语言影响思维——外语学习对中国人思维造成的(3)
2016-05-01 01:04
导读：2.3.2TheSapir-WhorfHypothesis Humboldt’sviewontheinseparabilityoflanguageandthoughtislaterpickedupbyEdwardSapirandhisstudentBenjaminLeeWhorfintheUnitedStates. Thecomplementmustbethemostfamoustheoryo
2.3.2TheSapir-WhorfHypothesis
Humboldt’sviewontheinseparabilityoflanguageandthoughtislaterpickedupbyEdwardSapirandhisstudentBenjaminLeeWhorfintheUnitedStates.
Thecomplementmustbethemostfamoustheoryondiscussingtherelationbetweenlanguageandthoughtinthisfield.Sinceitsinceptioninthe1920sand1930s,theSapir-Whorfhypothesishascausedcontroversyandspawnedresearchinavarietyofdisciplinesincludinglinguistics,psychology,philosophy,anthropology,andeducation.
TheSapir-Whorfhypothesisclaimsthatthestructureofthelanguageoneusuallyusesinfluencesthemannerinwhichonethinksandbehaves.Whenhewasworkingasafireinsuranceriskassessor,henoticedthatthewaypeoplebehavedtowardthingswasoftendangerouslycorrelatedtothewaythesethingswerecalled.Forexample,thesightofthesign‘EMPTY’onemptygasolinedrumswouldpromptpassersbytotosscigarettebuttsintothesedrums,notrealizingthattheremaininggasolinefumes‘EMPTY’evokedaneutralspace,freeofdanger.“Whorfconcludedthatthereasonwhydifferentlanguagescanleadpeopletodifferentactionsisbecauselanguagefilterstheirperceptionandthewaytheycategorizeexperience.”[10]
“Duringthe1930s,EdwardSapir’sstudentBenjaminLeeWhorfpromotedthefollowingideas,whichhavecometobeknownasthetenetsoftheSapir-Whorfianhypothesis:
1)Theworldviewsofacultureareembodiedinthelanguageformsofthatculture.
2)Thesyntacticandsemanticformsofalanguagedeterminethought,andtherefore:
3)Differencesinthoughtamongculturesareduetodifferencesinthelinguisticformsoftheculturesinquestion.”[11]
“TheSapir-Whorfhypothesistheorizesthatthoughtsandbehavioraredetermined(orareatleastpartiallyinfluenced)bylanguage.EdwardSapirandBenjaminLeeWhorfbroughtattentiontotherelationshipbetweenlanguage,thought,andculture,butneitherofthemformallywrotethehypothesisnorsupporteditwithempiricalevidence,butthroughathoroughstudyoftheirwritingsaboutlinguistics,researchershavefoundtwomainideas.First,astrongtheoryoflinguisticdeterminismthatstatesthatthelanguageyouspeakdeterminesthewaythatyouwillinterprettheworldaroundyou(orthewayonethinksisdeterminedbythelanguageonespeaks).Second,aweaktheoryoflinguisticrelativitythatstatesthatlanguagemerelyinfluencesyourthoughtsabouttherealworld(ordifferencesamonglanguagesmustbereflectedinthedifferencesintheworldviewsoftheirspeakers).”[12]
Thereisnoenoughpowerfulsupportforthestrongversion—thelinguisticdeterminismbecausepeoplehavefoundthatthethoughthasbeenformedformerthanthelanguage,thatistosaythethoughtcomesfirstandthereexistthenon-verbalthought.Fortheweakversionwhichisalsocalledlinguisticrelativityisthemorereasonableandcanbeadopted.“Inmostcases,theycoexistwithandinfluenceeachother:Humancognitiveabilitycandeveloptoaveryhighlevelandstillcanbeexpressedbylanguage.Thereisnothoughtthatgoesbeyondtheexpressionoflanguage.Meanwhile,languageisbynomeanspassiveasitisdeterminedbythought.Instead,itinfluencespeople’smodesofthinkingtosomeextent.”[13]
“Therefore,therelationshipbetweenthoughtandlanguageis:languagedeterminesthought(linguisticdeterminism)andthereisnolimittothestructuraldiversityoflanguages(linguisticrelativity),asWhorfconcluded.Heclaimedthat:
