The idea that the language we speak influences the way we think
has evoked perennial fascination and intense controversy. According
to the strong version of this hypothesis, called the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis after the American linguists who propounded it,
languages vary in their semantic partitioning of the world, and the
structure of one's language influences how one understands the
world. Thus speakers of different languages perceive the world
differently.Although the last two decades have been marked by
extreme skepticism concerning the possible effects of language on
thought, recent theoretical and methodological advances in
cognitive science have given the question new life. Research in
linguistics and linguistic anthropology has revealed striking
differences in cross-linguistic semantic patterns, and cognitive
psychology has developed subtle techniques for studying how people
represent and remember experience. It is now possible to test
predictions about how a given language influences the thinking of
its speakers.Language in Mind includes contributions from both
skeptics and believers and from a range of fields. It contains work
in cognitive psychology, cognitive development, linguistics,
anthropology, and animal cognition. The topics discussed include
space, number, motion, gender, theory of mind, thematic roles, and
the ontological distinction between objects and substances. The
contributors include Melissa Bowerman, Eve Clark, Jill de Villiers,
Peter de Villiers, Giyoo Hatano, Stan Kuczaj, Barbara Landau,
Stephen Levinson, John Lucy, Barbara Malt, Dan Slobin, Steven
Sloman, Elizabeth Spelke, and Michael Tomasello.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!