RI Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

1 A definition of the hypothesis: The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis theorizes that thoughts and behavior are determined (or are at least partially influenced) by language. According to this theory, language is not just a product of one’s culture, but language actually determines culture. That is, the language that we speak determines the way we interpret the world around us and it also determines the way we behave. This means that members of different cultures see the world differently because they draw upon different linguistics to interpret it. It also means that there are certain thoughts of an individual in one language that cannot be understood by those who use another language. The hypothesis encompasses two main ideas. First, a theory of linguistic determinism that states that the language you speak determines the way that you will interpret the world around you. Second, a weaker theory of linguistic relativism that states that language merely influences your thoughts about the real world. After vigorous attack from scholars, the first idea of linguistic determinism is today rejected by most linguists and the hypothesis has been accepted only in the weak sense; i.e., linguists today find only the second idea of linguistic relativism useful in that they believe language can have effect on thought. [Adapted from www.hyperdictionary.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_Hypothesis] The Hopi case study: A famous example of a radical restructuring of reality and language was offered by Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941), on the basis of observations of the Hopi Indians in North America. While the claims made have been disputed, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, as it has been called, is important in showing what might be meant by such a claim, whether or not it is actually borne out in this case. Whorf’s claim was that the Hopi Indians had no notion or intuition of time; that their language contained no words or constructions referring to past, present or future. Nevertheless, he claimed, their language was able to give a complete picture of their experience. At the same time, it conceals, he suggested, an alternative metaphysic, just as does our own view of static space and flowing time. Our own metaphysic is based on seeing the universe under the two great cosmic forms: SPACE and TIME The Hopi metaphysic, by contrast, sees the world under the division: MANIFESTED and UNMANIFEST The manifested consists of everything that is or has been revealed to the senses, so it includes our present and past, while the unmanifest includes all we would call future as well as everything mental. Within the Hopi framework, expressions of space and time are avoided by using expressions of extension, operation and cyclic process. Edward Sapir (1884-1939) summed up his own conclusions from such findings in these terms: ‘The fact of the matter is that the “real world” is to a large extent unconsc