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To what degree might different languages shape in their speakers different concepts of themselves and the world? What are the implications of such differences for knowledge?
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Language Essay To what degree might different languages shape in their speakers different concepts of themselves and the world? What are the implications of such differences for knowledge? Different languages shape the way speakers perceive themselves and the world. This issue goes back to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity. Language seems to reflect the different cultural concerns pf the speakers. The history of language displays the struggle against limitations built into the language systems. Benjamin Lee Whorf, a student of Edward Sapir, conducted a study of the structure of the Hopi Indian language and the Standard Average European language. Whorf found that both cultures' languages conceptualize reality in different ways. Whorf believed that the Hopi emphasized on events rather than Europeans who emphasized in terms of space and time. Whorf's comparison of the two cultures convinced him that contrasts of worldviews resulted from the differences in their languages. Whorf's conclusion of his...
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