John McWhorter is Professor of Linguistics at Columbia University and author of many books, including The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English, and What Language Is, What It Isn't, and What It Could Be. He also writes on language, as well as race and cultural issues, as Contributing Editor at The New Republic and Columnist at Time. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Time, and The New Yorker, and he has appeared often on National Public Radio, CSPAN and MSNBC.
Japanese has a term that covers both green and blue. Russian has separate terms for dark and light blue. Does this mean that Russians perceive these colors differently from Japanese people? Does language control and limit the way we think? This short, opinionated book addresses the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that the language we speak shapes the way we perceive the world. Linguist John McWhorter argues that while this idea is mesmerizing, it is plainly wrong. It is language that reflects culture and worldview, not the other way around. The fact that a language has only one word for eat, drink, and smoke doesn't mean its speakers don't process the difference between food and beverage, and those who use the same word for blue and green perceive those two colors just as vividly as others do. McWhorter shows not only how the idea of language as a lens fails but also why we want so badly to believe it: we're eager to celebrate diversity by acknowledging the intelligence of peoples who may not think like we do. Though well-intentioned, our belief in this idea poses an obstacle to a better understanding of human nature and even trivializes the people we seek to celebrate. The reality - that all humans think alike - provides another, better way for us to acknowledge the intelligence of all peoples.
發表於2024-12-23
The Language Hoax 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載
圖書標籤: 語言學 語言學 NewBooksNetwork Culture 非虛構類 哲學 theory epub
很不錯的批評沃爾夫主義的作品,觀點很中肯,缺點就是缺乏建設性。一些沃爾夫主義的缺陷在於觀念先行,所以調查語言有問題,這一點很多後期研究都有揭示。不過沃爾夫的初衷是好的,人傢為瞭保護小語種嘛,但是最終還是被傳媒玩壞瞭。新沃爾夫主義其實很強大瞭,他的優點就是建設性地化理論為技術,這比作者這種論述強,但是新沃爾夫主義有一個大問題,就是把統計學上的相關性當成因果。作者把各種語言中標誌的不同歸結於chance實在和前人把此歸結於進化沒多大理論進步(其實可以從信息論和演化角度做)作者沒有把篇幅賦予沃爾夫主義如何在傳媒中壯大這一點讓人遺憾,傳播纔是真正的問題。就像民族主義的根源從來不是基因。近來以為沃爾夫主義的思路辨析及批判可以推廣到極多的學科,他山之石,可以攻玉。ps洪堡、黑格爾都是沃爾夫主義先驅呐。
評分很不錯的批評沃爾夫主義的作品,觀點很中肯,缺點就是缺乏建設性。一些沃爾夫主義的缺陷在於觀念先行,所以調查語言有問題,這一點很多後期研究都有揭示。不過沃爾夫的初衷是好的,人傢為瞭保護小語種嘛,但是最終還是被傳媒玩壞瞭。新沃爾夫主義其實很強大瞭,他的優點就是建設性地化理論為技術,這比作者這種論述強,但是新沃爾夫主義有一個大問題,就是把統計學上的相關性當成因果。作者把各種語言中標誌的不同歸結於chance實在和前人把此歸結於進化沒多大理論進步(其實可以從信息論和演化角度做)作者沒有把篇幅賦予沃爾夫主義如何在傳媒中壯大這一點讓人遺憾,傳播纔是真正的問題。就像民族主義的根源從來不是基因。近來以為沃爾夫主義的思路辨析及批判可以推廣到極多的學科,他山之石,可以攻玉。ps洪堡、黑格爾都是沃爾夫主義先驅呐。
評分很不錯的批評沃爾夫主義的作品,觀點很中肯,缺點就是缺乏建設性。一些沃爾夫主義的缺陷在於觀念先行,所以調查語言有問題,這一點很多後期研究都有揭示。不過沃爾夫的初衷是好的,人傢為瞭保護小語種嘛,但是最終還是被傳媒玩壞瞭。新沃爾夫主義其實很強大瞭,他的優點就是建設性地化理論為技術,這比作者這種論述強,但是新沃爾夫主義有一個大問題,就是把統計學上的相關性當成因果。作者把各種語言中標誌的不同歸結於chance實在和前人把此歸結於進化沒多大理論進步(其實可以從信息論和演化角度做)作者沒有把篇幅賦予沃爾夫主義如何在傳媒中壯大這一點讓人遺憾,傳播纔是真正的問題。就像民族主義的根源從來不是基因。近來以為沃爾夫主義的思路辨析及批判可以推廣到極多的學科,他山之石,可以攻玉。ps洪堡、黑格爾都是沃爾夫主義先驅呐。
評分成功批評瞭popular Whorfianism,對語言-文化-思維-人性四者的關係有不少漂亮的闡述,比如language structure does not correlate meaningfully with culture; languages got the way they are by chance; there is wonder in how differently languages express the same basic cognitive process called humanity; our differences (in language) are variations on being the same. 缺點是不如G. Deutscher會講故事。
評分成功批評瞭popular Whorfianism,對語言-文化-思維-人性四者的關係有不少漂亮的闡述,比如language structure does not correlate meaningfully with culture; languages got the way they are by chance; there is wonder in how differently languages express the same basic cognitive process called humanity; our differences (in language) are variations on being the same. 缺點是不如G. Deutscher會講故事。
The Language Hoax 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載