萨丕尔-沃尔夫假说

1、2021/8/61Linguistic relativity语言相对论语言相对论 Different languages offer people different ways of expressing the world around, and so they think and speak differently.2021/8/62Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis萨丕尔萨丕尔沃尔夫假说沃尔夫假说(SWH) Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf2021/8/63 萨丕尔（美国语言学家）长期研究语言学和人类文化学的有关问题，重视语言和文化、语言和思维的联

2、系，提出语言影响人类关于现实世界概念系统的形成这一设想，经他的弟子沃尔夫发展，形成语言相关性的学说，被称为萨丕尔-沃尔夫假说，这一假说成为人类文化语言学的基础。2021/8/64Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis萨丕尔萨丕尔沃尔夫假说沃尔夫假说 with their studies of American Indian laguages, proclaimed that the structure of the language people habitually use influences the ways they think and behave. they believe

3、that languages filters peoples perception and the way they categorize their experiences. 2021/8/65strong version and weak versiontwo different interpretations:lthe strong version believes that language patterns determine peoples thinking and behaviorlthe weak one holds that the former influences the

4、 later.2021/8/66语言决定论语言决定论 语言决定论即人的思维完全受自己的母语影响，因为人只能通过自己语言中的范畴和区别特征来认识世界。语言不仅仅指称独立于语言而获得经验，而是实际上决定着我们的经验。 如：汉语词汇的对称性特征反应在中国人的思维中的对称性特点； 在堆放并写有空汽油筒标志的仓库，人们往往因疏于防范而引起火灾； 换气扇如果被标为吹风机，其被反向安装的可能性增加。2021/8/67语言相对论语言相对论 一种语言系统里的范畴和区别特征对这一语言系统来说是独特的，与其他语言系统不相容。形成思想的过程并不是独立的，而是一种独特的语法，在不同程度上因语言不同而不同。 语言相对论的

5、两层含义：一是一种文化中的内容。只有用该文化中的语言才能得到充分表达。另一层意思是，发源于某一文化中的概念，如果用只一种文化中的语言去讲，意思就会有所不同，至少在人们心目中唤起的意象不同，思维之间具有相关性。2021/8/68齐天大圣齐天大圣 When looking at this word, we will think about the famoud monkey. What will the westerners think about?2021/8/692021/8/610 people trend to sort out and distinguish experiences di

6、fferently accordingly to the semantic categories provided by their different codes in their culture2021/8/611example: snow in Eskimo and English For Eskimos, Snow is importment and so crucial to life that each of its various forms and conditions is named. qanik（雪花），qaniit（飘落着的雪），qanipalaat（雪花聚成的如羽毛般

7、的雪团），qannirsuq（飘雪的天气），qana(下落的雪)，pipsirpoq(低吹雪)，pokatok(粒状)2021/8/612 In English-speaking cultures, snow is far less importment and the simple word snow usuallt suffices the need. When some needs become more specific, however, longer phrasescan be made up to meet these needs: corn snow(变成颗粒状的积雪),fine powder snow(细粉雪),drifting snow(低吹雪)2021/8/613Two Important Insights There is nowadays a recognition that language, as code, reflects cultural preoccupations and constrains the way people think. More t