The Language of Thought: How Words Shape the Worlds We See

What if language does more than describe the world — what if it creates it?

This is the question that cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky explores in her celebrated TED Talk, “How Language Shapes the Way We Think.”

Across more than 7,000 languages spoken globally, she reminds us, each offers not just different words, but different ways of seeing — distinct logics, rhythms, and frames of reference that shape how people orient themselves to time, space, and experience. “Human minds,” she says, “have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000.”

The World Behind the Words

Boroditsky shares striking examples:

• In the Kuuk Thaayorre language, spoken in Pormpuraaw on Cape York Peninsula, people don’t use left or right — they orient entirely by the cardinal directions (north, south, east, west). Even greetings reflect this worldview: “Which way are you going?”

  To speak, you must first be oriented — literally and spiritually — to the landscape.

• Russian differentiates between light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy), a distinction that subtly trains perception. Russian speakers identify shades of blue faster than English speakers — their attention naturally tuned to gradation.

• In Spanish, accidents are often described without an active agent — “the vase broke” — whereas English requires one: “he broke the vase.” The grammar itself directs our attention toward agency, and consequently, toward blame.

Through these examples, Boroditsky illustrates how language guides attention, perception, and reasoning. It shapes what we notice, what we remember, and what we consider important.

A Kaupapa Māori View

In Te Ao Māori, this idea is not new — it is whakapapa.

Language is not a tool for communication; it is a living taonga that carries cosmology, ethics, and consciousness.

Every word in te reo Māori encodes relationships. The structure of the language reflects balance and interconnection:

• Whenua means both land and placenta — binding people to place.

• Wairua weaves water (wai) and two (rua), evoking the dual currents of life and spirit.

• Aroha unites aro (focused attention, presence) and hā (breath, essence, vitality) — expressing love not merely as emotion, but as a conscious practice of being drawn to and giving attention to another’s breath, essence, and being.

• Rangatira combines ranga (to weave) and tira (the people) — revealing leadership as the art of weaving people together through purpose, connection, and collective wellbeing.

• Mokopuna unites moko (the indelible mark of identity) and puna (spring, source) — reminding us that descendants are living expressions of origin, a reflection of those who came before.

To think in te reo Māori is to orient thought relationally — toward people, land, time, and the unseen. It mirrors the same truth Boroditsky reveals: that language is a cognitive compass, teaching us where to stand and how to see.

Language as Orientation

The Kuuk Thaayorre speakers’ use of cardinal direction is deeply resonant with Māori ways of knowing. In whakaaro Māori, orientation — takiwā (space), āhua (form), and whakatere (navigation) — determines meaning.

The landscape is not background; it is teacher.

Similarly, when we speak in te reo Māori, we orient through whakapapa and connection. The order of words, the choice of metaphor, even the cadence of breath shapes how we locate ourselves in relation to others.

Language, then, becomes a practice of presence.

In this sense, Boroditsky’s research is a contemporary affirmation of ancient knowing: that our ways of speaking are also ways of being.

Linguistic Diversity as Intellectual Wealth

Boroditsky warns that we are losing linguistic diversity at a devastating rate — roughly one language every week.

This means we are not only losing words, but worlds. Each language carries unique insight into human perception, ethics, and creativity.

In Aotearoa, the revitalisation of te reo Māori is part of a much larger restoration — a reclaiming of worldview.

As more people learn, use, and think through te reo Māori, new forms of understanding become possible. We begin to see through a lens shaped by balance rather than dominance, by relationship rather than hierarchy.

The question shifts from “How do I translate this?” to “How does this word locate me?”

The Power of Reflection

Language shapes what we can imagine.

When we choose to speak, write, or think through a kaupapa-aligned vocabulary — when we say whaihua instead of success, or whakawhanaungatanga instead of networking — we are not simply swapping terms.

We are shifting worldview.

The words we use to describe leadership, learning, and practice are not neutral — they either expand or constrain what we are able to see.

Through Manu Hōmiromiro: Poutama Insights™, Hā Tarewa: Poutama Flow™,  and Te Puna Kōrero: Poutama Signature™, this understanding becomes praxis: language is strategy; reflection is rhythm; alignment is leadership.

Closing Reflection

Every time we speak, we shape the possible.

Language is both mirror and maker — it reflects who we are and invites who we might become.

To think in more than one language is not to translate, but to transform — to enter another way of knowing and being in the world.

As Boroditsky reminds us: “Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000.”

In revitalising and revaluing our own, we contribute to the ongoing story of human ingenuity — and to the living rhythm of language as whakapapa.

Reflection for Leaders

Take a moment to consider:

• How does the language you use in leadership shape the way you see others, problems, and possibilities?

• Which words anchor you in kaupapa, and which pull you toward habit or hierarchy?

Further Exploration

To explore how language, reflection, and rhythm intersect within the leadership development pathways offered by Manawa Kōkopu— visit the Poutama IQ Ascent Series™.

For Boroditsky’s full TED Talk, watch How Language Shapes the Way We Think – Lera Boroditsky (TED)

Image credit: Tahere, K. (2025). Used with permission.

Author: Megan Tahere. (2025).