Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Sapir-Whorf thesis: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, is the idea that the structure of a language influences the way its speakers think about the world. It was developed by the two linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, in the early 20th century. See Language, Language and thought, Language community, Translation, Relativism, Cultural relativism. _____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Max Black on Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - Dictionary of Arguments
II 103 Whorf hypothesis/Black: there is a certain romantic enchamntment in the idea of the freedom to refer to reality in different, perhaps equally valid ways, while thoughts and feelings are reflected. Language, according to Whorf, should be adapted to the needs of a nation like fish, collecting berries, etc. II 104 Every language contains words that are particularly difficult to translate. Whorf: it was found that the linguistic system (grammar) of each language is not only a reproductive instrument for the expression of thoughts, but rather forms those thoughts, it is a pattern and guidance for the mental activity and for the synthesis of its ideas. The formulation of thoughts is not an independent process. It is more or less different for different grammars. We structure nature along lines that are given to us by our mother tongue. (Putnam pro). II 105 We cannot speak at all without subjecting ourselves to the order. BlackVsWhorf: that alone would not be of particular interest if Whorf had not attempted to apply this to some Native American languages. E.g. Hopi/Whorf: the Hopi do not emphasize temporal relations, nor even the distinction between time and space, instead they have two major categories, which Whorf calls "manifest": "Subjective"/"Objective": they are to correspond to realized or not yet realized things or to "budding" or "fermenting" things. Reality/Hopi/Whorf: is presented as composed mainly of events. Subject and predicate are avoided. II 106 Black: Whorf’s successors tend to quote selected suitable examples. BlackVsWhorf: for English the pendant would be that we have a strong heritage of Aristotle. With "essence", "substance", "specific", "entity", etc. But how many English speakers reflect that at all?. >Use._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Black I Max Black "Meaning and Intention: An Examination of Grice’s Views", New Literary History 4, (1972-1973), pp. 257-279 In Handlung, Kommunikation, Bedeutung, G. Meggle (Hg), Frankfurt/M 1979 Black II M. Black The Labyrinth of Language, New York/London 1978 German Edition: Sprache. Eine Einführung in die Linguistik München 1973 Black III M. Black The Prevalence of Humbug Ithaca/London 1983 Black IV Max Black "The Semantic Definition of Truth", Analysis 8 (1948) pp. 49-63 In Truth and Meaning, Paul Horwich, Aldershot 1994 |
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> Counter arguments against Black
> Counter arguments in relation to Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-27