LANGUAGE, THOUGHT AND REALITY
WEDs: NOV 30 / DEC 7 / DEC 14
2 PM to 4 PM
Upstairs at The Willows
3115 Squalicum Parkway
Everything in BLUE is an active link.
Brief course description: eMail the instructor
To what extent does your language determine the way you view the world? To what extent does it determine the way you live your life? Does language create culture or reflect culture? These questions are nearly as old as language, itself, and are among the most difficult of any that can be asked.
We will consider this problem from the vantage of the Sapir/Whorf Hypothesis, which states that language does structure our culture, that it determines and limits the way we think, and that it also constrains behavior.
Bring your thinking caps and skepticism - you'll need them.
MENU . = recently added material.
LAST UPDATE: 12-14-2011
Language in the Brain •MORE NEW•
Ancient History of the Pueblo
Of Matters Hopi
Common Sense PDF 0.6mb
Relativism PDF 0.6mb
Whorf - The Next Generation
A Neural Theory of Language •NEW•
Why Analogies Work
The Brain from Top to Bottom •NEW•
Role of Language According to RADIOLAB
Course Outline PDF 404kThe Difficulty of Analyzing Language
The view from inside is great
There is no view from the outside
All deep analysis is circular
Nevertheless such analysis is useful
It will change the way you see the world
Approaches to Understanding Linguistic Causation
Religion, Philosophy, Psychology, Neurobiology,
Sociobiology, Sociology, Sociolinguistics
Language & Culture
The Sapir/Whorf Hypothesis
The History of the Hypothesis
Benjamin Lee Whorf
The semantic contents of a language
Linking semantics and culture
Linking semantics and human behavior
The many subsequent lives of the Hypothesis
The Hopi vs. Western Civilization
New York is the arena
Ruth Benedict sets the stage
Whorf asks Sapir for suggestions
Hopi Culture as found in a bar in New York
Thumbnail sketch of Pueblo culture
Thumbnail sketch of the Hopi
Understanding Hopi reality
The Hopi ceremonial cycle
How to compare to SAE (Standard Average European)
Semantic analysis is the key
Demonstrations of Semantic analysis
What the insurance adjuster learned of factory fires
Comparisons between Hopi and SAE
Perception & classification of time
Creation past vs Creating the world now
Other examples if time permits
Linguistic Perceptions of Reality within a Culture
Observations from advertising
Observations from politics
How does change arise within languages & cultures?
Innovation: the basis of linguistic & cultural change
Get Summary of Barnett's Argument by Rigsby
The individual mind as the point of origin
What happens in the human mind
How might Metaphor relate to Barnett's model?
Transmission from the individual to society
Influence of society on the individual
Other things influencing the individual
What does dyslexia have to do with innovation?
Why does dyslexia persist in humans?
Neurological research into dyslexia.
Dyslexia and voice recognition. pdf
EPIGENESIS THROUGH METHYLATION
What are epigenesis and methylation?
The role of Epigenesis in human development
The Epigenesis of Language
Applying Epigenesis to Artificial Intelligence
Language in the Brain - Testing Sapir-Whorf
Is there a difference between memory and language?
Using language to study the brain
Using the brain to study language
Where does language reside in the brain?
The organs of the brain
Cells in and among the organs
Behind Analogy & Metaphor
Learning new colors •NEW•
Molecules and memory
Molecules and speech
The Evolution of Linguistic Abilities
The example of the lie
The evolutionary advantage of using lies
The evolutionary advantage to detecting lies
Logic as a linguistic structure
Manipulating people by using logic
The use of logical fallacy Get your fallacy list here!
Expect to see a few more additions and elaborations as the presentation is refined.
Does Culture Create Language?
©2011 by Charles M. Nelson|
All rights reserved.