Linguistic Relativity
The structure of a language shapes how its speakers categorize and think about the world.
What it claims
Linguistic relativity holds that differences in vocabulary and grammatical categories can systematically affect perception, memory, and categorization. The strong version, linguistic determinism, treats language as setting the limits of thought. Weaker versions concern habitual attention: a language makes some distinctions especially salient without making others unthinkable.
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Key thinkers
Benjamin Lee Whorf · Edward Sapir · Lera Boroditsky · Wilhelm von Humboldt · John Lucy