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Explorations in Linguistic Relativity

Author: Martin Pütz

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 9027237069

About a century after the year Benjamin Lee Whorf (18971941) was born, his theory complex is still the object of keen interest to linguists. Rencently, scholars have argued that it was not his theory complex itself, but an over-simplified, reduced section taken out of context that has become known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that has met with so much resistance among linguists over the last few decades. Not only did Whorf present his views much more subtly than most people would believe, but he also dealt with a great number of other issues in his work. Taking Whorf's own notion of linguistic relativity as a starting point, this volume explores the relation between language, mind and experience through its historical development, Whorf's own writing, its misinterpretations, various theoretical and methodological issues and a closer look at a few specific issues in his work.

Evidence for Linguistic Relativity

Author: Susanne Niemeier

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 9789027237057

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This volume has arisen from the 26th International LAUD Symposium on "Humboldt and Whorf Revisited. Universal and Culture-Specific Conceptualizations in Grammar and Lexis." While contrasting two or more languages, the papers in this volume either provide empirical evidence confirming hypotheses related to linguistic relativity, or deal with methodological issues of empirical research.These new approaches to Whorf's hypotheses do not focus on mere theorizing but provide more and more empirical evidence gathered over the last years. They prove in a very sophisticated way that Whorf's ideas were very lucid ones, even if Whorf's insights were framed in a terminology which lacked the flexibility of linguistic categories developed over the last quarter of this century, especially in cognitive linguistics. To date, there is sufficient proof to claim that linguistic relativity is indeed a vital issue, and the current volume confirms a more general trend for rehabilitating Whorf's theory complex and also offers evidence for it. It contains articles written by scholars from various fields of linguistics including phonology, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, historical linguistics, anthropological linguistics and (cross-)cultural semantics, which all contribute to a re-evaluation and partial reformulation of Whorf's thinking.

Evidence for Linguistic Relativity

Author: Susanne Niemeier

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2000-04-15

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9027284466

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This volume has arisen from the 26th International LAUD Symposium on “Humboldt and Whorf Revisited. Universal and Culture-Specific Conceptualizations in Grammar and Lexis”. While contrasting two or more languages, the papers in this volume either provide empirical evidence confirming hypotheses related to linguistic relativity, or deal with methodological issues of empirical research.These new approaches to Whorf’s hypotheses do not focus on mere theorizing but provide more and more empirical evidence gathered over the last years. They prove in a very sophisticated way that Whorf’s ideas were very lucid ones, even if Whorf’s insights were framed in a terminology which lacked the flexibility of linguistic categories developed over the last quarter of this century, especially in cognitive linguistics. To date, there is sufficient proof to claim that linguistic relativity is indeed a vital issue, and the current volume confirms a more general trend for rehabilitating Whorf’s theory complex and also offers evidence for it. It contains articles written by scholars from various fields of linguistics including phonology, psycholinguistics, language acquisition, historical linguistics, anthropological linguistics and (cross-)cultural semantics, which all contribute to a re-evaluation and partial reformulation of Whorf’s thinking.

Rethinking Linguistic Relativity

Author: John J. Gumperz

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-07-11

Total Pages: 504

ISBN-13: 9780521448901

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Linguistic relativity is the claim that culture, through language, affects the way in which we think, and especially our classification of the experienced world. This book reexamines ideas about linguistic relativity in the light of new evidence and changes in theoretical climate. The editors have provided a substantial introduction that summarizes changes in thinking about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in the light of developments in anthropology, linguistics and cognitive science. Introductions to each section will be of especial use to students.

Linguistic Relativity in SLA

Author: Zhaohong Han

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 184769277X

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Crosslinguistic influence is an established area of second language research, and as such, it has been subject to extensive scrutiny. Although the field has come a long way in understanding its general character, many issues still remain a conundrum, for example, why does transfer appear selective, and why does transfer never seem to go away for certain linguistic elements? Unlike most existing studies, which have focused on transfer at the surface form level, the present volume examines the relationship between thought and language, in particular thought as shaped by first language development and use, and its interaction with second language use. The chapters in this collection conceptually explore and empirically investigate the relevance of Slobin's thinking-for-speaking hypothesis to adult second language acquisition, offering compelling and enlightening evidence of the fundamental nature of crosslinguistic influence in adult second language acquisition "This is a landmark publication - the first to concertedly address the implications for SLA of Slobin's thinking-for-speaking hypothesis. Do processes of conceptualisation that L1s predispose speakers to affect their L2 production, and if so in what ways? Can we `re-think' for L2 speaking, and what cognitive abilities enable this? The research issues this book raises are fundamentally important for SLA theory and pedagogy alike." Peter Robinson, Professor of Linguistics and SLA, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan "Language affects how we think. Slobin's (1996) thinking-for-speaking hypothesis concerns the ways that native language directs speakers' attention to pick those characteristics of events that are readily encodable therein. In this impressive collection, Han and Cadierno marshal strong support for effects of native language upon second language use, i.e. for `rethinking-for-speaking'. A must-read for anybody interested in linguistic relativity and transfer in SLA." Nick Ellis, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan, USA

Space in Language and Cognition

Author: Stephen C. Levinson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2003-03-20

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 9780521011969

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Languages differ in how they describe space, and such differences between languages can be used to explore the relation between language and thought. This 2003 book shows that even in a core cognitive domain like spatial thinking, language influences how people think, memorize and reason about spatial relations and directions. After outlining a typology of spatial coordinate systems in language and cognition, it is shown that not all languages use all types, and that non-linguistic cognition mirrors the systems available in the local language. The book reports on collaborative, interdisciplinary research, involving anthropologists, linguists and psychologists, conducted in many languages and cultures around the world, which establishes this robust correlation. The overall results suggest that thinking in the cognitive sciences underestimates the transformative power of language on thinking. The book will be of interest to linguists, psychologists, anthropologists and philosophers, and especially to students of spatial cognition.

From Whorf to Montague

Author: Pieter A. M. Seuren

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2013-10-03

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0191504734

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This book explores the relations between language, the world, the minds of individual speakers, and the collective minds of particular language communities. Pieter Seuren examines the status of abstract rule systems underlying speech and considers how much computational power may be attributed to the human mind. The book opens with chapters on the social reality of language, the ancient question of the primacy of language or thought, and the relation between universal and language-specific features. Professor Seuren then considers links between language, logic, and mathematics: he suggests the facts of language require a theory with abstract principles, and that grammars should be seen as mediating between propositionally structured thoughts and systems, such as speech, for the production of utterances. He argues that grammars are neither autonomous nor independent of meaning. He concludes by considering how a fundamental rephrasing of the basic principles of logic could reconnect it with cognition and language and involve a principled rejection of possible-world semantics.

Language Diversity and Thought

Author: John A. Lucy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-07-02

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9780521387972

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An examination of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis on the relationship between grammar and thought.

Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics

Author: René Dirven

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2004-06-30

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 9027295417

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Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics is designed as a comprehensive introductory text for first and second-year university students of language and linguistics. It provides a chapter on each of the more established areas in linguistics such as lexicology, morphology, syntax, phonetics and phonology, historical linguistics, and language typology and on some of the newer areas such as cross-cultural semantics, pragmatics, text linguistics and contrastive linguistics. In each of these areas language is explored as part of a cognitive system comprising perception, emotion, categorisation, abstraction processes, and reasoning. All these cognitive abilities may interact with language and be influenced by language. Thus the study of language in a sense becomes the study of the way we express and exchange ideas and thoughts. This Second Revised Edition is corrected, updated and expanded. Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics is clearly presented and organized after having been tested in several courses in various countries. Includes exercises (solutions to be found on the Internet).