Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
[suh-peer-hwawrf, -hwohrf, -wawrf, -wohrf]
- a theory developed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf that states that the structure of a language determines or greatly influences the modes of thought and behavior characteristic of the culture in which it is spoken.
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Origin of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
First recorded in 1950–55
Also called Whorfian hypothesis.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- the theory that human languages determine the structure of the real world as perceived by human beings, rather than vice versa, and that this structure is different and incommensurable from one language to another
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Word Origin
named after Edward Sapir (1884–1939), US anthropologist and linguist, and Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1943), US linguist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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