Title: Linguistic relativity
1Linguistic relativity
- A.K.A. Whorfian hypothesis
- After Benjamin Lee Whorf, author of
- Language, thought, and reality
2Linguistic relativity
- A.K.A. Whorfian hypothesis
- That different languages shape different
perceptions of the world.
3Linguistic relativity
- the principle of linguistic relativity holds
that all observers are not led by the same
physical evidence to the same picture of the
universe, unless their linguistic backgrounds are
similar, or can in some way be calibrated - (Language, thought, and reality, 214)
4Whorf on Hopi (as a metonym)
- I find it gratuitous to assume that a Hopi who
knows only the Hopi language and the cultural
ideas of his own society has the same notions,
often supposed to be intuitions, of time and
space that we have, and that are generally
assumed to be universal. In particular, he has no
general notion or intuition of time as a smooth
flowing continuum in which everything in the
universe proceeds at an equal rate, out of a
future, through a present, into a past - In the Hopi view, time disappears and space is
altered, so that it is no longer the homogeneous
and instantaneous timeless space of our supposed
intuition or of classical Newtonian mechanics. - Language, thought, and reality (56, 58).
5Linguistic relativity hypothesis
- Strong form
- Language determines thought speakers of
different languages inhabit different, mutually
inaccessible realities
- Weak form
- Language influ-ences thought
6Navajo worldview/language
7Navajo and obligation
English I must go there. Navajo It is only good
that I go there.
8Navajo and control
English I am riding the horse. Navajo The horse
runs for me.
9Navajo kinship lexicalization (partial)
grandmother or maternal great aunt grandfather or
paternal great uncle mother or maternal
aunt father or paternal uncle maternal
uncle paternal aunt
- ?akso?t
- hakso?t
- noyeh
- hanih
- hakhnoshe
- akeÚ?hak
10Navajo and motion
one moves into clothing one moves about here and
there a flat-and-flexible object that moves
about one moves about newly to move words out of
an enclosed space
- e?hha?h
- naha?h
- na?lco?s
- ani?naha
- hadia?h
11Navajo and motion
one dresses one moves about here and there a
flat-and-flexible object that moves about one
moves about newly to move words out of an
enclosed space
- e?hha?h
- naha?h
- na?lco?s
- ani?naha
- hadia?h
12Navajo and motion
one dresses one lives a flat-and-flexible object
that moves about one moves about newly to move
words out of an enclosed space
- e?hha?h
- naha?h
- na?lco?s
- ani?naha
- hadia?h
13Navajo and motion
one dresses one lives a letter one moves about
newly to move words out of an enclosed space
- e?hha?h
- naha?h
- na?lco?s
- ani?naha
- hadia?h
14Navajo and motion
one dresses one lives a letter to be young to
move words out of an enclosed space
- e?hha?h
- naha?h
- na?lco?s
- ani?naha
- hadia?h
15Navajo and motion
one dresses one lives a letter to be young to
sing
- e?hha?h
- naha?h
- na?lco?s
- ani?naha
- hadia?h
16to-strike-with-foot in Navajo and English
English kHIk The horse kicked the mule. The
mule kicked the horse. The man kicked the
horse. The horse kicked the man.
Navajo yizta The horse kicked the mule. The
mule kicked the horse. The man kicked the
horse. The horse kicked the man.
17Navajo and striking-with-foot
Navajo kickingyizta The horse kicked the
mule. The horse controlled the action. The horse
struck the mule with its foot/feet. The mule did
not help bring this action about.
18English and striking-with-foot
English kicking The horse kicked the mule. The
horse controlled the action. The horse struck the
mule with its foot/feet. The mule did not help
bring this action about.
Full mismatch with yizta, complete irrelevance
Full overlap in meaning with yizta, high
relevance
Partial overlap in meaning with yizta, but low
relevance
19Navajo and striking-with-foot
Navajo kicking yizta The horse kicked the
man. The horse controlled the action. The horse
struck the mule with its foot/feet. The man did
not help bring this action about.
Semantically anomalous--horses cant control
actions that impact humans--and grammatically
screwy
20Semantic Roles
Role Definition
AGENT The entity that performs the action
PATIENT The entity undergoing the action the object of the experience
EXPERIENCER The entity that experiences the state
RECEIVER The entity that receives something from the action
BENEFICIARY The entity that benefits from the action
ESSIVE Anything predicated by the (main) verb to be
POSSESSOR The entity who possesses something.
SOURCE The starting point for a movement
GOAL The end point for a movement
PATH The route over which movement happens
TIME The time an event occurs
LOCATION The place an event happens
21Semantic Roles
Role Event Schemata
AGENT DOING, MOVING, TRANSFERRING
PATIENT BEING, HAPPENING, DOING, EXPERIENCING, HAVING, MOVING, TRANSFERRING
EXPERIENCER EXPERIENCING
RECEIVER TRANSFERRING
ESSIVE BEING
POSSESSOR HAVING, TRANSFERRING
SOURCE MOVING, TRANSFERRING
GOAL MOVING, TRANSFERRING
PATH MOVING, TRANSFERRING
TIME ALL
LOCATION ALL
22Navajo Agency
- yizta
- mules and horses, reciprocal agencynon-human-anim
ate ? non-human-animate - humans and horses (and mules), unilateral agency
human ? non-human-animate - kick
- mules, horses, humans, reciprocal agencyanimate
? animate
AGENThuman, PATIENTnon-human
AGENTnon-human, PATIENT-human
AGENT, PATIENT
23Semantic primes
- ABOVE, AFTER, ALL, BAD, BECAUSE, BEFORE, BELOW,
BIG, BODY, CAN, DIE, DO, FAR, FEEL, FOR SOME
TIME, GOOD, HAPPEN, HAVE, HEAR, HERE, I, IF,
INSIDE, KIND OF, KNOW, LIKE, LIVE, MANY(/MUCH),
MAYBE, MOMENT, MORE, MOVE, LONG, NEAR, NOT, NOW,
ONE, OTHER, PART-OF, PERSON, THE SAME, SAY, SEE,
SIDE, SMALL, SOME, SOMEONE, SOMETHING, THERE-IS,
THINK, THIS, TOUCH, TRUE, TWO, VERY, WANT, WHEN,
WHERE, WORD, YOU,
24Semantic primes
Barney is dead
BARNEY BE NOT-ALIVE
Barney died.
BARNEY BECOME-PAST NOT-ALIVE
Fred killed Barney
- FRED CAUSE-PAST (BARNEY BECOME NOT-ALIVE)
Fred murdered Barney
FRED CAUSE-PAST (BARNEY BECOME NOT-ALIVE) WITH
BAD-INTENT WITH PLAN
25Semantic Primes / Event Schemata
Event Schemata Semantic Primes
HAPPENING HAPPEN
DOING DO
EXPERIENCING FEEL
BEING BE
HAVING OWN
MOVING HAPPEN-GODO-CAUSE-TO-GO
TRANSFERING COME-T0-OWNDO-CAUSE-TO-OWN
26Navajo and motion
e?hha?h naha?h na?lco?s ani?naha hadia?
h
SOMEONE GO INTO CLOTHING SOMEONE GO HERE AND
THERE SOMETHING FLAT-AND-FLEXIBLE GO HERE AND
THERE SOMEONE NEW GO TO CAUSE (WORDS GO OUT FROM
CONTAINER)
27Navajo and control
English I am riding the horse. Navajo The horse
runs for me.
AGENT
PATIENT
AGENT
RECEIVER
28Navajo and control/causation
English I am riding the horse. I CAUSE (HORSE
GO-FOR-ME) Navajo The horse runs for me. HORSE
CAUSE (HORSE GO-FOR-ME)
29Navajo and control/causation
English I am riding the horse. DOING,
V2 Navajo The horse runs for me. DOING, V1 (
VCOMP)
30Navajo and control/causation
English I am riding the horse. DOING,
V2 Navajo The horse runs for me. DOING, V1 (
VCOMP)
Navajo and English use the same basic resources
(Universality) to different effects. They can be
mapped into one another via these resources
(Parity).
31Navajo worldview (Weltsicht)
MOVE, KIN, PART-OF
What is it? Who knows? Is it the same as the SAE
worldview? No. Is it compatible with the SAE
worldview? Sometimes, sometimes not. Is it
accessible to the SAE worldview (and vice
versa)? Absolutely (with diligence respect).
WHEN, THING, OWN
32Colour terms
- 2-color system black, white
- 3-color system black, white, red
- 4-color system black, white, red, yellow or GRUE
- 5-color system black, white, red, yellow, GRUE
- 6-color system black, white, red, yellow,
green, blue - then purple, pink, orange, gray
33Colour terms
purple pink orange gray
GRUE
yellow
white black
green blue
red
yellow
GRUE
There is something about the world, our brains,
or our eyes (or any combination thereof) that
constrains lexicalization.
34Linguistic relativity
- the principle of linguistic relativity holds
that all observers are not led by the same
physical evidence to the same picture of the
universe, unless their linguistic backgrounds are
similar, or can in some way be calibrated - (Language, thought, and reality, 214)
35Linguistic relativity
- the principle of linguistic relativity holds
that all observers are not led by the same
physical evidence to the same picture of the
universe, unless their linguistic backgrounds are
similar, or can in some way be calibrated - (Language, thought, and reality, 214)
36Cross-linguistic calibrators
- Semantic primes.
- Semantic roles.
- Event schemata.
- Verb-argument structure
- Perception.
- (goodwill, common-interests, )
37Linguistic relativity hypothesis
- Strong form
- Language determines thought speakers of
different languages inhabit different, mutually
inaccessible realities - Weak form
- Language influences thought
False
Translation is impossible.
True
Trivial
There are cultural Misunderstandings.
38Linguistic relativity hypothesis
- Strong form
- Language determines thought speakers of
different languages inhabit different, mutually
inaccessible realities
- Weak form
- Language influ-ences thought