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The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

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EN 301 Sociolinguistics
Review Paper

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Language is a composite of dialects before it became a language, a language became a language because of a complex
process…The native language may have a strong influence on learning and acquisition from people and the
environment. Therefore, the language of people may be determined by culture or by his/her thoughts (innateness).
This paper will explain the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, its underlying theories, and language determinism. It will also
discuss how language determinism became a barrier in discourse and the relationship between language and culture.

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, commonly referred to as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, explores the idea that the
language one uses affects how one perceives reality. J.A. Lucy, (2001) [1]. The two important theories before it
flourished is the theory of behaviorism and cognitivism, herein, “The idea that a person's native language determines
how he or she thinks was popular among behaviorists of the 1930s and on until cognitive psychology theories came
about, beginning in the 1950s and increasing in influence in the 1960s. (Behaviorism taught that behavior is a result
of external conditioning and doesn't take feelings, emotions, and thoughts into account as affecting behavior. Cognitive
psychology studies mental processes such as creative thinking, problem-solving, and attention.” Nordquist, Richard.
(2020, August 26) [2].

The main concept of linguistic determinism/language determinism is that language itself and its structures limit
and determine human knowledge or thought. People’s world and views are determined by experiences and they act
accordingly based on linguistics relatively. “Language is not only a means to transfer ideas and concepts but it also
creates and reflects them. It can give birth to phenomena that do not exist as such. Being a means of inter-cultural
communication, language is also the bearer of a national make-up with its light or serious pronouncement, solemnity
or dramatism.” Baghdasaryan, Susanna. (2011) [3]. From Ottenheimer, Harriet Joseph (2009) “language determinism
is viewed as the stronger form—because language is viewed as a complete barrier, a person is stuck with the
perspective that the language enforces—while linguistic relativity is perceived as a weaker form of the theory because
language is discussed as a lens through which life can be focused through, but the lens can be changed, and
perspectives can be changed along with” The belief or conviction of people will always prevail in a discourse, some
people tend not to mind about what people are saying, and so they use their own language instead of the target
language, thus, this may affect to the continuity and communication, instead of connection, this becomes a barrier.
[4]. Meanwhile, the formulation of thoughts according to Whorf, is not a conscious, independent process, rather,
thoughts are determined by the specific grammar and vocabulary of the language in which ideas are expressed. The
world, as each individual views it, is, therefore, organized and rationalized through language; because language is the
way thoughts are expressed, language can also shape thoughts [5].
As support, Li, Jing. (2022), “believes that language and thought are inseparable. Beginning from the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis and their theory of linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity, this article agrees with the influence of
language over thought but refutes the extreme viewpoint of linguistic determinism from several points, proving the
independence and mutual influence of language and thought” [6].

The relationship between language and culture in Sapir-Worf Hypothesis

The emphasis of hypothesis of Sapir and Worf posits that language and culture are affecting the language and structure
considering that culture is composed of linguistic properties from the people around; the language is enforced and
determines the way they think and the way they live, thus, culture may have relativity to language and communication.
It’s been also supported by the causal relationship between language and culture or known as linguistic relativism.
(Kaplan's Thought Patterns & Intercultural Communication, 2018) “has researched the ways in which language and
culture influence narrative construction and posited that our first language (mother tongue) has a powerful influence
on the way we shape our thoughts and organize our ideas. He describes linear, circular, metaphoric, argument/rebuttal
styles, etc., and associates these with particular language groups.” [7]. Thus, “the notion of lingua culture—the idea
that language is culture-bound”, Shaules, Joseph. (2019) [8]. Indeed, language determinism strongly advocates the
way that people think, work, and construct meaning which leads to language patterns and thought. It is also shaped by
experience through cultures and people around, a connected source of human language.
 References:

[1] J.A. Lucy. (2001). Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, Pergamon,
pp.13486-13490. doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03042-4.
[2] Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 26). The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Linguistic Theory. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/sapir-whorf-hypothesis-1691924
[3] Baghdasaryan, Susanna. (2011). On Language Determinism and Relativity. Armenian Folia Anglistika. 7. 40-43.
10.46991/AFA/2011.7.2.040.
[4] Ottenheimer, Harriet Joseph (2009). The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. pp. 28–41. ISBN 9780495508847.
[5] Whorf, B.L. (1956). "Science and Linguistics". In Carroll, J.B. Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings of
Benjamin Lee Whorf. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 212–214. ISBN 0-262-73006-5
[6] Li, Jing. (2022). Relationship Between Language and Thought: Linguistic Determinism, Independence, or Interaction?.
Journal of Contemporary Educational Research. 6. 32-37. 10.26689/jcer.v6i5.3926.
[7] Kaplan's Thought Patterns & Intercultural Communication. (2018, February 6). https://study.com/academy/lesson/kaplans-
thought-patterns-intercultural-communication.html.
[8] Shaules, Joseph. (2019). The Language and Culture Debate. 10.1007/978-981-15-0587-4_8.

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