Linguistic Relativity
Just
how profoundly does the language that we use actually
effect the way that we receive and process information?
There are over 5000 languages in use today and each
conveys a slightly different worldview. There are also
languages understood only by those with particular knowledge
and understanding such as mathematical formulae or musical
notations. Language helps us to share our innermost
processes in a symbolic way with others.
Language
also demonstrates cultural and enviornmental priorities.
Thus an eskimo might have 14 words for different types
of snow, whereas western society has numerous names
for different types of financial transaction. We dissect,
categorise, and accord significance to the outside world
according to the rules and expectations of our cultural
environments.
Linguistic
relativity suggests that people with similar linguistic
backgrounds tend to interpret physical evidence in one
way, whereas the same evidence can be interpreted in
radically different ways by those using different forms
of language.
For
example, most indigenous American languages are 'verb,
rather than 'noun' oriented and this fundamentally changes
the way that they understand the world. Using nouns
we compartmentalise the world into separate 'things',
whereas using verbs we see the world as a process of
dynamic movement.
In
other words language doesn't just help us describe our
worlds, but assists us to create and construct our worlds.
'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 worlds with different labels attached'
Edward
Sapir
Is Whorf's
Relativity Einsteins' Relativity? Dan Moonhawk Alford
Reality,
Mind and Language as Field, Wave and Particle Dan
Moonhawk Alford