Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Experiment
Classify shades of blue as quickly as you can — and discover how the color words your language provides may shape what you see.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have another question? Let us know.
What did the Russian blue study find?
Russian has separate words for light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy). Winawer and colleagues (2007) found Russian speakers discriminated colors across that language boundary faster than colors of the same size difference within a category. English speakers showed no such advantage.
Does this mean people who speak different languages see colors differently?
Not in the 'eyes' — basic color perception is universal and human. The effect is at the level of categorization and attention: having a ready-made word for a distinction makes that distinction easier and faster to notice, but everyone can still perceive both shades.
How strong is linguistic relativity?
The effects are real but modest. They appear in tasks that involve memory, categorization, and speeded discrimination, and they are strongest for categories that your language makes salient. They are not a wall between minds — bilinguals can shift between frames.
Show Details
What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis proposes that the language we speak shapes how we perceive and think about the world. A famous demonstration: Russian has separate words for light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy), and Russian speakers discriminate across that boundary faster than English speakers — a modest but real effect of language on perception.
References
- Kay, P., & Kempton, W. (1984). What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis? American Anthropologist, 86(1), 65-79.
- Winawer, J., Witthoft, N., Frank, M. C., Wu, L., Wade, A. R., & Boroditsky, L. (2007). Russian blues reveal effects of language on color discrimination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(19), 7780-7785.
- Roberson, D., Davies, I., & Davidoff, J. (2000). Color categories are not universal: Replications and new evidence from a stone-age culture. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 129(3), 369-398.
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About This Experiment
This experiment is an educational adaptation for demonstration purposes. It is not a clinical diagnostic tool. Results reflect your performance in this specific session and should not be interpreted as an assessment of your cognitive abilities.
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