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The metaphor of language as glass explains vividly why the world looks different in other languages. For Deutscher, who holds a constructionist view, the world remains the same when people speaking different languages perceive it. He construes the associations between people, language, and thought as social, historical, and cultural creations. His monograph consists of two parts: "Language mirror" and "Language lens," with a "Prologue" before and an "Epilogue" after.
In the prologue, the author introduces interesting anecdotes and evidence in order to encourage readers to critique some long-held beliefs about the language-thought-culture relationship. In the overview, he raises thought-provoking issues such as whether language reflects human nature or culture. The five chapters in Part 1 are illustrative of language functioning as a mirror of the mind. Deutscher's central argument is that the...