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How the language you speak influences your perception of time and space
Is the future ahead or behind us? Does spent time look like a line or a bottle? Do you speak in the present tense about the future?
Very interesting overview in this article of different concepts in languages and the science on their effects on human perception and behaviour:
from: www.bbc.com
„He discovered that speakers of futureless languages were more likely to engage in future-focused activities. They were 31% more likely to have put money into savings in any given year and had accumulated 39% more wealth by retirement. They were also 24% less likely to smoke, 29% more likely to be physically active, and 13% less likely to be medically obese. This result held even when controlling for factors such as socioeconomic status and religion. In fact, OECD countries (the group of industrialised nations) with futureless languages save on average 5% more of their GDP per year. (…) Chen has since investigated whether variables such as culture or how languages are related could be influencing the results. When he accounted for these factors, the correlation was weaker – but nevertheless held in most cases.“
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