Sapir Whorf Hypothesis

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

ANT 101

July 19, 2013

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis theorizes that language is not just voicing something, but it is a shaper of ideas which basically means that language can determine our perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors in reality. Edward Sapir developed and published this hypothesis in the 1920’s. In 1956, Benjamin Lee Whorf published his work developing this hypothesis based on his work using the Hopi and English languages. Both of the ideas are commonly known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and also commonly referred to as linguistic relativity. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis asserted the influence of language on thought and perception. The hypothesis implies that speakers of different languages think and perceive reality in different ways and that each language has its own worldview. This paper will entail how my objective reality might have been shaped by my current language and also how might my reality be different if I grew up speaking another language. For Sapir, language does not reflect reality but actually shapes it to a large extent. Sapir believes that language and behavior equally influence each other. The world cannot exist objectively or in a manner that separates human interactions from cultural linguistic expression but since the perception of reality is influenced by our linguistic habits, it follows that language plays an important role in the process of thought. He argues that linguistic systems determine perceptions of social reality. Sapir believes the worlds in which societies live are distinct worlds, not simply the same worlds with different labels attached. In a paper published in 1929 tell us: Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection (Swoyer, 2003). In 1956, Benjamin Lee Whorf developed Sapir’s ideas into what is called the linguistic relativity principle. This simply means that because language shapes reality and multiple language systems exist, multiple realities must also exit. Whorf states humans essentially share similar perceptions of the world even if they do not share the same language. Different grammar patterns cause people to see the world in many ways, causing cultural differences because language is not the same in all social groups. Language determines human’s thoughts and is the reason for many cultural worldviews. Your language controls your view of the world and speakers of different languages will, therefore, have different views as well. Whorf states: ….users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammars toward different types of observations and different evaluations of externally similar acts of observations, and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the world (Swoyer, 2003).
The development of linguistic relativity, for which Whorf is famous, came from his research of the Hopi language. He compared the Hopi language to the English language and found that the linguistic structures to be very different. In comparing the English language with Hopi, Whorf pointed out that English-language categories convey discreteness with regard to time and space, but Hopi does not (Ember, Ember, & Peregrine, 2012). Whorf argues that this implies a different way of thinking. Speakers of Hopi and English translate their time differently; therefore, they create their perceptions of time in a different way as well. In English, time is referred to as object nouns. English entails a past, present, and future and things occur at an exact time. The Hopi refers time to sequential cycles rather than concrete objects. Therefore, time is not an object but an ongoing process. English speakers perceive time as a fact occurring on the continuum of past, present, and future (Jackson, 2010). In example, the phrase “She is walking” demonstrates linear concepts of time.
Would speaking different languages really change our view of the world? There have been many studies and debates rather or not language changes the way the world is perceived. LERA BORODITSKY is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Editor in Chief of Frontiers in Cultural Psychology. She is one of the world’s experts on language and cognition. Lera Boroditsky proposed a study to see if speakers of other languages think about things like time. To test the idea, individuals were given sets of pictures that showed some type of chronological progression (e.g. pictures of a man aging, or a crocodile growing, or a banana being eaten). The individuals were to arrange the photos that showed some type of sequential order of the progression. She tested each in person in two separate sittings, each time facing in a different key direction. The English speakers arranged the pictures with time proceeding left to right. The Hebrew speakers arranged the cards from right to left. Therefore, if one grew up speaking Hebrew rather than English, their objective reality might very well be different.
I believe my sense of reality may have been different if I grew up speaking another language besides English. In the article written by R.S. Badhesha, he personally conducted an experiment and ask a relative from India if they were aware of a word for coffee table in his ethnic language Punjabi and the response was “no.” He stated there was no word for coffee table and that if they were asked to visualize a coffee table when they were younger and still lived in the nation in which they were born, they would have never know what a coffee table was. In my personal experiment regarding the same topic, I asked a relative of mine from Germany if there was a German word for coffee table. She stated the word “wohnzimmer tisch” refers to coffee table. However, she made a good point by stating that there are different words in each language that are so specific to the region you are living in that no dictionary would be able to translate. For example, the region in which she is from, they refer to a blanket as “kolter”. If you were to translate blanket to a “proper” German it would be translated as “decke”. If a child grew up in one particular reason where a blanket was called a “kolter” and they were asked to what a “decke” they would not know what it was as they have not known it to be called that and would have no perception as to what it was. Therefore, if I would have grown up speaking German or any other language for that fact, my objective reality would be different due to the fact that I would not even know what certain words were because they would not even exist in my mind because the word itself does not exist in the language.
I personally agree with the theory of linguistic hypothesis that what language you speak can change the way you see the world around you and that language can influence thoughts and knowledge. I think Education, culture, and religion are the three main things that affect language. The more education you have, the more views you will have which will give you many different perspectives on how you view the world. I very much believe my sense of reality would be completely different if I would have grown up speaking a completely different language. Language can shape the way we think about things such as colors, time, gender, objects. Studies have also proven that different languages keep track of time differently. Therefore, I believe language profoundly shapes the way we think, the way we view the world, and the way we live our lives.

References
Badhesha, R.S. (Spring, 2008). The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~johnca/spch100/4-9-sapir.htm
Boroditsky, Lera. (2009). How does our Language shape the way we think?. Copyright © 2013 By Edge Foundation, Inc All Rights Reserved. Retrieved from: http://edge.org/conversation/how-does-our-language-shape-the-way-we-think Ember, Carol R., Ember, Melvin, Peregrine, Peter N. (2012). Human Evolution and Culture: Highlights of Anthropology (7th ed.). Pearson.
Jackson, Ronald L. (2010). Encyclopedia of Identity, Volume 1. Retrieved July 19, 2013, from http://books.google.com/books?id=C2WmSCOBR2IC&pg=PA653&lpg=PA653&dq=obj
Swoyer, Chris. (2003). The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Retrieved July 19, 2013, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/supplement2.html

References: Badhesha, R.S. (Spring, 2008). The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~johnca/spch100/4-9-sapir.htm Boroditsky, Lera. (2009). How does our Language shape the way we think?. Copyright © 2013 By Edge Foundation, Inc All Rights Reserved. Retrieved from: http://edge.org/conversation/how-does-our-language-shape-the-way-we-think Ember, Carol R., Ember, Melvin, Peregrine, Peter N. (2012). Human Evolution and Culture: Highlights of Anthropology (7th ed.). Pearson. Jackson, Ronald L. (2010). Encyclopedia of Identity, Volume 1. Retrieved July 19, 2013, from http://books.google.com/books?id=C2WmSCOBR2IC&pg=PA653&lpg=PA653&dq=obj Swoyer, Chris. (2003). The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Retrieved July 19, 2013, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/supplement2.html