently logical point that people doing so will have to construct new terms if none already exist in their language and, naturally, their native language(s) will shape how they do so.

The idea that language equals thought also raises the possibility of a novel form of MindControl--restricting people's thoughts by forcing [[{{Newspeak}} a different language]] on them. A limited form of which is the staple of RealLife propaganda--such as when followers of a particular leader [[InsistentTerminology always refer to him]] by an evocative nickname. If you meet aliens speaking a StarfishLanguage, you may be in for some truly strange psychology. BlackSpeech is a related trope, in which the sound of a language reflects some aspect of the speakers' character.

Note that a common variant is that the language has some terminology for the concept. It could be more clunky--the ProudWarriorRace might explain peace being 'time after fighting', or more humorously '[[TranslationYes a long period of time in which you and your allies are not fighting your enemies and their allies, and in which it is acceptable to trade for needed goods and attend the same social gatherings without fighting]]'. Or it might be outright borrowed from another language which already has a word for it (a common occurrence in real life languages). It still gets across the point that the concept is not one encountered commonly in a culture, but does not make them look like complete morons. After all, it should be possible to describe ''any'' concept in ''any'' language--it's just that some languages might require a very long description where others use a single word. Another subversion is that they have no words for something ''very familiar'' to them--"they have no words for war... because they've never stopped warring long enough to think about it".

* ''Literature/AlwaysComingHome'' actually averts the common mistakes. When some Kesh people grow fascinated with the Dayao idea of "armies", they have no trouble about having no words: they simply adopt the foreign ones. Likewise, it is entirely possible to say that a person is wealthy in the modern sense of possessing much instead of giving much, it just won't be seen as a positive trait. However, the Kesh ''grammar'' allows for no means to express the idea of ''owning'' a living being; any attempt to say it will come across as a RussianReversal-style comedy.

Note that a common subversion is that the language has some terminology for the concept. It could be more clunky--the ProudWarriorRace might explain peace being 'time after fighting', or more humorously '[[TranslationYes a long period of time in which you and your allies are not fighting your enemies and their allies, and in which it is acceptable to trade for needed goods and attend the same social gatherings without fighting]]'. Or it might be outright borrowed from another language which already has a word for it (a common occurrence in real life languages). It still gets across the point that the concept is not one encountered commonly in a culture, but does not make them look like complete morons. After all, it should be possible to describe ''any'' concept in ''any'' language--it's just that some languages might require a very long description where others use a single word. Another subversion is that they have no words for something ''very familiar'' to them--"they have no words for war... because they've never stopped warring long enough to think about it".