Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Language shapes thought
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis proposes that the language you speak shapes how you think and perceive the world.
In its strong form, language determines thought—speakers of different languages literally experience reality differently.
The weaker form suggests language merely influences thought, making some concepts easier to express or notice.
Named for linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, the hypothesis remains debated: Does having more words for snow make you see snow differently?
- thoughtMental concept or reflection
- linguisticConcerning language study
- languageSystem of symbolic communication
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- world viewComprehensive outlook on existence
structuralism · Hopi · relativism · color perception · time perception · Inuit · semantics · cognitive psychology · snow · Berlin · indigenous languages · thought experiment · meaning · mind · translation · lost in translation · untranslatable · native speaker
- psycholinguisticslanguage processing, language comprehension, word recognition, tip of the tongue, tip-of-the-tongue
- sociolinguisticssociolinguistics, diglossia, bilingualism, dialects, code-switching
- Linguistic Theoriesuniversal grammar, minimalist program
- linguisticslinguistics, phoneme, phonemes, morpheme, morphemes
Sapir-Whorf hypothesisuniversal grammar
Innate linguistic faculty hypothesis
Sapir-Whorf hypothesisobjective reality
Existence independent of minds
objectivism · truth · fact · reality · certainty