Transcript LingRelF10

Linguistic relativity
A.K.A. “Whorfian
hypothesis”
After Benjamin Lee
Whorf, author of
Language, thought,
and reality
English 306A; Harris
1
Linguistic relativity
A.K.A. “Whorfian
hypothesis”
That different
languages shape
different perceptions of
the world.
English 306A; Harris
2
Linguistic relativity
“ the principle of linguistic relativity
holds that all observers are not led by
the same physical evidence to the
same picture of the universe, unless
their linguistic backgrounds are similar,
or can in some way be calibrated”
(Language, thought, and reality, 214)
English 306A; Harris
3
Whorf on Hopi (as a metonym)
I find it gratuitous to assume that a Hopi who knows only the Hopi
language and the cultural ideas of his own society has the same notions,
often supposed to be intuitions, of time and space that we have, and that
are generally assumed to be universal. In particular, he has no general
notion or intuition of time as a smooth flowing continuum in which
everything in the universe proceeds at an equal rate, out of a future,
through a present, into a past …
In [the] Hopi view, time disappears and space is altered, so that it is no
longer the homogeneous and instantaneous timeless space of our
supposed intuition or of classical Newtonian mechanics.
Language, thought, and reality (56, 58).
English 306A; Harris
4
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
Strong form
Language determines
thought; speakers of
different languages
inhabit different,
mutually inaccessible
realities
Weak form
Language influences thought
English 306A; Harris
5
Navajo worldview/language
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
English 306A; Harris
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
6
Navajo and “obligation”
English
I must go there.
Navajo
It is only good that I go there.
English 306A; Harris
7
Navajo and “control”
English
I am riding the horse.
Navajo
The horse runs for me.
English 306A; Harris
8
Navajo kinship lexicalization
(partial)
?akso˘t
hakso˘t
no≥yeh
ha≥nih
hakhno≥she
akeÚ˘hak
grandmother or maternal great aunt
grandfather or paternal great uncle
mother or maternal aunt
father or paternal uncle
maternal uncle
paternal aunt
English 306A; Harris
9
Navajo and motion
≥e˘h÷ha˘h
na÷ha˘h
na$˘lco$˘s
≥ani˘÷na÷h
a
one moves into clothing
one moves about here and there
a flat-and-flexible object that moves about
one moves about newly
to move words out of an enclosed space
ha÷di÷≥a˘h
English 306A; Harris
10
Navajo and motion
≥e˘h÷ha˘h
na÷ha˘h
na$˘lco$˘s
≥ani˘÷na÷h
a
one dresses
one moves about here and there
a flat-and-flexible object that moves about
one moves about newly
to move words out of an enclosed space
ha÷di÷≥a˘h
English 306A; Harris
11
Navajo and motion
≥e˘h÷ha˘h
na÷ha˘h
na$˘lco$˘s
≥ani˘÷na÷h
a
one dresses
one lives
a flat-and-flexible object that moves about
one moves about newly
to move words out of an enclosed space
ha÷di÷≥a˘h
English 306A; Harris
12
Navajo and motion
≥e˘h÷ha˘h
na÷ha˘h
na$˘lco$˘s
≥ani˘÷na÷h
a
one dresses
one lives
a letter
one moves about newly
to move words out of an enclosed space
ha÷di÷≥a˘h
English 306A; Harris
13
Navajo and motion
≥e˘h÷ha˘h
na÷ha˘h
na$˘lco$˘s
≥ani˘÷na÷h
a
one dresses
one lives
a letter
to be young
to move words out of an enclosed space
ha÷di÷≥a˘h
English 306A; Harris
14
Navajo and motion
≥e˘h÷ha˘h
na÷ha˘h
na$˘lco$˘s
≥ani˘÷na÷h
a
one dresses
one lives
a letter
to be young
to sing
ha÷di÷≥a˘h
English 306A; Harris
15
to-strike-with-foot in
Navajo and English
English [kHIk]
Navajo [yizta¬]
The horse kicked the mule.
The mule kicked the horse.
The man kicked the horse.
The horse kicked the man.
The horse kicked the mule.
The mule kicked the horse.
The man kicked the horse.
The horse kicked the man.
English 306A; Harris
16
Navajo and striking-with-foot
Navajo “kicking”[yizta¬]
The horse kicked the mule.
The horse controlled the action.
The horse struck the mule with its foot/feet.
The mule did not help bring this action about.
English 306A; Harris
17
English and striking-with-foot
English kicking
The horse kicked the mule.
The horse controlled the action.
The horse struck the mule with its foot/feet.
The mule did not help bring this action about.
Full mismatch with [yizta¬], complete irrelevance
Full overlap in meaning with [yizta¬], high relevance
Partial overlap in meaning with [yizta¬], but low relevance
English 306A; Harris
18
Navajo and striking-with-foot
Navajo “kicking” [yizta¬]
The horse “kicked” the man.
The horse controlled the action.
The horse struck the mule with its foot/feet.
The man did not help bring this action about.
Semantically anomalous--horses can’t control
actions that impact humans--and grammatically
screwy
English 306A; Harris
19
Semantic Roles
Role
Definition
AGENT
The entity that performs the action
PATIENT
The entity undergoing the action; the object of the experience
EXPERIENCER
The entity that experiences the state
RECEIVER
The entity that receives something from the action
BENEFICIARY
The entity that benefits from the action
ESSIVE
Anything predicated by the (main) verb “to be”
POSSESSOR
The entity who possesses something.
SOURCE
The starting point for a movement
GOAL
The end point for a movement
PATH
The route over which movement happens
TIME
The time an event occurs
LOCATION
The place an event happens
English 306A; Harris
20
Semantic Roles
Role
Event Schemata
AGENT
DOING, MOVING, TRANSFERRING
PATIENT
BEING, HAPPENING, DOING, EXPERIENCING, HAVING, MOVING, TRANSFERRING
EXPERIENCER
EXPERIENCING
RECEIVER
TRANSFERRING
ESSIVE
BEING
POSSESSOR
HAVING, TRANSFERRING
SOURCE
GOAL
MOVING, TRANSFERRING
PATH
TIME
LOCATION
ALL
English 306A; Harris
21
Navajo Agency
yizta¬
mules and horses, reciprocal agency
non-human-animate  non-human-animate
humans and horses (and mules), unilateral agency
human  non-human-animate
AGENThuman, PATIENTnon-human
AGENTnon-human, PATIENT-human
kick
mules, horses, humans, reciprocal agency
animate  animate
AGENT, PATIENT
English 306A; Harris
22
Semantic primes
ABOVE, AFTER, ALL, BAD,
BECAUSE, BEFORE, BELOW,
BIG, BODY, CAN, DIE, DO, FAR,
FEEL, FOR SOME TIME, GOOD,
HAPPEN, HAVE, HEAR, HERE, I,
IF, INSIDE, KIND OF, KNOW, LIKE,
LIVE, MANY(/MUCH), MAYBE,
MOMENT, MORE, MOVE, LONG,
NEAR, NOT, NOW, ONE, OTHER,
PART-OF, PERSON, THE SAME,
SAY, SEE, SIDE, SMALL, SOME,
SOMEONE, SOMETHING,
THERE-IS, THINK, THIS, TOUCH,
TRUE, TWO, VERY, WANT,
WHEN, WHERE, WORD, YOU, …
English 306A; Harris
23
Semantic primes
Barney is dead
BARNEY BE NOT-ALIVE
Barney died.
BARNEY BECOME-PAST NOT-ALIVE
Fred killed Barney
FRED CAUSE-PAST (BARNEY BECOME NOT-ALIVE)
Fred murdered Barney
FRED CAUSE-PAST (BARNEY BECOME NOT-ALIVE) WITH BADINTENT WITH PLAN
English 306A; Harris
24
Semantic Primes / Event
Schemata
Event Schemata
Semantic Primes
HAPPENING
HAPPEN
DOING
DO
EXPERIENCING
FEEL
BEING
BE
HAVING
OWN
MOVING
HAPPEN-GO
DO-CAUSE-TO-GO
TRANSFERING
COME-T0-OWN
DO-CAUSE-TO-OWN
English 306A; Harris
25
Navajo and motion
≥e˘h÷ha˘h
na÷ha˘h
na$˘lco$˘s
≥ani˘÷na÷ha
ha÷di÷≥a˘h
SOMEONE GO INTO CLOTHING
SOMEONE GO HERE AND THERE
SOMETHING FLAT-AND-FLEXIBLE GO HERE AND THERE
SOMEONE NEW GO
TO CAUSE (WORDS GO OUT FROM CONTAINER)
English 306A; Harris
26
Navajo and “control”
English
I am riding the horse.
AGENT
PATIENT
Navajo
The horse runs for me.
AGENT
RECEIVER
English 306A; Harris
27
Navajo and control/causation
English
I am riding the horse.
I CAUSE (HORSE GO-FOR-ME)
Navajo
The horse runs for me.
HORSE CAUSE (HORSE GO-FOR-ME)
English 306A; Harris
28
Navajo and control/causation
English
I am riding the horse.
DOING, V2
Navajo
The horse runs for me.
DOING, V1 (≈ VCOMP)
English 306A; Harris
29
Navajo and control/causation
English
I am riding the horse.
DOING, V2
Navajo
The horse runs for me.
DOING, V1 (≈ VCOMP)
Navajo and English use the same basic resources
(Universality) to different effects.
They can be mapped into one another via these
resources (Parity).
English 306A; Harris
30
MOVE, KIN, PART-OF
Navajo worldview (Weltsicht)
What is it?
WHEN, THING, OWN
Who knows?
Is it the same as the SAE worldview?
No.
Is it compatible with the SAE worldview?
Sometimes, sometimes not.
Is it accessible to the SAE worldview (and vice versa)?
Absolutely (with diligence respect).
English 306A; Harris
31
Colour terms
2-color system: black, white
3-color system: black, white, red
4-color system: black, white, red, yellow or
GRUE
5-color system: black, white,
red, yellow, GRUE
6-color system: black, white,
red, yellow, green, blue
… then purple, pink, orange, gray
English 306A; Harris
32
Colour terms
GRUE
white
black
yellow
green
blue
red
yellow
GRUE
purple
pink
orange
gray
There is something about the world, our brains, or our eyes (or
any combination thereof) that constrains lexicalization.
English 306A; Harris
33
Linguistic relativity
“ the principle of linguistic relativity
holds that all observers are not led
by the same physical evidence to
the same picture of the universe,
unless their linguistic backgrounds
are similar, or can in some way be
calibrated”
(Language, thought, and reality,
214)
English 306A; Harris
34
Linguistic relativity
“ the principle of linguistic relativity
holds that all observers are not led
by the same physical evidence to
the same picture of the universe,
unless their linguistic backgrounds
are similar, or can in some way be
calibrated”
(Language, thought, and reality,
214)
English 306A; Harris
35
Cross-linguistic calibrators
Semantic primes.
Semantic roles.
Event schemata.
Verb-argument
structure
Perception.
(goodwill, common-interests, …)
English 306A; Harris
36
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
Strong form
Language determines thought;
speakers of different
languages inhabit different,
mutually inaccessible realities
Weak form
Language influences thought
Translation is
impossible.
There are cultural
Misunderstandings.
English 306A; Harris
37
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
Strong form
Language determines
thought; speakers of
different languages
inhabit different,
mutually inaccessible
realities
Weak form
Language influences thought
English 306A; Harris
38