Disappearing or Hidden? Reconciling VIP and ERP Findings on Linguistic Relativity
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Disappearing or Hidden? Reconciling VIP and ERP Findings on Linguistic Relativity

Zhuang Yang 1*
1 University of Edinburgh
*Corresponding author: s2658083@ed.ac.uk
Published on 4 December 2025
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CHR Vol.100
ISSN (Print): 2753-7072
ISSN (Online): 2753-7064
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-577-6
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-578-3
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Abstract

The linguistic relativity hypothesis (LR) believes that different language speakers may conceptualize the world differently. In recent decades, the debate has shifted from whether language shapes thought to when and how such modulation occurs, especially in temporal domains. The review examines how language influences thought and behavior by comparing findings from Verbal Interference Paradigms (VIP) and Event-Related Potential (ERP) studies. Some LR effects have been posited to occur via online use of language. Evidence for this comes from VIP, in which language resources are occupied by a concurrent task. This evidence has been interpreted to indicate that without access to language at the moment, speakers of different languages think the same. However, ERP evidence shows that neural differences often persist even when overt behavior shows no effect. This new evidence suggests that apparent null results may reflect methodological thresholds rather than the absence of an influence of language on thought. Together, these findings suggest the importance of distinguishing cognitive processing from behavioral outcomes when evaluating the research scope of LR.

Keywords:

Linguistic relativity, Verbal Interference Paradigms, Event-related potentials, Cognitive linguistics, Language and thought

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Yang,Z. (2025). Disappearing or Hidden? Reconciling VIP and ERP Findings on Linguistic Relativity. Communications in Humanities Research,100,24-34.

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Cite this article

Yang,Z. (2025). Disappearing or Hidden? Reconciling VIP and ERP Findings on Linguistic Relativity. Communications in Humanities Research,100,24-34.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceeding of ICIHCS 2025 Symposium: The Dialogue Between Tradition and Innovation in Language Learning

ISBN: 978-1-80590-577-6(Print) / 978-1-80590-578-3(Online)
Editor: Enrique Mallen, Heidi Gregory-Mina
Conference website: https://2025.icihcs.org/
Conference date: 26 November 2025
Series: Communications in Humanities Research
Volume number: Vol.100
ISSN: 2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)