Rethinking Linguistic Relativity (Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language) (Paperback)

~ John J. Gumperz (Editor), Stephen C. Levinson (Editor) "Every student of language or society should be familiar with the essential idea of linguistic relativity, the idea that culture, through language, affects the way..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a very substantial volume indeed, contributing as much to the issue of linguistic relativity as to pragmatics and to a meaningful sociolinguistics. It sets out to take stock, and does so with quiet confidence. Those who ignore it will do so at their own peril." Rajendra Singh, Journal of Pragmatics

"For a psychologist, this book will be useful in two ways. First, it represents a wealth of interesting evidence about how language influences cognition. Second, it provides a wide-ranging discussion of how the relation between language and thought should be constructed and investigated." Contemporary Psychology

"...much of the range of Whorf's interests, from semantic diversity to the nature of culture, are reflected in this important book. The editors provide substantial introductions which make this book of particular use to students, as well as to scholars in anthropology, linguistics, and cognitive science." Claude Vandeloise, Canadian Journal of Linguistics

"It is a major collection, with careful, well written - and often witty - papers, which analyze the notoriously difficult underlying logic of the argument, and provide detailed linguistic and ethnographic and/or experimental information on a range of non-Indo-European languages. The book is well worth reading...One of the main merits of the book is that it contains a higher density of ideas per page than the vast majority of books...The book is beautifully printed..." Multilingua

"This is a splendid volume. John Gumperz and Stephen Levinson have collected a strong set of chapters and transformed them into a model of what an edited volume should be....readers are given a ringside seat to a fascinating controversy that has gone on for centuries and promises to continue for as far as we can see in the future. For some readers, the major contribution of this volume will be its capacity to provide a coherent picture of the similarities and relationships among various research efforts concerned with linguistic relativity." Semiotica

Product Description

Linguistic relativity is the claim that culture, through language, affects the way in which we think, and especially our classification of the experienced world. This book reexamines ideas about linguistic relativity in the light of new evidence and changes in theoretical climate. The editors have provided a substantial introduction that summarizes changes in thinking about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in the light of developments in anthropology, linguistics and cognitive science. Introductions to each section will be of especial use to students.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521448905
• ISBN-13: 978-0521448901
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,334 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars adding to your sociolinguistic bookcase, August 30, 2007

By	C. Lockwood (australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For the advanced learner sociolinguist this is a vital book, offering well written, well presented ideas on the theories regarding Whorf and others.
A valuable addition to the linguistic texts on your desk and bookcase.

4 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars fails to convince, July 13, 2000

By	"daniel_sp" (Vienna, Vienna Austria (E.U.)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rethinking Linguistic Relativity (Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language) (Hardcover)

Research about linguistic relativity promises fascinating reading. Unfortunately, the majority of articles in the book are dry, dusty and full of overly academic language. The only piece really worth reading is Bowerman's article on the spacial categories of children which shows how differences in the perception of spacial relationsships (up/down, into, out of...) are linguistically encoded.