How Languages Shape Our Thoughts

This mini book invites readers to discover how languages shape our perceptions and judgements. Drawing on studies published between 2024 and 2025, it shows that bilingualism does not confer a universal advantage but yields varied cognitive profiles depending on age of acquisition and use ; it may even slow brain ageing. Gendered languages modulate our perception of objects and our memory of animals, and grammatical markers help to perpetuate or challenge social norms. Colour categorization, temporal representation and moral reasoning shift depending on the language used, highlighting the flexibility of our mental categories. The book also reviews scientific debates on the bilingual advantage and the adaptation hypothesis, and it offers insights for education, language policy and gender equality. Publishing house : Five Minutes. Collection : REGARDS CROISÉS. This work combines scientific rigour with societal reflection and encourages readers to open themselves to other languages to enrich their thinking. Curious minds will find a detailed bibliography and clickable links to original studies. Let yourself be surprised by the breadth of linguistic influence and use this reading to question your own categories and perceptions.