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Rethinking Linguistic RelativityWe discussed the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (also called the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis) many times, and it is a topic that is worth revisiting if you are interested in the way language influences mind. While it is true that what we know about natural languages doesn't have to match the way programming languages influence our programming style, it is still worthwhile to discuss the possibility. For many years Sapir-Whorf was considered very problematic, since empirical findings didn't seem to support the theory: no real cognitive differences that could be attributed to language were found. More recently, linguistic relativity became more respectable, and indeed important work is being done in this field. I suggest reading Gumperz and Levinson's introduction from the book they edited Rethinking Linguistic Relativity (1996, Cambridge University Press). Also from Levinson is Language and mind: Let’s get the issues straight! from the 2003 book Language in mind: Advances in the study of language and cognition (D. Gentner & S. Goldin-Meadow, eds.) |
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