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 reality. Sapir believes the worlds in which societies live are distinct worlds, not simply the same worlds with different labels attached. In a paper published in 1929 tell us: 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