Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Lexicon Valley Podcast: Does language affect thought?

July 30, 2019

This podcast thoroughly explores and discusses this important question. John McWhorter’s work here is very well researched and very current in the way he addresses more current news articles and studies about this question.

Here is another article that spells it out very well from the Linguistic Society of America.

https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/faq-does-language-i-speak-influence-way-i-think

Here are other resources tagged Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

How do language and lifestyle affect your perceptions?

April 15, 2017

Part of an interesting video series, Do You See What I See. The first part of this link shows an African tribe, the Himba, whose language and environment differ so much from ours that they are able to distinguish different shades very differently from us. The link below is for the part that shows the Himba tribe. At the bottom of the video player are links for the rest of that show.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl7eh1_horizon-do-you-see-what-i-see-part-4-4_shortfilms

Here an article about how those same people are able to discern optical illusions better than people who live in modern societies.

The Astonishing Vision of Namibia’s Nomads

“The Himba people of Namibia can see fine details and ignore distraction much better than most other human beings – a finding that may reflect the many ways that modern life is changing our minds and abilities.”

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170306-the-astonishing-focus-of-namibias-nomads

How Language Influences Emotion

January 5, 2016

“Do you feel something less strongly if you don’t have a word for it?”

“There’s plenty of disagreement over how to define emotions, but at least one thing is certain: They are intensely personal things. A flood of anger, a flash of annoyance—that feeling is yours, is a result of your own unique set of circumstances, is shaping the way you see the world at a given moment.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/12/the-book-of-human-emotions-language-feelings/420978/?mc_cid=f607b9a6a4&mc_eid=34e2887073

LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT: EXAMINING LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY

February 6, 2015

“The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis has changed the way many people look at the relationship between language, thought and cultural perception of reality. It has influenced many scholars and opened up large areas of study. While many like Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf support the notion that language strongly influences thought and others argue that language does not influence thought, the evidence from research indicates that language does influence thought and perception of reality to a degree but language does not govern thought or reality.”

http://www.ttt.org/linglinks/StacyPhipps.htm