What shape does time take? Is it a fast-flowing river, a slow march, or a circle? New research asserts that the way we perceive, and describe time depends significantly on the language we use. This can have profound implications for our understanding of such an integral human concept.
The way people visualize and talk about time differs across the globe and is deeply embedded in our languages’ structure, narratives, and metaphors. The MIT Technology Review noted recently that the English language predominantly uses spatial metaphors to interpret time, such as “we’re approaching the deadline” or “the date is coming up”. But not all languages follow this pattern.
In a global conversation via web videoconferencing that involved 88 people fluent in 30 different languages, Dr. Emanuel Bylund from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and Dr. Panos Athanasopoulos from Lancaster University in the UK asked participants to arrange images in chronological order – past to future. The researchers observed significant differences based on the language spoken by participants.
For instance, speakers of English, Swedish and Dutch, which each use timeline metaphors, typically arranged photos from left to right. This was consistent irrespective of whether they were right or left-handed. Interestingly, native Arabic and Hebrew speakers, who read and write from right to left, also organized images from left to right. This suggests that the orientation of written language does not always dictate perceptions of time.
However, speakers of Aymara, a language spoken in the Andes, which uses spatial metaphors with the past in front and the future behind, arranged the pictures in the opposite direction from left to right. Meanwhile, speakers of Yupno, spoken in Papua New Guinea, who regard uphill as the future and downhill as the past, also provided unique arrangements.
The recent study, published in Cognitive Science, solidifies earlier theories that language plays a crucial role in shaping our thoughts, a hypothesis known as linguistic relativism or the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.
“There is a wide variation in the way people talk about time, even in countries that share a common language. This suggests that people are not simply internalizing linguistic metaphors, but are actively constructing their own mental models of time,” said Dr. Athanasopoulos.
In addition to linear and spatial metaphors, time can also be cyclical, as observed in Mandarin Chinese. Rather than positioning future events as “ahead”, they are often referred to as “below” or “down” while past events are “above” or “up”, signifying a vertical time orientation circle.
The researchers note that understanding how different cultures perceive time can have practical applications. For example, campaigns to encourage proactive behaviors, such as saving money or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, may be more effective if they adopt the time references used in target demographic’s native languages.
This research underscores the importance of understanding cultural differences, even in the realm of our most universal concepts, like time. As globalization continues to shrink distances and diversify our societies, appreciating different perspectives can enable more effective communication and collaboration. Meanwhile, it challenges our perception of time as a linear, uniform entity, suggesting that it may hold multiple dimensions yet to be discovered.
In conclusion, the way we perceive, interpret, and relate to time is less universal than we may think, significantly influenced by the language through which we give it form and meaning. As exploration into this fascinating subject continues, it might provide us with new insights into our understanding of time, and perhaps, the very nature of human cognition.
Original Source: https://www.neatorama.com/2026/03/31/How-We-Think-of-Time-Depends-on-the-Language-We-Use-For-It/
