The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.pptx

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesisThe American anthropologist-linguist Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed a sweeping, two-pronged hypothesis concerning language and thought. Linguistic DeterminismLinguistic RelativismHistoryThe idea that language and thought are intertwined goes back to the classical civilizations. The hypothesis has caused wide public concern when it has been put forward. Then, let’s see the history together. Wilhelm von Humboldt威廉·冯·洪堡In 1820 ,Wilhelm von Humboldt connected the study of language to the national romanticist program by proposing the view that language is the very fabric of thought. He declared in 1820:The diversity of languages is not a diversity of signs and sounds but a diversity of views of the world.Franz Boas弗朗兹·博厄斯In contrast to von Humboldt，Boas always stressed the equal worth of all cultures and languages, and argued that there was no such thing as primitive languages, but that all languages were capable of expressing the same content albeit by widely differing means.Edward Sapir爱德华·萨丕尔Boas student Edward Sapir reached back to the Humboldtian idea that languages contained the key to understanding the differing world views of peoples. Sapir was explicit that the connections between language and culture were neither thoroughgoing nor particularly deep, if they existed at all:It is easy to show that language and culture are not intrinsically associated.Benjamin Lee Whorf本杰明·李·沃尔夫Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed first that all higher levels of thinking are dependent on language. Because language differ in many ways, Whorf also believed that speakers of different languages perceive and experience the world differently.The Sapir-Whorf hypothesisLinguistic DeterminismLinguistic Relativism●The concept that language determines, or at least influences our thoughts is known as linguistic determinism. Linguistic determinism is the basis of linguistic relativity.●Speakers of different languages perceive and experience the world