Sapir-Whorf-hypothesis

ENGL2C07Loanwords:akaleidoscopeofculturesandlanguagesincontactLecture3Sapir-Whorfhypothesis:LinkinglanguageandculturePhoebeLin,DepartmentofEnglish,[e-mail]loanwordsYesterday’slecture:AhistoricallinguisticperspectiveonloanwordsToday’slecture:Aculturalperspectiveonloanwords2Sapir-WhorfHypothesisTheSapir-WhorfHypothesisisalsoknownastheWhorfianHypothesisandthetheoryoflinguisticrelativityAtheoryoftherelationshipbetweenlanguageandthoughtexpoundedinitsmostexplicitformbyEdwardSapir(1884-1939)andBenjaminLeeWhorf(1897-1941).Sapir-WhorfHypothesissuggeststhatlanguageandculturedetermine(oratleastinfluence)eachother.Cultureis‘thewayoflife,especiallythegeneralcustomsandbeliefs,ofaparticulargroupofpeopleataparticulartime.’(CambridgeOnline)Sapir-WhorfHypothesisAccordingtotheSapir-WhorfHypothesis,languageisnotjustacarrierofthoughts.Itdeterminesorinfluencesthoughts.Itismoredifficult(ifnotimpossible)forapersontodiscussordiscernaconstructifhis/hernativelanguagehasnowordsforit.Islanguagemerelyacarrierofthought?Sapir-WhorfHypothesisLanguagegrowsoutoflife,outofitsneedsandexperiences.-AnnieSullivanThelimitsofmylanguagemeanthelimitsofmyworld.-LudwigWittgensteinDoyouagreewiththeSapir-WhorfHypothesis?Isaperson’sworldlimitedbythelimitsofhis/herlanguage?AstrikingexampleToseeistobelieve.SohereisthestoryoftheHimba=TGSmKKPz7eYColourterms(classicexample)CultureLanguageSignallingtime前天(past)後天(future)Twodaysback(past)Twodaysahead(future)PerceptionoftimeinChineseandEnglish背前天後天backTwodaysaheadTwodaysbackAneyeonthepastAneyeonthefuture褲剪刀眼鏡ContrastingChineseandEnglishTrousersScissorsGlasses•DoyouseeONEobjectorTWOpartsofanobject?Sapir-WhorfHypothesisSapir-WhorfHypothesishastwoparts1.Languageinfluencesculture2.CultureinfluenceslanguagePart2suggeststhat:thecultureofapeoplefindsreflectioninthelanguagetheyemploy:becausetheyvaluecertainthingsanddotheminacertainway,theycometousetheirlanguageinwaysthatreflectwhattheyvalueandwhattheydo9CultureLanguageExamplessupportingthehypothesisEskimos’wordsforsnow(classicexample)Hopipeople’stwowordsforwater(classicexample)Chinesepeople’smanywordsrelatedtohorsesThePirahãandAdmondawafromtheAmazonKinshipterms(classicexample)CultureLanguageEskimo’ssnowandHopi’swaterFranzBoaz(1911)says...justasEnglishusesderivedtermsforavarietyofformsofwater(liquid,lake,river,brook,rain,dew,wave,foam)thatmightbeformed[…]fromasinglerootmeaning‘water’insomeotherlanguage,soEskimousestheapparentlydistinctrootsaput‘snowontheground’,gana‘fallingsnow’,piqsirpoq‘driftingsnow’,andqimuqsuq‘asnowdrift’Tang(1988):horsesinChineseE.g.specialnamesforhorsesofdifferentages,height,uses,quality,haircolourVerbstodescribehorse-relatedactions:馳、馭、馴、駁、駐、駕、駛、駭、騁、騎、騙、驚Chinesepeople’shorsesPirahã:thelanguageofatribeofAmazonianIndianslivingonthebanksoftheMaiciRiverinBrazilTheTimes25.10.2008“Herewasapeoplesointunewiththeirsurroundingsthattheyhadnonorthorsouth,noleftorright,butmerely“upriver”and“downriver”,adirectionhard-wiredintotheirspeech,likeaGPS.Theyhavenoneedofnumbers,andthusnoquantifiers–nowordsmeaningall,eachorevery.”“Thisisalanguageofthehereandnow”ThePirahãfromtheAmazonThearticle:Amondawa:anotherlanguageoftheAmazonThelanguagehasnowordfortimeperiodssuchasmonthoryearPeopledonotrefertotheirages,butratherassumedifferentnamesindifferentstagesoftheirlivesorastheyachievedifferentstatuswithinthecommunityTheAdmondawafromtheAmazonKinshiptermsChinesekinshiptermsinMandarin=nCFRoILS1jYinCantonese:=annotation_687195&feature=iv&src_vid=nCFRoILS1jY&v=A1HaZ4WLo5015伯伯叔叔姑丈姑丈姨丈姨丈阿哥細佬伯娘嬸嬸姑媽姑姐姨媽阿姨家姐阿妹KinshiptermsUnclesAuntsBrothersSistersKinshiptermsEnglishhasarelativelysimplesystemofkinshipterms,e.g.mom,dad,sister,brother,uncle,aunt,cousinHowever,Chinesehasanelaboratesystemofkinshipterms.WhatinsightsaboutChineseculturecanbegainedfromthisobservationthatChinesehasamuchmoreelaboratesystemofkinshipterms?Drawyourownfamilytreeanddiscussthekinshiptermsemployedwithaclassmatefromadifferentlanguagebackground.18ThemessagesofarThewaypeopleseetheworldisconstrainedbytheirnativelanguage.Atthesametime,thelanguagealsoreflectshowthepeopleseetheworld.Solanguageisnotjustacarrierofthoughts.ExamplesthatcounterSapir-WhorfHypothesisOurlanguagecannotlimitourthoughtsorourunderstandingoftheworldbecause:1.Anylanguagecancreatenewtermstodescribenewconcepts(rememberthe9processesofwordformation?)Languageisnotstatic.Itevolvesandcontinuouslyupdateswiththeculture.E.g.thewordsunfriend(OxfordWordoftheYear2009),selfie(2013),vape(2014)2.Wordscanbeimportedfromothercultures/languages(i.e.loanwords)Loanwordscanwidenapeople’shorizon,enablingthemtoseetheworldfromalternativeperspectives202122SummaryThislecturediscussedSapir-WhorfHypothesis.Despitethewealthofclassicalevidencesupportingthehypothesis,lexicalborrowingprovidesstrongevidenceagainstit.L