ABSTRACT

Hypothesis put forth by B.L.Whorf (1897-1941) on the basis of his research into the dialects of Hopi, which claims that each individual language determines the perception, experience, and action of its speakers, and therefore speakers necessarily develop world views that differ to the same degree that their languages differ structurally. Thus language is not viewed primarily as a means of communication, but rather as an unconscious ‘background phenomenon’ which in large part determines individual thought.