Whorf Hypothesis

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is a linguistic theory that states a correlation between the language a subject speaks and their ability to understand the world . According to Benjamin Whorf , we dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages ' This concept has come to be known as the principle of linguistic relativity and is often interpreted as the belief that man 's thought processes and behavior are completely dependant on the language he speaks

This theory has wide-ranging impact on the process of producing accurate translations between languages . As words are used

to express concepts , a culture that does not recognize a particular concept will not have appropriate words in its vocabulary to express that concept clearly . Thus in translating such concepts , certain exceptions and allowances for error must be made . For example , a given language (Language A ) may not have an exact word equivalent to express the concept behind the color mauve ' as known to English speakers . Thus the translation of a subject described in English as being mauve may have to be translated as the equivalent of purple ' in Language A

Consequently , according to the theory , speakers of our example `Language A ' would have no real-life concept of the color English speakers know as mauve . To them it would most likely be known simply by its relativity to the color purple (ie . light purple , otherwise indistinguishable from similar shades . This dumbing down ' of language can result in a loss of clarity when translating from a higher language rich in adjectives to a more simple and less concise language

More dramatic than a simplifying of descriptors , the potential exists for some concepts to simply be untranslatable between languages . For example , the language of a desert culture would likely have no method of expressing the concept of snow skiing . In cases such as this , it is possible that several sentences may be necessary to express the concept of skiing ' to a culture that has no worldy experience of the sport

Whorf Hypothesis

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis - Wikipedia ( HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis

Toward a History of American Linguistics , EFK Koerner Routledge , 2002...