Definition and History of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Definition and History of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is the  linguistic theory that the semantic structure of a language shapes or limits the ways in which a speaker forms conceptions of the world. It came about in 1929. The theory is named after the American anthropological linguist Edward Sapir (1884–1939) and his student Benjamin Whorf (1897–1941). It is also known as the  theory of linguistic relativity, linguistic relativism, linguistic determinism, Whorfian hypothesis, and Whorfianism. History of the Theory The idea that a persons native language determines how he or she thinks was popular among behaviorists of the 1930s and on until cognitive psychology theories came about, beginning in the 1950s and increasing in influence in the 1960s. (Behaviorism taught that behavior is a result of external conditioning and doesnt take feelings, emotions, and thoughts into account as affecting behavior. Cognitive psychology studies mental processes such as creative thinking, problem-solving, and attention.) Author Lera Boroditsky gave some background on ideas about the connections between languages and thought: The question of whether languages shape the way we think goes back centuries; Charlemagne proclaimed that to have a second language is to have a second soul. But the idea went out of favor with scientists when  Noam Chomskys theories of language gained popularity in the 1960s and 70s. Dr. Chomsky proposed that there is a  universal grammar  for all human languages- essentially, that languages dont really differ from one another in significant ways....  (Lost in Translation. The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2010) The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis was taught in courses through the early 1970s and had become widely accepted as truth, but then it fell out of favor. By the 1990s, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis was left for dead, author Steven Pinker wrote. The cognitive revolution in psychology, which made the study of pure thought possible, and a number of studies showing meager effects of language on concepts, appeared to kill the concept in the 1990s... But recently it has been resurrected, and neo-Whorfianism is now an active research topic in  psycholinguistics. (The Stuff of Thought. Viking, 2007) Neo-Whorfianism is essentially a weaker version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and says that language  influences  a speakers view of the world but does not inescapably determine it. The Theorys Flaws One big problem with the original Sapir-Whorf hypothesis stems from the idea that if a persons language has no word for a particular concept, then that person would not be able to understand that concept, which is untrue.  Language doesnt necessarily control humans ability to reason or have an emotional response to something or some idea. For example, take the German word  sturmfrei, which essentially is the feeling when you have the whole house to yourself because your parents or roommates are away. Just because English doesnt have a single word for the idea doesnt mean that Americans cant understand the concept. Theres also the chicken and egg problem with the theory. Languages, of course, are human creations, tools we invent and hone to suit our needs,  Boroditsky continued. Simply showing that speakers of different languages think differently doesnt tell us whether its language that shapes thought or the other way around.

Biography of Anne Bonny, Irish Pirate and Privateer

Biography of Anne Bonny, Irish Pirate and Privateer Anne Bonny (1700–1782, exact dates uncertain) was an Irish pirate and privateer who fought under the command of Calico Jack Rackham between 1718 and 1720. Together with fellow female pirate Mary Read, she was one of Rackhams more formidable pirates, fighting, cursing, and drinking with the best of them. She was captured along with the rest of Rackhams crew in 1720 and sentenced to death, although her sentence was commuted because she was pregnant. She has been the inspiration for countless stories, books, movies, songs, and other works. Fast Facts: Anne Bonny Known For: For two years she was a pirate under Jack Rackham, and as a rare female pirate, she was the subject of many stories and songs and was the inspiration for generations of young womenBorn: About 1700 near Cork, IrelandPiracy Career: 1718–1720, when she was captured and sentenced to hangDied: Date and place unknownSpouse(s): James Bonny Early Years Most of what is known about Anne Bonnys early life comes from Captain Charles Johnsons A General History of the Pyrates which dates to 1724. Johnson (most, but not all, historians believe that Johnson was actually Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe) provides some details of Bonnys early life  but did not list his sources and his information has proven impossible to verify. According to Johnson, Bonny was born near Cork, Ireland probably sometime around 1700, the result of an affair between a married English lawyer and his maid. The unnamed lawyer was eventually forced to bring Anne and her mother to America to escape the gossip. Anne’s father set up in Charleston, first as a lawyer and then as a merchant. Young Anne was spirited and tough: Johnson reports that she once badly beat up a young man who â€Å"would have lain with her, against her will.† Her father had done quite well in his businesses and it was expected that Anne would marry well. Instead, at about age 16, she married a penniless sailor named James Bonny, and her father disinherited her and cast them out. The young couple set out for New Providence, where Annes husband made a meager living turning in pirates for bounties. Sometime in 1718 or 1719, she met pirate Calico Jack Rackham (sometimes spelled Rackam) who had recently wrested command of a pirate vessel from the ruthless Captain Charles Vane. Anne became pregnant and went to Cuba to have the child: once she had given birth, she returned to a life of piracy with Rackham. A Life of Piracy Anne proved to be an excellent pirate. She dressed like a man, while she fought, drank, and swore like one too. Captured sailors reported that after their vessels were taken by the pirates, it was the two women- Bonny and Mary Read, the latter who had joined the crew by then- who urged their crewmates on to greater acts of bloodshed and violence. Some of these sailors testified against her at her trial. According to legend, Bonny (dressed as a man) felt a strong attraction to Mary Read (who was also dressed as a man) and revealed herself as a woman in hopes of seducing Read. Read then confessed that she was a woman, too. The reality may have been that Bonny and Read most likely met in Nassau as they were preparing to ship out with Rackham. They were very close, perhaps even lovers. They would wear womens clothes on board  but change into mens clothes when a fight was in store. Capture and Trial By October of 1720, Rackham, Bonny, Read, and their crew were infamous in the Caribbean and in desperation, Governor Woodes Rogers authorized privateers to hunt and capture them and other pirates for bounties. A heavily armed sloop belonging to Captain Jonathan Barnet caught up to Rackhams ship when the pirates had been drinking and after a small exchange of cannon and small arms fire, they surrendered. When capture was imminent, only Anne and Mary fought against Barnet’s men, swearing at their crewmates to come out from under the decks and fight. The trials of Rackham, Bonny, and Read caused a sensation. Rackham and the other male pirates were swiftly found guilty: he was hanged with four other men at Gallows Point in Port Royal on November 18, 1720. Reportedly, he was allowed to see Bonny before his execution and she said to him: Im sorry to see you here, but if you had fought like a man you need not have hanged like a dog. Bonny and Read were also found guilty on November 28 and sentenced to hang. At that point, they both declared that they were pregnant. The execution was postponed, and it was found to be true that the women were pregnant. Death Mary Read died in prison about five months later. What happened to Anne Bonny is uncertain. Like her early life, her later life is lost in shadow. Captain Johnson’s book first came out in 1724, so her trial was still fairly recent news while he was writing it, and he only says of her, â€Å"She was continued in prison, to the time of her lying in, and afterwards reprieved from Time to Time, but what is become of her since, we cannot tell; only this we know, that she was not executed.† So what happened to Anne Bonny? There are many versions of her fate and no truly decisive proof in favor of any one of them. Some say she reconciled with her wealthy father, moved back to Charleston, remarried and lived a respectable life into her 80s. Others say she remarried in Port Royal or Nassau and bore her new husband several children. Legacy Annes impact on the world has been primarily cultural. As a pirate, she did not have a large impact, because her pirating career only lasted a few months. Rackham was not an important pirate, mostly taking easy prey like fishing vessels and lightly armed traders. If not for Anne Bonny and Mary Read, he would be a footnote in pirate lore. But Anne has gained great historical stature in spite of her lack of distinction as a pirate. Her character has much to do with it: not only was she one of only a handful of female pirates in history, but she was one of the die-hards, who fought and cursed harder than most of her male colleagues. Today, historians of everything from feminism to cross-dressing scour the available histories for anything about her or Mary Read. No one knows how much of an influence Anne has had on young women since her days of piracy. At a time when women were kept indoors, barred from the freedom that men enjoyed, Anne went out on her own, left her father and husband, and lived as a pirate on the high seas off and on for two years. Her greatest legacy is probably the romantic example of a woman who seized freedom when the opportunity presented itself, even if her reality was probably not nearly as romantic as people think. Sources Cawthorne, Nigel. A History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas. Arcturus Publishing, September 1, 2003. Johnson, Captain Charles. A General History of the Pyrates. Kindle edition, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, September 16, 2012. Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: The Lyons Press, 2009 Rediker, Marcus. Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004. Woodard, Colin. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. Mariner Books, 2008.