Benjamin Lee Whorf
Benjamin Lee Whorf ( born April 24, 1897 in Winthrop, Massachusetts, † July 26, 1941 in Wethersfield, Connecticut) was an American linguist who was primarily known for his namesake Sapir -Whorf hypothesis. He was trained as a chemical engineer and employee of a fire insurance.
Life and work
He became known for his work with the American vernaculars, in particular for Hopi, and through - controversial - thesis of the " linguistic relativity ". The latter says that the grammatical and lexical structures of their own (mother ) language have an impact on the thinking.
Benjamin Lee Whorf graduated in 1918 his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a chemical engineer and began work as a fire prevention inspector for the insurance company Hartford Fire Insurance Company. These fire insurance had to be examined at that time unusual idea of fire causes of their own staff in order to prevent future fires can. Whorf remained despite his scientific interests and life member of staff who made his career. He was interested in early for the different meanings of different linguistic forms, such as the biblical and scientific cosmology. Whorf learned Hebrew and studied the Aztec Nahuatl and Maya languages . His insight into the phonological nature of the Maya script was too early; his lectures and essays found little resonance. But could Whorf 1930 study Pima and Aztec languages in Mexico. When Edward Sapir in 1931 was appointed Sterling Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology at Yale, Whorf immediately went to him and studied alongside Morris Swadesh, George exchanger, Carl Voegelin and Mary Haas American Indian linguistics. Sapir encouraged Whorfs interest for uto -American languages. He made it to the Hopi attentive, and Whorf it learned from informants in New York ( until 1935 ). A famous work on the language of the Hopi belief originated around 1936, but was first published in 1950: An American Indian model of the universe. Whorf taught a short period of Anthropology at Yale ( 1937-38 ), but he did not make his professional career his humanistic interests. His contribution to linguistics, however, was significant. A breakthrough he achieved with his article on the relations of the habit of thinking and behavior to language ( 1939). Shortly before his death in 1941 published three articles that emphasized the scientific rigor of linguistics.
Whorfs interest in linguistics was initially addressed to the study of American and Central American languages. He became known for his work on the language of the Hopi and for the linguistic relativity principle, which he based on Sapir's work, developed and became known as the Sapir -Whorf hypothesis. He was a captivating speaker and popularized his linguistic ideas in lectures and numerous articles. He has published several technical articles.
Some of the early work was influenced by his work for the insurance company, as fires often caused by linguistic misunderstandings. In one case, a worker whose native language was not English, parked a bottle with a liquid near a heater. On the bottle was " highly inflammable " - " Highly flammable ". The workers believed that if " flammable " mean combustible, so hot " inflammable " non-flammable ( in English presses the prefix " in " is not always the opposite of the meaning of the root word, other than " un" in German ).
In another case, standing on a tank, which still contained remains of liquid fuel, " empty". There was an explosion, because the workers did not believe in the possibility that an empty container can be dangerous.
Whorfs lectures and writings included both examples from his work with the insurance company and from his field research and working with informants of the Hopi and other American languages.
The Sapir -Whorf hypothesis is concerned primarily with how languages influence thought. She says that the language spoken by a person who influences the way of their thinking. The language structure thus affecting the perception of the environment. This also influences scientific research, since the different departments develop different language structures. But the understanding of space and time affects so Whorf, on the understanding of physical theories such as the modern theory of relativity. In the language of the Hopi it is far easier to understand the theory of relativity because of their linguistic separation of space and time.
Whorfs representation of relevant aspects of Hopi grammar and its conclusions about the ideas of the Hopi of time but were later clearly refuted. His criticized from the outset hypothesis currently experiencing - In its attenuated version - a re-evaluation:
→ see also: 6.8.Universalismus or Linguistic Relativism - Chomsky Whorf - 6.8.1. Language and worldview of the Hopi
Whorf was a member of the Theosophical Society Adyar, as well as his work is heavily influenced by Theosophy. One of his main article, " Language, mind and reality", was published in 1942 in the theosophical magazine The Theosophist.
Benjamin Lee Whorf died at age 44 from cancer. His most important works were published posthumously.