LETTER | I am no linguist, but I dabbled in Mandarin Chinese recently and during my process of understanding the language and its key principles, I developed a new perspective attributed to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

My first encounter with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which suggests the language a person uses determines or influences their thinking or worldview, was from the movie “The Arrival” (2016), starring Amy Adams.

In the movie, a linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after 12 mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.

Its main theme of an intricate relationship between time and memory serves as a turning point describing our experiences and recollections as not merely sequential but profoundly interconnected. It’s a romanticised science fiction for logophiles.

Back to my recent shift in thought process, constructing a sentence in Mandarin concerns the prioritisation of objectives in occurrence.

If I were to say “I will throw the rubbish at 8 in the morning tomorrow”, it would require me to mention the time first, followed by the act. Keeping in mind that with Mandarin Chinese, a simple statement can be in any timeframe, express a question, or be an answer.

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, the grammatical and lexical structures a person uses do have a significant impact on a person’s cognition.

It comes as no surprise how reforms and nation-building in different countries can be viewed through the sentence construct of a leader. As citizens, we can always read between the lines, but the question remains, are we still biased when it comes to corrupt practices?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.