1. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
A Theory of Linguistic Relativity

2. Sapir & Whorf
Two linguists who came up with a theory that said that our perception of reality depends on our language.
In other words… If you’ve never seen SNOW you cannot understand it.

3. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis says…
Definition: The structure of a societies language greatly effects how its members conceptualize reality.
If this is true…then our language effects our concept(s) about what is REAL….our behavior…the very way we think!

4. Linguistic Relativity
When something is important to a society, its language will have many words to describe it
Example: How many words do we have to describe…
Money
Famous People
So the question me must consider is… how powerful is language? To what extent does it effect the way we think?

5. Let’s compare… Can people in Africa understand snow?
Can the color-blind understand color?
Can language effect YOUR behavior (future languages vs futureless languages)
“Coconuts” in Solomon Islands (9), “Rice” in Phillipines (92)
Video 1: Can people in Africa understand snow?
Video 2: What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Video 3: Can language influence our behavior?

6. Summary:
Sapir & Whorf were a bit too extreme with their theory… but modern linguists and sociologists have done thousands of experiments that show that:
Language DOES influence our behavior and concept of reality.
It’s just not as extreme as they originally thought!