The popularity of colour perception as a vehicle to investigate language–perception interactions has led to a large body of experimental work. Recently, studies have focused on investigating the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms of effects of language on colour perception. Because of substantial variation in experimental designs and the study conditions in these designs, evaluating and comparing the evidence reported in these studies remains complex. This is problematic, because language–perception interactions manifest themselves differently across cognitive contexts and task designs. To shed light on the precise conditions under which such effects are obtained, we conducted a scoping review on 72 experimental papers, and we assessed the experimental approaches taken. Based on this review, we recommend committing to an interdisciplinary approach, relying on knowledge of the neuroscience of perception. We provide specific examples of how future research can carefully investigate the relationship between cognitive load, attention, working memory and verbal label access.

This study extends the line of linguistic relativity research by assessing the effect of the French grammatical gender system on French speakers' and learners' perception of objects. Four groups of 140 adults (English monolinguals, French monolinguals, English–French bilinguals and French–English bilinguals; N = 35 each) rated 32 selected objects' gender by assigning them a masculine/feminine voice on a slider. We also assessed the participants' second-language (L2) proficiency. Multilevel modelling results revealed that French monolinguals and English–French bilinguals rated objects' gender in line with the French grammatical gender system. The effect of French on perception was not reduced by acquiring English, as French–English bilinguals performed on par with French monolinguals. Moreover, the effect was independent of L2 proficiency. These findings suggest that learning a gendered L2 affects the perception of objects – thus supporting the linguistic relativity hypothesis.