W. Underhill James
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748638420
- eISBN:
- 9780748671809
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748638420.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics
This chapter is crucial in that it reappraises the contribution of Edward Sapir, who is invariably passed over by scholars who refer to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It stresses the richness of his ...
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This chapter is crucial in that it reappraises the contribution of Edward Sapir, who is invariably passed over by scholars who refer to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It stresses the richness of his understanding of language and the empirical foundations of Sapir's belief that language is the guide to ‘social reality.’ It considers Sapir's contention that thought is not translated into speech, but is rather the highest latent or potential content of speech. This chapter finally makes explicit what Sapir had in mind when he claimed that ‘Culture may be defined as what a society does and thinks. Language is a particular how of thought.’Less
This chapter is crucial in that it reappraises the contribution of Edward Sapir, who is invariably passed over by scholars who refer to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It stresses the richness of his understanding of language and the empirical foundations of Sapir's belief that language is the guide to ‘social reality.’ It considers Sapir's contention that thought is not translated into speech, but is rather the highest latent or potential content of speech. This chapter finally makes explicit what Sapir had in mind when he claimed that ‘Culture may be defined as what a society does and thinks. Language is a particular how of thought.’
