language determinismWord文件下载.docx
- 文档编号:21900585
- 上传时间:2023-02-01
- 格式:DOCX
- 页数:7
- 大小:24KB
language determinismWord文件下载.docx
《language determinismWord文件下载.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《language determinismWord文件下载.docx(7页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
(August26,2010)
Seventyyearsago,in1940,apopularsciencemagazinepublishedashortarticlethatsetinmotiononeofthetrendiestintellectualfadsofthe20thcentury.Atfirstglance,thereseemedlittleaboutthearticletoauguritssubsequentcelebrity.Neitherthetitle,“ScienceandLinguistics,”northemagazine,M.I.T.’sTechnologyReview,wasmostpeople’sideaofglamour.Andtheauthor,achemicalengineerwhoworkedforaninsurancecompanyandmoonlightedasananthropologylectureratYaleUniversity,wasanunlikelycandidateforinternationalsuperstardom.AndyetBenjaminLeeWhorfletlooseanalluringideaaboutlanguage’spoweroverthemind,andhisstirringproseseducedawholegenerationintobelievingthatourmothertonguerestrictswhatweareabletothink.
Inparticular,Whorfannounced,NativeAmericanlanguagesimposeontheirspeakersapictureofrealitythatistotallydifferentfromours,sotheirspeakerswouldsimplynotbeabletounderstandsomeofourmostbasicconcepts,liketheflowoftimeorthedistinctionbetweenobjects(like“stone”)andactions(like“fall”).Fordecades,Whorf’stheorydazzledbothacademicsandthegeneralpublicalike.Inhisshadow,othersmadeawholerangeofimaginativeclaimsaboutthesupposedpoweroflanguage,fromtheassertionthatNativeAmericanlanguagesinstillintheirspeakersanintuitiveunderstandingofEinstein’sconceptoftimeasafourthdimensiontothetheorythatthenatureoftheJewishreligionwasdeterminedbythetensesystemofancientHebrew.
Eventually,Whorf’stheorycrash-landedonhardfactsandsolidcommonsense,whenittranspiredthattherehadneveractuallybeenanyevidencetosupporthisfantasticclaims.Thereactionwassoseverethatfordecades,anyattemptstoexploretheinfluenceofthemothertongueonourthoughtswererelegatedtotheloonyfringesofdisrepute.But70yearson,itissurelytimetoputthetraumaofWhorfbehindus.Andinthelastfewyears,newresearchhasrevealedthatwhenwelearnourmothertongue,wedoafterallacquirecertainhabitsofthoughtthatshapeourexperienceinsignificantandoftensurprisingways.
Whorf,wenowknow,mademanymistakes.Themostseriousonewastoassumethatourmothertongueconstrainsourmindsandpreventsusfrombeingabletothinkcertainthoughts.Thegeneralstructureofhisargumentswastoclaimthatifalanguagehasnowordforacertainconcept,thenitsspeakerswouldnotbeabletounderstandthisconcept.Ifalanguagehasnofuturetense,forinstance,itsspeakerswouldsimplynotbeabletograspournotionoffuturetime.Itseemsbarelycomprehensiblethatthislineofargumentcouldeverhaveachievedsuchsuccess,giventhatsomuchcontraryevidenceconfrontsyouwhereveryoulook.Whenyouask,inperfectlynormalEnglish,andinthepresenttense,“Areyoucomingtomorrow?
”doyoufeelyourgriponthenotionoffuturityslippingaway?
DoEnglishspeakerswhohaveneverheardtheGermanwordSchadenfreudefinditdifficulttounderstandtheconceptofrelishingsomeoneelse’smisfortune?
Orthinkaboutitthisway:
Iftheinventoryofready-madewordsinyourlanguagedeterminedwhichconceptsyouwereabletounderstand,howwouldyoueverlearnanythingnew?
SINCETHEREISNOEVIDENCEthatanylanguageforbidsitsspeakerstothinkanything,wemustlookinanentirelydifferentdirectiontodiscoverhowourmothertonguereallydoesshapeourexperienceoftheworld.Some50yearsago,therenownedlinguistRomanJakobsonpointedoutacrucialfactaboutdifferencesbetweenlanguagesinapithymaxim:
“Languagesdifferessentiallyinwhattheymustconveyandnotinwhattheymayconvey.”Thismaximoffersusthekeytounlockingtherealforceofthemothertongue:
ifdifferentlanguagesinfluenceourmindsindifferentways,thisisnotbecauseofwhatourlanguageallowsustothinkbutratherbecauseofwhatithabituallyobligesustothinkabout.
Considerthisexample.SupposeIsaytoyouinEnglishthat“Ispentyesterdayeveningwithaneighbor.”Youmaywellwonderwhethermycompanionwasmaleorfemale,butIhavetherighttotellyoupolitelythatit’snoneofyourbusiness.ButifwewerespeakingFrenchorGerman,Iwouldn’thavetheprivilegetoequivocateinthisway,becauseIwouldbeobligedbythegrammaroflanguagetochoosebetweenvoisinorvoisine;
NachbarorNachbarin.TheselanguagescompelmetoinformyouaboutthesexofmycompanionwhetherornotIfeelitisremotelyyourconcern.Thisdoesnotmean,ofcourse,thatEnglishspeakersareunabletounderstandthedifferencesbetweeneveningsspentwithmaleorfemaleneighbors,butitdoesmeanthattheydonothavetoconsiderthesexesofneighbors,friends,teachersandahostofotherpersonseachtimetheycomeupinaconversation,whereasspeakersofsomelanguagesareobligedtodoso.
Ontheotherhand,Englishdoesobligeyoutospecifycertaintypesofinformationthatcanbelefttothecontextinotherlanguages.IfIwanttotellyouinEnglishaboutadinnerwithmyneighbor,Imaynothavetomentiontheneighbor’ssex,butIdohavetotellyousomethingaboutthetimingoftheevent:
Ihavetodecidewhetherwedined,havebeendining,aredining,willbediningandsoon.Chinese,ontheotherhand,doesnotobligeitsspeakerstospecifytheexacttimeoftheactioninthisway,becausethesameverbformcanbeusedforpast,presentorfutureactions.Again,thisdoesnotmeanthattheChineseareunabletounderstandtheconceptoftime.Butitdoesmeantheyarenotobligedtothinkabouttimingwhenevertheydescribeanaction.
Whenyourlanguageroutinelyobligesyoutospecifycertaintypesofinformation,itforcesyoutobeattentivetocertaindetailsintheworldandtocertainaspectsofexperiencethatspeakersofotherlanguagesmaynotberequiredtothinkaboutallthetime.Andsincesuchhabitsofspeecharecultivatedfromtheearliestage,itisonlynaturalthattheycansettleintohabitsofmindthatgobeyondlanguageitself,affectingyourexperiences,perceptions,associations,feelings,memoriesandorientationintheworld.
BUTISTHEREanyevidenceforthishappeninginpractice?
Let’stakegendersagain.LanguageslikeSpanish,French,GermanandRussiannotonlyobligeyoutothinkaboutthesexoffriendsandneighbors,buttheyalsoassignamaleorfemalegendertoawholerangeofinanimateobjectsquiteatwhim.What,forinstance,isparticularlyfeminineaboutaFrenchman’sbeard(labarbe)?
WhyisRussianwaterashe,andwhydoesshebecomeaheonceyouhavedippedateabagintoher?
MarkTwainfamouslylamentedsucherraticgendersasfemaleturnipsandneutermaidensinhisrant“TheAwfulGermanLanguage.”ButwhereasheclaimedthattherewassomethingparticularlyperverseabouttheGermangendersystem,itisinfactEnglishthatisunusual,atleastamongEuropeanlanguages,innottreatingturnipsandteacupsasmasculineorfeminine.Languagesthattreataninanimateobjectasaheorasheforcetheirspeakerstotalkaboutsuchanobjectasifitwereamanorawoman.Andasanyonewhosemothertonguehasagendersystemwilltellyou,oncethehabithastakenhold,itisallbutimpossibletoshakeoff.WhenIspeakEnglish,Imaysayaboutabedthat“it”istoosoft,butasanativeHebrewspeaker,Iactuallyfeel“she”istoosoft.“She”staysfeminineallthewayfromthelungsuptotheglottisandisneuteredonlywhenshereachesthetipofthetongue.
Inrecentyears,variousexperimentshaveshownthatgrammaticalgenderscanshapethefeelingsandassociationsofspeakerstowardobjectsaroundthem.Inthe1990s,forexample,psychologistscomparedassociationsbetweenspeakersofGermanandSpanish.Therearemanyinanimatenounswhosegendersinthetwolanguagesarereversed.AGermanbridgeisfeminine(dieBrü
cke),forinstance,butelpuenteismasculineinSpanish;
andthesamegoesforclocks,apartments,forks,newspapers,pockets,shoulders,stamps,tickets,violins,thesun,theworldandlove.Ontheotherhand,anappleismasculineforGermansbutfeminineinSpanish,andsoarechairs,brooms,butterflies,keys,mountains,stars,tables,wars,rainandgarbage.Whenspeakerswereaskedtogradevariousobjectsonarangeofcharacteristics,Spanishspeakersdeemedbridges,clocksandviolinstohavemore“manlyproperties”likestrength,butGermanstendedtothinkofthemasmoreslenderorelegant.Withobjectslikemountainsorchairs,whichare“he”inGermanbut“she”inSpanish,theeffectwasreversed.
Inadifferentexperiment,FrenchandSpanishspeakerswereaskedtoassignhumanvoicestovariousobjectsinacartoon.WhenFrenchspeakerssawapictureofafork(lafourchette),mostofthemwantedittospeakinawoman’svoice,butSpanishspeakers,forwhomeltenedorismasculine,preferredagravellymalevoiceforit.Morerecently,psychologistshaveevenshownthat“genderedlanguages”imprintgendertraitsforobjectssostronglyinthemindthattheseassociationsobstructspeakers’abilitytocommitinformationtomemory.
Ofcourse,allthisdoesnotmeanthatspeakersofSpanishorFrenchorGermanfailtounderstandthatinanimateobjectsdonotreallyhavebiologicalsex—aGermanwomanrarelymistakesherhusbandforahat,andSpanishmenarenotknowntoconfuseabedwithwhatmightbelyinginit.Nonetheless,oncegenderconnotationshavebeenimposedonimpressionableyoungminds,theyleadthosewithagenderedmothertonguetoseetheinanimateworldthroughlensestintedwithassociationsandemotionalresponsesthatEnglishspeakers—stuckintheirmonochromedesertof“its”—are
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- language determinism
![提示](https://static.bdocx.com/images/bang_tan.gif)