Chapter 10 Language-Based Strategies
“IF YOU CAN’T SAY IT, you don’t know it.” That’s what one of my English teachers used to say, and over the years I have come to realize how profoundly right he was. It’s not just that transcribing an idea from thought into language is the only proof of thought; the thought and the language are deeply intertwined.
Linguists have tussled over this idea for 75 years; it’s formally known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The strong version of this hypothesis declares that language determines the nature of thought.
The weak version claims only that language influences thought. The strong version has few advocates, but the weak version has attracted a large following. Those who don’t like the weak Sapir-Whorf hypothesis ...
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