ABSTRACT
As early as Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) some linguists have seen the mutual relevance of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and linguistic relativity. As will be described, von Humboldt believed that the relation between language and thought is so highly specific to the native language that full attainment of another language is impossible. Relativistic analyses do not, however, compel this pessimistic stance on ultimate attainment in SLA. Indeed, another famous relativist, Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941), took a decidedly more optimistic stance-even though, ironically, he is often labeled a “linguistic determinist.” In decades of intensive SLA research (from the mid-1960s to the present), many linguists have pondered just how far learners of a second language may attain the competence and performance capacities of native speakers, and the question remains controversial (Han & Odlin 2006). Nevertheless, there has been only a belated recognition of the implications of the views of von Humboldt and Whorf for acquisition.
