Arranged by:

Endah Susaeni 163221025

Nanda Indira 163221005
Class/Major: 4A/English Education Department

SOCIOLINGUISTICS
 Language and Culture

One long-standing claim concerning the relationship between language and culture is
that the structure of language determines the way in which speakers of that language view the
world.

A somewhat weaker version is that the structure doesn’t determines the world view
but is still extremely influential in predisposing speaker of language toward adopting a
particular world view.

The opposite claim the culture of a people finds reflection in the language they
employe: because they value certain things and do them in a certain way, they come to use
their language in ways that reflect what they value and what they do.

A third ‘neutral’ claim would be that there is a little or no relationship between

language and culture.

1. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis revolves around the idea that language has power and
can control how you see the world. Language is a guide to your reality, structuring your
thoughts. It provides the framework through which you make sense of the world.

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is generally understood as having two different versions

a. The strong version

- Linguistics Determinism

The language we use to some extent determines the way in which we view and think
about the world around us. Linguistics determinisim states that:

1. Language determines thought.

2. Linguistics structure determines cognitive structure.
 Eg.

Arguments support liguistics determinism:

- Peter Gordon (2004) Columbia University

Language of Piraha Tribe contains only three counting words 1, 2, and many. He shows
through a series of experiments that people of the Piraha Tribe have difficulty recounting
umbers higher than three. The result: The Tribe’s language determines its people thought.

- Mooney et al (2011,p.32)

Since there is a connection between thought and language language must influence
thought. Eg. A boy wants to use the toilet he then noticed a sign on the public toilet door “out
of use” this sign will influence his decision, so he won’t open that door. The result: The sign
hanged on the toilet door (the language) influences the boys decision (his thought).

Argument againts linguistics determinism:

- Other study have shown that babies use pointing to get things they want before
they can speak. Thought exits before language.
b. The weak version
- Linguistics relativity

Linguistics relativity states that speakers of a different languages perceive and

experience the world diffently. It is also state that Language differences effect our daily
automatic thinking.

Eg. The number and the type of the basic color words of a language determines gow
a person sees a rainbow.

- Lenberg & Roberts (1953)

Conducted a cross-linguistic comparison of color recognation between speaker of

Zuni Tribe and English speaker. In Zuni one word to refer to yellow-orange spectrum for
english speakers they use 2 words to refer to each color independently.