...Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis ANT 101 July 19, 2013 The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis theorizes that language is not just voicing something, but it is a shaper of ideas which basically means that language can determine our perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors in reality. Edward Sapir developed and published this hypothesis in the 1920’s. In 1956, Benjamin Lee Whorf published his work developing this hypothesis based on his work using the Hopi and English languages. Both of the ideas are commonly known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and also commonly referred to as linguistic relativity. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis asserted the influence of language on thought and perception. The hypothesis implies that speakers of different languages think and perceive reality in different ways and that each language has its own worldview. This paper will entail how my objective reality might have been shaped by my current language and also how might my reality be different if I grew up speaking another language. For Sapir, language does not reflect reality but actually shapes it to a large extent. Sapir believes that language and behavior equally influence each other. The world cannot exist objectively or in a manner that separates human interactions from cultural linguistic expression but since the perception of reality is influenced by our linguistic habits, it follows that language plays an important role in the process of thought. He argues that linguistic systems determine perceptions of social...
Words: 1437 - Pages: 6
... Humboldt maintained that speech is inherently and implicitly creative. Human beings take their place in speech and continue to modify language and thought by their creative exchanges. Worldview remains a confused and confusing concept in English, used very differently by linguists and sociologists. It is for this reason that Underhill suggests five subcategories: world-perceiving, world-conceiving, cultural mindset, personal world, and perspective (see Underhill 2009, 2011 & 2012). Though the work of Humboldt offers a deep insight into the relationship between thinking and speaking, and though Edward Sapir gives a very subtle account of this relationship in English. English linguists tend to persist in attaching discussion of worldviews to the work of Whorf. And this trend has not changed with cognitive linguistics. The linguistic relativity hypothesis of Benjamin Lee Whorf describes how the syntactic-semantic structure of a language becomes an underlying structure for the Weltanschauung of a people through the organization of the causal perception of the world and the linguistic categorization of entities. As linguistic categorization emerges as a representation of worldview and causality, it further modifies social perception and thereby leads to a continual interaction between...
Words: 346 - Pages: 2
...anthropologists do? - Generally engage in participant observation – - Also use interviewing, surveying, consensuses, other - Extended stay in research site - Conduct research in local language - May develop close ties with local people Know ethnology and ethnography Ethnography may generalize from a limited time experience or contact with a small number of people Ethnographer cannot see or experience everything or every perspective - Subjectivity of data Ethnography is frequently rife with ethical dilemma LANGUAGE - is a human biological adaption - We are hardwired to acquire language, but it can only be activated through society - There may be basic principle and rules which are foundation of all languages (Chomsky – “universal grammar”) - Words are SYMBOLS – something that stands for something else - Since the relationship between sound and meaning is symbolic: humans can combine worlds and sounds into new, meaningful utterances that have never been heard before - Symbols enable humans to transmit and store information (including abstract concepts) - This allows us to create and transmit culture What is Boroditsky’s main point in “How languages shape thought?” - Anthropologists have long been interested in the relationship between language and culture - Does language merely label or describe Sapir-whorf hypothesis - The claim that the culture and thought patterns of people are strongly influenced by the language they speak - Perception and understandings of...
Words: 968 - Pages: 4
...SUBJECT: PRODUCT MANAGEMENT “A STUDY ON THE “VIRTUAL BRANDING”” | | | | | | | | | VIRTUAL BRANDING The paper places emphasis on two aspects of the future of branding: 1. The ultimate limit of branding, that the authors have baptised as V-Branding (Virtual Branding), and 2. The development of a framework, process and assessment tool that allows companies to evaluate and steer their brand(s). The assessment tool, denominated as the RIB matrix-graph (Real-Imaginary Branding matrix-graph) can be used in 2D format (with Awareness and Degree of Diffusion forming the two axes or dimensions) and 3D format i.e. with an additional dimension such as age group, social status, period, time frame etc. Tool applicability stretches from the small business to transnational companies and from products to services. The paper also looks at the transition from lifestyles to mindstyles, the evolution of the consumer and how these link to branding evolution INTRODUCTION The chapter proceeds to describe the influence of brands on the buying process, and the importance of customer satisfaction...
Words: 7071 - Pages: 29
...mentioned in one way or another on this study guide. If it’s not in the study guide, it will not be on the test. BE ABLE TO DEFINE AND RECOGNIZE EXAMPLES OF THESE TERMS: Source Message Channel Receiver Feedback Encoding Decoding “Multicoders” Verbal codes Nonverbal codes Noise Selective exposure Selective attention Selective perception Selective retention (memory) Denotative meaning Connotative meaning Symbol Referent Semiosis Sapir-Whorf hypothesis mneumonics as memory aids “Wysiati” Linguistic determinism Fallible memory Transactive memory Transactive encoding Transactive retrieval Contested memory System 1 vs. System 2 Semantic differential Halo effect Priming Framing Language Paraphrasing Dating (language) Indexing (language) BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: 1. According to the opening lecture, what is main thing that the study of communication about? 2. In the Floyd study discussed the first day, how did kissing their romantic partners more often affect research subjects? 3. According to the lecture on models of communication, where can we find meanings? 4. According to Dr. Parks, what is the single most important communication skill? 5. How can the channel of communication influence our...
Words: 690 - Pages: 3
...the exam a number of terms, names, and concepts drawn from the following list. The student will pick ten (10) and answer in a short I.D./short answer format. Although your answers should be concise, they should be complete enough to convince the instructor that you thoroughly understand the course material. Where applicable, use examples or illustrations. Each student is permitted to have one 8” x 5” handwritten note card during the exam. Frank Boas scientific method “Creation Science” theory hypothesis Karl Marx Charles Darwin Frederick Engels Origin of the Species Jared Diamond “social Darwinism” Margaret Mead natural selection Yehudi Cohen zoological taxonomy Anthropology vs. Sociology taxon ethnographic methodologies Paleolithic genealogical method Mesolithic interviewing techniques Neolithic key cultural consultants agricultural revolution in Neolithic longitudinal research human zoological taxonomy annual cycle what primates have in common why anthropologists should spend more than one annual cycle primates “ivory tower” approach differences between humans and other primates “advocacy” approach Homininoids Homo sapiens American Anthropological Association Hominins Homo sapiens sapiens ethics for ethnographers Hominids “archaic” homo sapiens ethics for archeologists human zoological taxonomy ethics for Anthropology instructors stereoscopic...
Words: 692 - Pages: 3
...culture constrain people? (in one line) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Regarding the topic, way and style of presenting information, please provide one example about the reactions of social groups based on differing values given to a speech act in different cultures. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5. Regarding the imagined communities, it is said that the city of London is inseparable, in the cultural imagination of its citizens, from Shakespeare and Dickens. Please provide one example about imagined communities as far as Vietnamese culture is concerned. 6. Which of the brief description fits each of the two versions (strong and weak) of Linguistic Relativism by Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis |Version |Description | | |- Lexicons will reflect aspects of the culture (cultural differences in semantic...
Words: 2043 - Pages: 9
...Verbal Communication From Chapter 5 of Human Communication in Society, Third Edition. Jess K. Alberts, Thomas K. Nakayama, Judith N. Martin. Copyright © 2013 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 87 Verbal Communication chapter outline The ImporTance of Verbal communIcaTIon Language and Perception Language and Power Power and Words Power and Accent Power and Identity Labels WhaT Is Verbal communIcaTIon? Functions of Language Components of Language Influences on Verbal communIcaTIon Gender Age Regionality Ethnicity and Race Education and Occupation eThIcs and Verbal communIcaTIon Hate Speech Confirming and Disconfirming Communication ImproVIng your Verbal communIcaTIon skIlls “I” Statements Become Aware of the Power of Language The IndIVIdual, Verbal communIcaTIon, and socIeTy 88 “ The verbal elements of communication are the foundation on which meaning is created. When I took a trip to Britain, I thought people would speak with a “British accent.” I didn’t realize that there are many different accents and the differences are not just pronunciation, but also vocabulary. In order to get my message across, I learned to avoid using slang words as much as I could. I didn’t realize how much American slang I use in my everyday speech! Despite the many different ways of speaking English across the UK, I felt the way that I speak English made me stick out as an American. W hen we think of “communication...
Words: 17777 - Pages: 72
...Linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, purports that language shapes thoughts; that the language one uses can have an effect on one’s habitual thinking (Boroditsky,2001). In her article “Does language shape thought? Mandarin and English Speakers’ Conception of Time (2001), Boroditsky’s set out to ascertain the influence of language on thinking research. Her study focussed on the aspect of time in English and Mandarin speakers; investigating if the differences in talking about time results in how these two groups of speakers think about time by using an implicit measure of reaction time (RT). She argued that because English speakers typically used horizontal-oriented spatial metaphors such as ‘forward’ or ‘back’ for temporal relations, they might grow to think about time horizontally. Conversely, because Mandarin speakers commonly used vertical terms such as 上 (shang) and 下 (xia), which means ‘up’ and ‘down’ in English; this mapping may also become habits of thoughts. From her experiments, Boroditsky noted that Mandarin speakers relied on a ‘Mandarin’ way of thinking even when responding to English sentences. The subjects’ RT mirrored their perceived habit of thinking about time with Mandarin speakers demonstrating vertical biases even when thinking in English. Her investigations also suggested that earlier exposure to English decreases this semantic biases. Finally, her findings with English speakers briefly trained in vertical spatiotemporal metaphors...
Words: 1033 - Pages: 5
...Introductory Sociology Online Test 1 February 26, 2011 Chapter 1 Questions: 1. The sociological perspective stresses the ___________________ in which people live. a. social contexts b. geographical location c. neighborhoods d. cities 2. What world event most inspired the development of sociology? a. the Industrial Revolution b. the invention of the printing press c. the discovery of the New World d. the drafting of the U.S. Constitution 3. According to Marx, the capitalists, who own the means of production, exploit the: a. bourgeoisie b. proletariat c. masses d. peasants 4. The degree to which people are tied to their social group is called: a. social prevention b. positivism c. social submergence d. social integration 5. Laud Humphreys’ study of a city park bathroom resulted in an ethical controversy because: a. his study could not be replicated b. his results were falsified c. some of his writing had been plagiarized d. he used deception and did not identify himself as a researcher 6. Weber concluded that the key factor in the rise of capitalism was: a. social upheaval b. survival of the fittest c. religion d. technology 7. Despite writing an insightful examination of the United States, Harriet Martineau’s work was ignored because she was: a. not a real sociologist b. a theologian ...
Words: 1680 - Pages: 7
...Cambridge University Press 0521534968 - Study Writing: A Course in Writing Skills for Academic Purposes, Second Edition Liz Hamp-Lyons and Ben Heasley Excerpt More information UNIT The academic writing process This unit aims to improve writing skills by: 1 e introducing the idea that writing is a set of processes r showing how to distinguish between academic and personal styles of writing t looking at the grammar of academic discourse u practising visualising text as a pre-writing step. Introduction You will already be capable of writing in English and so this course is intended to extend that skill to include the different types of written English essential for studying. In this unit, we will show you examples of both personal and formal writing and help you distinguish between them. A number of texts will be used as examples of the writing process, and you will be asked to identify the elements of grammar that indicate formal writing. In later units, we will study the processes of writing in more detail. All the later units will include opportunities to learn and practise at least one of the key grammatical elements identified here. Thinking about writing processes People set about the writing process in many different ways. They require all kinds of different situations in which to feel ‘comfortable’ when writing. Use the following short questionnaire to help you think about your own writing processes. • When you write an important text, do you make more...
Words: 3374 - Pages: 14
...Unit 5 Intercultural Communication Overview. This unit focuses on the role of communication in the relationships of peoples and groups with different cultural, ethnic, religious or social backgrounds. It looks at both the cultural barriers to effective communication as well as to various ways those barriers can be overcome. This unit also addresses the concept of dialogue as the use of communication to achieve harmony, mutual understanding and respect among peoples and groups. Learning Outcomes: Students who complete Unit 5 will be able to: explain the role of ethnocentrism in intercultural communication discuss guidelines for effective intercultural and interreligious communication compare Arabic and English communication patterns demonstrate intercultural aspects of inter-religious communication Key Concepts for Unit 5 Definition and conceptualization of intercultural communication and overview of guidelines Overview of ethnocentrism and prejudice in communication Definition and conceptualization of dialogue as a model of communication ► Intercultural Communication Nations and people of the world are increasingly interconnected and mutually interdependent. Globally, most cities and countries are becoming more diverse internally, with citizens and residents of varying races, religions, ethnicities and national backgrounds. Meanwhile, greater the risk is associated with economic or political aloofness and social isolation. All of these social forces are fostering increasingly...
Words: 4648 - Pages: 19
... The current graduation paper is devoted to the detailed study of the neologisms in the American press. The latter is observed via examining the cases of neologisms brought forward by B. Obama. In this paper an attempt was made to throw light upon many words and phrases that are used in modern American political lexicon, as well as to examine some political neologisms that help to cover the 2008 Presidental Election Campaign. The graduation paper consists of an introduction, two chapters, conclusion and bibliography. The introduction manifests the main topic of the research, the major phenomenon related to the investigation and to basic structure of the paper. In throws light upon the development of the political language which promotes the creation of neologisms. Chapter One analyzes the political language in general as well as the four main political styles that the political language is...
Words: 5225 - Pages: 21
...Week 2 1. Which of the following is true about the development of the intercultural communication area of study? a. it originated with scholars looking for practical answers to help overseas workers. 2. Which approach to intercultural communication has the goal of initiating social change? b. critical 3. Which of the following approaches to intercultural communication views reality as external to humans? c. social science 4. Which methods are primarily used in the critical approach to intercultural communication? d. text and media analyses 5. the social science approach is also called the e. functionalist approach 6. researchers using a critical perspective attempt to explain f. how macro contexts such as political structures influence communication 7. one limitation of social science approach is g. the possibility that the methods used are not culturally sensitive 8. The goals for the social science approach are h. describe and predict human behavior 9. the study of how people use personal space is called i. proxemics 10. Which dialectic of intercultural communication addresses the fact that some of our cultural patterns are constant and some are shifting? j. static-dynamic dialect 11. The privilege-Disadvantage dialectic recognizes that k. some people are disadvantaged in some contexts and privileged in other contexts 12. Which of the following might explain why early...
Words: 2872 - Pages: 12
...3: Culture While this Hong Kong pedestrian appears not to notice the Nike billboard behind him, featuring NBA star LeBron James wearing the Air Zoom sneaker, the Chinese people certainly did notice. The Oregon-based Nike corporation was forced to pull its “Chamber of Fear” promotion, based on a Bruce Lee movie, after an outraged public objected to the image of a U.S. athlete defeating a kung fu master. In the global marketplace, cultural differences can undermine even the most elaborate promotional campaign. inside Culture and Society Development of Culture around the World Elements of Culture Culture and the Dominant Ideology Case Study: Culture at Wal-Mart Cultural Variation Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism Boxes Sociology in the Global Community: Life in the Global Village Sociology in the Global Community: Cultural Survival in Brazil Sociology on Campus: A Culture of Cheating? “Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which has evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique. The fundamental belief underlying the whole...
Words: 15791 - Pages: 64
