Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky
The words we speak influence our brains, relationships and the world around us
What: Language and the Way We Think
Who: Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky with UBCO’s Distinguished Speaker Series
When: Wednesday, January 29 starting at 7 p.m.
Where: Kelowna Community Theatre, 1375 Water Street, Kelowna
The spoken word, in any language, can be a powerful thing. But how does each word, each sentence, our tone, the context—indeed our language—impact how we think.
Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky will discuss how deeply language affects our everyday behaviour. Boroditsky, the upcoming speaker at UBCO’s Distinguished Speaker Series, teaches us that language, like intelligence, is a living thing that we can hone and change to suit our needs.
There are more than 7,000 languages spoken today and Boroditsky says each one is a universe unto itself, affecting how we understand the world and each other. Her research explores the relationships between the mind, our world and our languages. During the evening, Boroditsky will discuss how language shapes the way we speak and how learning a different language can allow us to develop our brains in more ways than we know.
Boroditsky is an associate professor of cognitive science at the University of California and previously taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford, and is the Editor in Chief of Frontiers in Cultural Psychology.
This free event is open to the public, but online pre-registration is required. To register, visit: dss-boroditsky.eventbrite.ca
This Distinguished Speaker event is made possible through the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences Endowment Fund. It takes place Wednesday, January 29, at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1375 Water Street at 7 p.m.
About UBC's Okanagan campus
UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in 2005 in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose territory the campus resides. As part of UBC—ranked among the world’s top 20 public universities—the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley.
To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca