LIR 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter Zhu: Speech Community, Aphasia, Language Of Thought Hypothesis

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Language and Intercultural Relations
• Course: LIR 100
• Professor: Pelkey Jamin

Document Summary

The differences between languages are not those of sounds and signs but those of differing world views. - humboldt, 1836. The sapir-whorf hypothesis: language controls or influences thought. Language is a guide to social reality". Humans are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. Real world is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. Linguistic determinism - language solely controls thought and culture. Possible to translate the essence of meaning from one language to another. Multilingual speakers can code-switch among languages in ways not dictated by the habits of any one speech community". Growing sociolinguistic variation and diversity within one language makes it implausible to maintain that all the speakers of the language think the same way. Linguistic relativity - language influences thought and worldviews, and therefore differences among languages cause differences in the thought of their speakers.