BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Pablo Borbon Main I, Batangas City

CHAPTER REFLECTION:
Chapter 2 : Linguistic Relativity: Precursors and Transformation

Linguistic Relativity, as defined, is a theory that deals with the relationship of the
language and the speaker. This employs that the diversity of language was one of the central
facts about human beings and its implications for conceptualization of natural and social
events and situations. First discussed by Sapir in 1929, the hypothesis became popular in
the 1950s following posthumous publication of Whorf's writings on the subject. Sapir had
been studying certain situations to come up with his conclusion about linguistic relativity.
After vigorous attack from followers of Noam Chomsky in the following decades, the
hypothesis is now believed by most linguists only in the weak sense that language can
have some small effect on thought.
As names were mentioned above, Edward Sapir, an American anthropologist and
linguist, is one of the most famous names when it comes to linguistic relativity. He was
also an author of the book “Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech” which
mainly become the reference used in teaching speech courses nowadays. He was also one
of the two proponents of the hypothesis regarding the linguistic relativity. Sapir is a student
of Franz Boas while he became the teacher Benjamin Whorf.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Whorf, a graduate of a chemical engineering course, became
the proponent of the linguistic relativity along with his teacher Edward Sapir. He is
basically not a graduate of any linguistic course because he has a degree of chemical
engineering and works as a fire prevention engineer but he still manage to work with Sapir.
They soon come up with the hypothesis and become famous together because of that. His
primary interest in linguistic came from his study of the native American languages. He
then became quite well now for his work like Hopi Language. Whorf was also considered
as a captivating speaker and popularize his linguistic ideas through lectures and articles.
Also, Noam Chomsky, an American linguist, philosopher, scientist and a political
analyst, was considered the “Father of Modern Linguistics.” Chomsky is also a major
figure in analytic philosophy and considered as one of the founders in the field of cognitive
science. He is a researcher who developed a well-known theory in language. He argues that
the basis for grammar and language is an innate ability that every human have.
The principle behind linguistic relativity is that the structure of a language affects
the ways in which its respective speakers conceptualize their world, i.e. their world
view, or otherwise influences their cognitive processes. Popularly known as the Sapir–
Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, the principle is often defined as having two versions:
(1) the strong version that language determines thought and that linguistic categories limit
and determine cognitive categories and (2) the weak version that linguistic categories and
usage influence thought and certain kinds of non-linguistic behavior. The term "Sapir–
Whorf Hypothesis" is a misnomer, as Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf never co-
authored anything, and never stated their ideas in terms of a hypothesis. The distinction
between a weak and a strong version of the hypothesis is also a later invention, as Sapir
and Whorf never set up such a dichotomy, although often in their writings their views of
this relativity principle are phrased in stronger or weaker terms.
In terms of the transformation, started in the latter part of the nineteenth century
where it was marked by the rise in prestige of the natural sciences and of corresponding
universalistic ideologies of science. In Germany, as a way of defending humanist diversity,
a clear distinction was made between the universalist law-seeking methods of the natural
sciences and the professionals interpretative methods of what came to be called historical
or spiritual sciences. The study of language throughout the century was dominated by the
discovery of the genetic relationships among languages, particularly those of the Indo-
European language family. But the great European intellectual development of the second
half of the nineteenth century was that of cultural evolutionism, which sought to understand
all of human history as a progress from uniform savagery and lack of organization to a state
of highly organized civilization typical of modern Western societies. Holding that history
recapitulates phylogeny, small-scale non- Western societies, peasant beliefs and
superstitions, children, were all held to represent survivals of earlier, more primitive stages.
Societal expectations are the main source of cultural relativity of developmental
tasks, typically reflected in age norms. This means that a person is expected to solve a
specific developmental task within a certain period. Therefore, the individual's
developmental stage can be described as one in which he or she is able to deal with
culturally set demands. Cultural norms are also reflected in ‘early,’ ‘on time,’ and ‘late’
development in various transition domains, as, for example, deciding on a job or preparing
for a family. Expectations of the timing in role transitions exist for the individual as a
private person (e.g., reaching emotional and economic independence from parents, taking
responsibility for further decisions) as well as a public person (e.g., age-related norms for
different civic rights).
The linguistic relativity principle states that the structure of the language of a
speaker affects the way they think, conceptualize and perceive. This means that the
language used by a person affects the way he think and how they build their world. Of
course, language has something to do with their culture and their culture reflects the way
they think and perceive. In teaching English courses today, where students are varied in
terms of their language and culture, it is really a concern because the teachers really have
to deal with 40-50 different language, different culture and different personality and the
way they think. It is a mere fact that the teachers struggle to this but nevertheless, they
always try to apply it in the classroom. As a teacher, in my class, I made sure that every
opinion of a student is heard, whether it is understandable by others or it is only their
perception. In that case, students will not be scared to relate themselves with their
classmates just because of their differences.