Lecture .

The linguistic view of the world

• 1.Language and thought: the Sapir-

Whorf hypothesis
• 2.Humboldt’s theory of relationship
between language and thinking.
• The key component of verbal communication is language.
• Philosophers and linguists recognize language as a means
by which speakers convey the content of their thoughts to
others and they are trying to answer the following
questions:
• Do the languages we speak shape the way we see the
world, the way we think, and the way we live our lives?
• Do people who speak different languages think differently
simply because they speak different languages?
• Many scientists(thinkers) have urged that large
differences in languages lead to large
differences in experience and thought.
• They hold that each language embodies a
worldview, with quite different languages
embodying quite different views, so that
speakers of different languages think about the
world in quite different ways.
• In the 1920s, Edward Sapir expressed his conclusions
thus:
• “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.
• The fact of the matter is that the 'real world' is to a large
extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of
the group.
• No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be
considered as representing the same social reality.
• The worlds in which different societies live are distinct
worlds, not merely the same world with different labels
attached.”
• In other words, the particular language you speak affects
the ideas you can have: the linguistic relativity
hypothesis.
• Sapir’s student Benjamin Lee Whorf came to
be seen as the primary proponent of the
hypothesis, because he published observations
of how he perceived linguistic differences to
have consequences in human cognition and
behavior.
• Whorf extended Sapir's idea and illustrated it
with examples drawn from both his knowledge
of American Indian languages and from his
fire-investigation work experience.
• The stronger form of the hypothesis, proposed
by Whorf, is known as linguistic determinism.
• According to Sapir and Whorf our thoughts are
rooted in language, so we can think about
something only if we have a word or words for it.
• This idea implies that if we do not have a word
for a particular concept, then we cannot
experience that concept.
• It also implies that people will see the world
differently because of the differences in their
languages.
• Thus, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis states that there
are certain thoughts of an individual in one language
that cannot be understood by those who live in
another language.
• A strong version of the hypothesis holds that
language determines thought and linguistic
categories limit and determine cognitive categories.
• A weaker version states, that linguistic categories
and usage influence thought and certain kinds of
non-linguistic behavior.
• 2. Humboldt was one of the first scientists who drew
attention to the close relationship between the language
and the thinking.
• Exploring the language systems of different nationalities,
he concluded that "the difference between languages is
not only in the sounds and signs, but also in the outlook."
• According to him, the grammatical features of language
systems not only reflect the pre-existing differences in
thinking, but also are responsible for the formation of
such differences.
• "The language as an organ that shapes thoughts have
a close relationship between the laws of grammar and
the laws of thinking. Thinking depends not only on the
language in general, but also to a certain extent on
each individual language "(Humboldt, 1820).
• Since the second half of the XIX century, differences
in thinking and perception of the world of different
nations started to be a vigorously debated topic and
aroused the interest of many scientists.
• The modern humanity has experienced enormous progress in
the perception of colors, and therefore the amount of color
concepts of our language systems has increased significantly.
This scientific news caused worldwide debates about color
perception.
• One such example is found in the work by Deutscher who with
interest pointed to the fact that the Russian language has the
concept of "sinii" (dark-blue) and "goluboi" (light-blue) colors,
but in English, for example, they are described with one word
—"blue" and light-blue is considered to be only a shade of
blue. Meanwhile these two colors, in fact, differ in the
wavelengths of the color spectrum (Deutscher, 2010).
• Such features in the perception of colors can be found in the
Kazakh culture, as well. Here, the concept "kök" (blue) is often
used instead of "zhasyl" (green).
• You can meet in the lexical composition of the language, such
words and phrases as "kök shai" (green tea), "kök alma" (green
apple).
• It is because the Kazakhs in the past centuries leading a
nomadic lifestyle every season of the year moved to a better
place. And because the green grass in the "zhailau" (pasture)
seemed blue from away, the two concepts began to be used
together, and therefore, people started using such phrase as "kök
shykty", which meant "ground cover with herbs and grass."
• The theory of Humboldt was further developed in
the works of Whorf and Sapir who developed the
concept of linguistic relativity, which is based on
two principles: linguistic determinism and linguistic
relativity.
• According to the first principle, the language
defines the way of thinking of its speakers, while
the principle of linguistic relativity indicates that
verbal distinctions in one language do not imply
their presence in another.
• Sapir wrote: "In fact, the 'real world' to a large
extent is unconsciously based on the linguistic
norms of the given group... We see, hear and
perceive the world around us all this way and
not otherwise mainly due to the fact that our
choice by its interpretation is predetermined
by the language habits of our society" .
• Whorf, while studying the culture and
language features of the Indian tribes of
America, revealed an interesting fact about
time perception of the Hopi tribe: "Their
language system does not have any words,
grammatical forms or structures for the direct
expression of what we call 'time.'
• This is because while we perceive time as a
motion and think that tomorrow is a new day,
the people of Hopi did not think of time as of
motion, but something like 'becoming later,' and
everything is just repetition and accumulation
of what has already been done before.
• The term "language world" was introduced by
Weisgerber who believed that "every language
has a specific world view of the speaker".
• For the native speaker the mother tongue
represents a form of the world conceptualization
characteristic for the given culture.
• According to W. von Humboldt, each language
reflects some definite worldview. Consequently,
“to the extent perception and activities of a
person depend on his views,” person’s attitude
towards “objects” are completely defined by the
language.
• The same can be said about the famous
statement by H. G. Gadamer “the tradition in
which we live,” as it comes from the
correspondence of Gadamer with V. Malakhov,
it implies, first of all, “linguistic tradition.”
• It is V. Malakhov who comments the thesis in
the following way: “Our reasoning and
superstitions are determined by the language
we think in.
• That means that, firstly, our thoughts—at
predication level—are defined by the inner
structures of the native language.
• Secondly, our reasoning—‘the experience of
reasoning’ is determined by ‘the experience of
the language’—by the history of the culture
created in that language”
• Similarly, according to the so called Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis, the language and the mode of thinking are
closely interconnected.
• The cultural values, ideals, guidelines, the opinion of an
individual about the universe and its role in this universe
find their realization in the language: the language
reflects the fundamental values of the given culture and
at the same time forms them.
• Thus, for the native speaker, the mother language
represents a form for the conceptualization of the world,
characteristic for that given culture.
 Questions on lecture 4
• 1. How do philosophers and linguists recognize language and
what questions are they trying to answer?
• 2. Give your viewpoint: “Large differences in languages lead
to large differences in experience and thought”. What do many
scientists think about it?
• 3. Give your overview on Edward Sapir’s conclusions about
language and thought expressed in the 1920s.
• 4. How are our thoughts rooted in language according to Sapir
and Whorf?
• 5. Give your viewpoint of a strong and a weaker versions of
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.
• 6. What is the close relationship between the language and the
thinking according to Humboldt?
• 7. Give your viewpoint to the worldwide debates about color
perception. Illustrate with examples.
• 8. Define the notions ‘linguistic determinism and linguistic
relativity’.
• 9. What fact did Whorf reveal about time perception while
studying the culture and language features of the Indian tribes
of America?
• 10. Give your viewpoint to H. G. Gadamer’s and
• V. Malakhov’s statement about language and thought?