Edward Sapir [1884-1939]

1
Edward Sapir1884-1939

• Born in Germany and immigrated into the United
  States in late 19th century
• Events occuring during this time include the
  following
• - Wright Bros. first airplane 1903
• - Einstein proposes theory of relativity
  1905
• - World War I 191
• - Panama Canal completed 1920
• - Heisenbergs uncertainty principle
  1928

2
Studies

• BA and MA in Germanic Philosophy at Columbia
  University 1904 1905
• Linguistic interests were further than this
• 1907 Sapir studies native american language in
  Oregon
• 1908 Sapir studies yana language in northern
  california
• Conducts ethnographic interviews with Ishi
• 1909 Phd in Anthropology at University of
  Columbia while the study was just emerging

3
Life Work

• Language 1928
• Nootka and various indigenous native american
  languages
• Wishram Chinook, Navajo, Nootka, Paiute, Takelma,
  and Yana.

4
Work

• Linguistic Drift Theory
• Meets with Benjamin Whorf while instructing at
  the University of Yale in the 1930s
• Compose the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
• Durings the 1940s this was proved true
• Inspired students and was a key force in the
  establishing anthropological study

5
Why is language important

• communication
• cultural preservation

6
His thoughts

• He believed language was a symbol of human
  relationship
• He believed it was impossible to understand
  cultural behavioralism without language
• Language shapes our perceptions
• Interested in abstract connections between
  personality, verbal expression and socially
  determined behavior

7
Relevance

• Stimulating a topic could lead to exponential
  amounts of information.
• This could be used to raise awareness of smaller
  aspects of networks
• This could be used to raise awareness of lesser
  known aspects
• He receives a degree in a newly developing field