Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

English

Etymology

Named after two researchers, Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf, who observed that linguistic differences have consequences in human cognition and behavior.

Proper noun

the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

  1. (linguistics) The hypothesis that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview or cognition.
    • 2020 August 8, Zui, “Controlled Languages — Newspeak”, in The Language Closet‎[1]:
      Newspeak sets the scene of linguistic determinism, where language is hypothesised to influence or control a people group’s thought processes. In popular terms, this has been referred to as part of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or an aspect of linguistic relativity, where individuals perceive the world based on the structure of their habitually-used language.

Translations

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