BENJAMIN WHORF and EDWARD SAPIR: LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY
In the relatively new field of linguistics, there has been debate as to how much cultural backgrounds and languages affect how people perceive the world around them. Benjamin Lee Whorf and Edward Sapir were two of the foremost authorities on the subject. Together, they developed a thesis positing that, not only does language change how different cultures view the world, two cultures coming from backgrounds with two radically different languages effectively live in two very different realities. In other words, the thoughts of one individual will not be understood by someone living in a completely different culture. This ground-breaking theory became known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (Swoyer).1
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EXPERIMENTAL and EMPIRICAL DATA
Kay and Kempton (1984): A Test of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
In this experiment, speakers of English and Tarahumara were shown eight color chips in different shades of blue and green which varied by brightness.
Question: Does the lexical difference result in a distinct judgment of the distances between colors?
Results:
"The Distance Between A and B was exaggerated by the English speakers, but not by the Tarahumara speakers. Chip B is the odd one according to the English speakers; Chip D is the odd one according to the Tarahumara speakers
Kay and Kempton attributed this discrepancy to the English speakers utilizing some sort of a "naming strategy". In other words, since C and D are both considered "blue", Chip B must be the odd one out (Kay). 2
As can be observed, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is holding true in this situation. The two different cultures view their realities through different lenses, and that can be attributed to the difference in language.
In this experiment, speakers of English and Tarahumara were shown eight color chips in different shades of blue and green which varied by brightness.
- Three chips were shown at a time (for 56 repitions) in a "triad" technique.
- Participants were asked to identify which of the three chips was most unlike the others
Question: Does the lexical difference result in a distinct judgment of the distances between colors?
Results:
"The Distance Between A and B was exaggerated by the English speakers, but not by the Tarahumara speakers. Chip B is the odd one according to the English speakers; Chip D is the odd one according to the Tarahumara speakers
Kay and Kempton attributed this discrepancy to the English speakers utilizing some sort of a "naming strategy". In other words, since C and D are both considered "blue", Chip B must be the odd one out (Kay). 2
As can be observed, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is holding true in this situation. The two different cultures view their realities through different lenses, and that can be attributed to the difference in language.