"This" And "That" Universally Understood Across Diverse Languages: Researchers

A groundbreaking international study led by the University of East Anglia has revealed fascinating insights into the universality of language. The research involved examining the usage of demonstratives, such as "this" or "that," which indicate the spatial location of an object in relation to the speaker.

This extensive investigation, encompassing more than 1,000 speakers of 29 different languages, challenges the previous assumption that languages vary fundamentally in the spatial distinctions they make. The study found that regardless of the language spoken, the spatial distinctions in the usage of words like "this" and "that" are determined by whether a speaker can physically reach the object they are referring to.

Professor Kenny Coventry, the lead researcher from UEA’s School of Psychology, explained, "There are over 7,000 diverse languages spoken across the world. We wanted to find out how speakers of a wide range of languages use the oldest recorded words in all of language – spatial demonstratives, such as 'this' or 'that'."

The research involved 1,000 participants representing 29 languages, including English, Spanish, Norwegian, Japanese, Mandarin, Tzeltal and Telugu. Statistical analysis demonstrated a consistent relationship between the reachability of an object and the choice of demonstratives in all languages.

"We found that in all the languages we tested, there is a word for objects that are within reach of the speaker, like 'this' in English, and a word for objects out of reach – 'that.' This distinction may explain the early evolutionary origin of demonstratives as linguistic forms," Prof. Coventry said.

The research was conducted in collaboration with 32 other international institutions, including Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena in Germany, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Aarhus University in Denmark and the University of Buffalo in the USA. It was funded by EU H2020 ITN Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action grant agreement no. 676063 (DCOMM) awarded to Kenny R. Coventry and colleagues.