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The
Relation of Habitual Thought and Behaviour
to Language
Benjamin Lee Whorf was as American anthropological
linguist know for his theory of linguistic
relativity which asserts that a person’s
view of reality is shaped to a large
extent by the linguistic system of language
used. The whor fram hypothesis is a
theoretical claim that language influence
thought. It means he believe that our
thought shapes our behaviour as our
thought is related to the language.
Edward sapir, the hypolheis is summlated
says that human beings do not live in
the objective world alone nor do they
involve in the social activity all the
time. What they do is determined by
language. Human beings are at the grip
of language. The world is unconsciously
built in the language habit of the people.
Leo whorf took this thesis and expended
later on to the larger extent. Whorf
claim that “we dissect the nature along
the lines laid down by our native’ language.
it means we modify our behaviour according
to the language available to us. He
himself called this theory of language
influencing thought the “linguistic
relativity principle”. He says that
the whole world id built unconsciously
on the language-habit of people. We
have language and with the help of this
languages we name the things. By the
time we name the things the example
of empty gasoline. Once the whole company
was caught on the fire and he was asked
to examine the situation. He took interview
from the people. People answered that
they became careless when they saw a
note “empty gasoline”. But it was not
totally empty, some gasoline was three
in the bottom. Here the word “empty”
shaped the behaviour of the people.
Therefore shape our activity.
Lee whorf says
that language and culture are co-relative.
He studied hopi culture and SAE (standard
Average European) cultural. He found
these two cultures different from one
another. Their culture is different
because their language is also different
from one another.
SAE HOPI
1 Ten men, ten says (imaginative plural)
1 Tenth men- they can not count imaginary
plural, but they manage to communicate
with the use of ordinals like first
day, tenth days etc.
2 For mass noun SAE has to take help
of either a ‘container’ or a shape form
e.g. a cup of tea, apiece of cake. 2
For mass noun they do not need another
noun to support e.g. a tea, a cake,
a water etc.
3 Phase of time ‘subject’ as well as
‘object’ e.g. the summer is not 3 They
can not treat the phase of cycle as
subject or object e.g. it is hot in
summer.
4 They can express metaphorical languages.
4 They do not.
HABITUAL BEHAVIOURAL FEATURES
?
Hopi people have preparation cultural.
? They understand “ell begun is half
done” for they believe in preparation.
? They do not understand that tomorrow
is another day.
? They know a lot of preparation due
to their agricultural occupation.
? Outer preparing: ordinary practicing
rhearsing, getting ready.
Inner preparation: Prayer and meditation.
? Preparing for muscular activities
running, dancing etc.
? They feel difficulty to find transcendental
thing.
Some impression of linguistic habit
in SAE
1. Binominalism: a piece of cake, a
cup of tea
2. Metaphorical ness: spatializing in
the non-spatial e.g. mind wonders in
the wilderness.
3. Treating time a unit and accumulation
it. Ten days.
4. Phase or cycle treated as subject
or object summer is hot.
5. They (SAE) keep time as calendar,
they can keep record, diaries they have
good sense of accounting, mathematics
etc.
6. They are interested in cosmology,
clock, dating etc.
7. Good at history, metrics, archaeology.
Literature etc.
Historical Implications
The network
of language, culture and behaviour come
out historically. It is affected by
invention and innovations. If new things
come out the enter in language because
concepts and words come together. Latin
terms like educo, religio, principia,
comprehen do are usually metaphorized.
In the Middle ages there was more mechanical
inventions so the words, industry, trade,
science etc started being used rampantly.
So, everything is unified by linguistic
thought – society, behaviour, invention
and so many other dimensions of life
are affected by the language.
Crux of the essay
? Language and ideas are directly proportional
to each other.
? Human perception, cognition and behaviour
are structured and in part determined
by language.
? Thought world is linguistically shaped
microcosm which one carries himself/herself
and by which he/she understand macrocosm.
]
? An accepted pattern of using words
is often prior to certain lines of thinking
and forms of behaviour.
? Language has a deterministic role
in any culture, psychology, behaviour
as well as activities.
Walter
Benjamin Benjamin
in this essay focuses upon the relational
between original art and its reproduction
and here he is in favour of mechanical
reproduction of work of art. Now, the
world has progressed a lot in the field
of science and technology as a result
of this progress the reproduction has
become possible. Now a days, any work
of artis reproduciable as there are
different reproducing devices photography,
lithography, printing, dubbling etc.
Read
More...
Friedrich
Nietzsche “The
Use and Abuse of History” deals with
the dynamics of remembering and forgetting,
which Nietzsche sees as the exclusive
characteristic of human animal. Unlike
the beast, human beings have to come
to grips with the problem of leaving
to forget an action, which presupposes
the prior ability to remember.
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