Linguistic relativity is the idea that language controls thought processes in powerful ways. There are two schools of thought, one where language dominates perception and another where it has less impact. The concept dates back to the 19th century and is often referred to as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Linguistic scientists study the specific ways language affects human thought and often use semiotics to understand mass psychology. Some scientists question whether language determines how people classify objects or if universal factors are at work.
Linguistic relativity is a somewhat scientific term for the ways humans use language. This idea theorizes that language controls the thought processes of those who use it in certain powerful ways. This concept is used extensively in linguistics and related fields as part of examining the role of language in cognitive function.
Within the general concept of linguistic relativity, there are two main schools of thought. One is a version of relativity in which language is a dominant force on the ways people perceive and think about the world at large. A different kind of relatively for linguistics posits a less dominant impact of language on its users.
Although experts see linguistic relativity as dating back to the 19th century, many see its true emergence in the 20th century. Some refer to this principle as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, after social scientists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. The scientific community has reacted in different ways to this work as the broad idea of linguistic relativity receives very different treatments from different scientists and linguists who study the impact of language.
At its most basic level, linguistic relativity can be explained in a similar way to relativity in physics. For example, Einstein’s theory of relativity can be seen as a metaphor where each person or sentient being keeps their own watch, and each watch has its own way of telling time. In linguistic relativity, each person has their own internal associations for language, and this collection of associations frames the ways in which the individual perceives their surroundings. When academics study this kind of relativity, they often seek to identify the specific ways in which language affects human thought, in order to understand individual or mass psychology for a variety of research applications. Continuing research in this type of linguistics often implies the study of semiotics, or the study of symbols and their impact on thought.
While relativity in linguistics is a very broad term, scientists have pursued much more specific research using this idea in precise ways. Contemporary linguistic scientists have often questioned the strength of the idea that language actually determines how people classify objects or other types of deep thought processes. An alternative view is that universal factors are at work and that language is only a secondary power in directing our most important kinds of references. Others would even posit the opposite, that the characteristics of a language are in fact determined by the collective experience of a particular society or culture.
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