The Sapir - Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words

Eric Thai

February 18 2009

ANT 1001 TV24A / Gaunt

David S. Thomson. "The Sapir - Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words"

"The Sapir - Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words" by David S. Thomson brought to attention the many effects of communication and language. The Sapir - Whorf Hypothesis stated that "each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather itself the shaper of ideas" (Thomson 115). Whorf based his hypothesis on the Hopi who's language did not contain the past present and future we have in our Indo-European languages.Unfortunately Whorf died a young age of forty-four and this hypothesis has been debated constantly (Thomson 115).

The Sapir - Whorf Hypothesis makes complete sense in the fact that many words or phrases from another language cannot be translated. The book has a few example of German and French words that cannot be exactly translated into English without at least three words combined. As a speaker of Chinese there are a few phrases we cannot translate to English as well. We have a phrase in Chinese that if directly translated to English is "hot air". This phrase is used to describe various kinds of foods such as deep fried food, greasy food, and certain fruits, that the Chinese believe if over eaten will cause sore throat, or coughing. Although I can related that there are certain elements in languages that are unique to their own, it is hard to believe that different languages cause different ways of thinking. Like in the case of the speakers in Shona who only have three divisions for color, it is hard to take a step back and imagine our life with the absents of a name for blue or green. Thus although I don't dispute The Sapir - Whorf Hypothesis nor do I support it, I accept it as another hypothesis that describes our human thinking.

I was extremely interested in the discussion on euphemism, where they show how humans manipulate language to make something bad seem good. Everyday terms we use are examples of euphemism such as bathroom or restroom that we use to replace the vulgar word toilet or the extremes such as naming missiles peacekeepers to make a dangerous weapon sound less destructive (Thomson 122). Though sometimes misused language can be a powerful weapon because of how it affects human thinking. Language and communication is important for humans to get our thinking across to one another and share our ideas.

Bibliography

Thomson, David S. "The Sapir - Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words" In Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology, 12 ed. Spraley and McCurdy. Allyn & Bacon. 2006. 113-125.

Review of Eatting Christmas in the Kalahari

Eric Thai

February 23 2009

ANT 1001 TV24A / Gaunt

Richard Borshay Lee. "Eatting Christmas in the Kalahari"

"Eating Christmas in the Kalahari "by Richard Lee took a unique approach in describing the lifestyle of the Bushman. Richard Lee explains that the Bushman slaughters an ox in celebration for Christmas and he decided to thank them for their cooperation in his ethnography by slaughtering a huge ox (12). After finding a huge ox, he is ridiculed with remarks such as "do you expect us to eat that bag of bones?" (Lee 12) And "do you honestly think you can serve that meat like that and avoid a fight?" (Lee 14). Mr. Lee later learns it is their custom to criticize the kill (16). He learns an important lesson from this experience about his culture.

When you get down the core, humans are selfish creatures that only care for themselves. Thus we do not engage in act of generosity without intentions of self gain. We donate to charities not just to help the less fortunate but also to raise our self image. We help tutor a fellow student not just to help them improve but as well make ourselves feel superior. Although we might not show our selfish intentions we become arrogant and full of ourselves. The Bushman’s custom of bad mouthing is an attempt of enforcing humility that was successful on Mr. Lee.

"Eating Christmas in the Kalahari"was successful not only in teaching us about our culture but also vividly describing the way the Bushman think. They are a society that strongly holds onto humility. Even though they are thankful for Mr. Lee’s generosity they strive to hide their appreciation in order to keep him from feeling superior. They believe boasting leads to pride that lead to killing thus their badmouthing can "cool his heart and make him gentle" (Lee 17). "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari"proved to be a unique and successful attempt in teaching us about the Bushman’s culture and a little about our own.

Lee, Richard Borshay. "Eatting Christmas in the Kalahari." In Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology, 12 ed. Spraley and McCurdy. Allyn & Bacon. 2006. 11 - 18

Intro

My name is Eric, I live in Jamaica Queens. I plan to major in Marketing at Baruch. I enjoying physical activities such as running and swimming. My favorite sport and hobby would be handball.