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| | The '''Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis''' states that [[language]] is not merely a way to express ideas, but that it determines the range of ideas we can have. If there's no word or term for a concept, it's hard even to conceive of it, let alone to communicate it to another person. | | The '''Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis''' states that [[language]] is not merely a way to express ideas, but that it determines the range of ideas we can have. If there's no word or term for a concept, it's hard even to conceive of it, let alone to communicate it to another person. |
| | *"... words don't merely match pre-existing things in the world. Rather, they shape and encapsulate ideas about things--how they are categorized (compare [[dog]] vs. [[canine]]), how we are interacting with them (compare [[sheep]] vs. [[mutton]]), how the word functions grammatically (compare the noun cow vs. the adjective bovine), and how we wish to represent our attitudes about them (compare critter vs. varmint)." [http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/Misc/eskimo-snow-words.html] | | *"... words don't merely match pre-existing things in the world. Rather, they shape and encapsulate ideas about things--how they are categorized (compare [[dog]] vs. [[canine]]), how we are interacting with them (compare [[sheep]] vs. [[mutton]]), how the word functions grammatically (compare the noun cow vs. the adjective bovine), and how we wish to represent our attitudes about them (compare critter vs. varmint)." [http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/Misc/eskimo-snow-words.html] |
| − | *Rebecca Ash wrote, "The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis theorizes that [[thought]]s and [[behavior]] are determined (or are at least partially influenced) by language. If true in its strongest sense, the sinister possibility of a culture controlled by [[Newspeak]] or some other language is not just science fiction. Since its inception in the 1920s and 1930s, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has caused controversy and spawned research in a variety of disciplines including [[linguistics]], [[psychology]], [[philosophy]], [[anthropology]], and [[education]]. To this day it has not been completely disputed or defended, but has continued to intrigue researchers around the world." [http://www.angelfire.com/journal/worldtour99/sapirwhorf.html]
| + | Rebecca Ash wrote: |
| | + | :"The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis theorizes that [[thought]]s and [[behavior]] are determined (or are at least partially influenced) by language. If true in its strongest sense, the sinister possibility of a culture controlled by [[Newspeak]] or some other language is not just science fiction. Since its inception in the 1920s and 1930s, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has caused controversy and spawned research in a variety of disciplines including [[linguistics]], [[psychology]], [[philosophy]], [[anthropology]], and [[education]]. To this day it has not been completely disputed or defended, but has continued to intrigue researchers around the world." <ref name=ash>[http://www.angelfire.com/journal/worldtour99/sapirwhorf.html]</ref> |
| | + | Wilhelm von Humboldt, writing a century before Sapir wrote a strong version of [[linguistic determinism]]: |
| | + | :"Man lives in the world about him principally, indeed exclusively, as language presents it to him." |
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| | ==Eskimo words for snow== | | ==Eskimo words for snow== |