This literature review analyzes articles on the perception of space, motion and time across speakers of typologically different languages (L1s). The purpose of this analysis is to explore evidence of native language influence on speakers’ perception and conceptualization of these cognitive domains. The analysis revealed that although languages may not encode all the cognitive aspects of space and motion, there is no difference among speakers with regard to the conceptualization and perception of these two domains.
On the other hand, language-specific encodings of time seem to influence the speakers’ perception of this domain, so it was concluded that language may affect abstract thought in general. Possible consequences for second language acquisition are discussed.