The linguistic relativity hypothesis the proposal that the particular language we speak influences the way we think about reality forms one part of the broader question of how language influences thought.

Example hypothesis of linguistic relativity. Cross-linguistic examples of Linguistic Relativity Consider the oft-quoted example of Eskimos and their words for snow that Whorf mentions in his paper titled Science and Linguistics It is interesting that the snow example is actually given as an elaboration of another point that nobody ever seems to talk about the fact that the Hopi have one word for insect aviator and airplane. Furthermore when languages are more different the culture will be more different as well. A linguistic relativity hypothesis says that some particular aspect of language influences some particular aspect of cognition.

One room contained filled gasoline drums while the other contained empty gasoline drums. Existing empirical approaches are classified into three. Even in ancient times some philosophers including Plato spoke about the influence of the language that a person uses when communicating on his thinking and worldview.

This linguistic relativity is also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or Whorfianism. The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis discusses the concept that languages that are more similar in nature contribute to populations being more similar in terms of culture. Sapir considered the father of American linguistic anthropology was responsible for documenting and recording the languages and cultures of many Native American tribes which were disappearing at an alarming rate.

Many different aspects of language could for all we know influence many different aspects of cognition. This means that a study showing that some particular aspect of language eg the color lexicon of a language does or does not influence some particular aspect of cognition eg. Both language and thought interact in a cyclical process which is this linguistic relativity.

The hypothesis of linguistic relativity is part of relativism. In English there is only one word for snow but in the Inuit language many words are used to describe snow. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis In the 1920s Benjamin Whorf was a graduate student studying with linguist Edward Sapir at Yale University in New Haven Connecticut.

A commonly cited example of linguistic relativity is the example of how Inuit Eskimos describe snow. The counter argument is that both continue to influence each other in varying degrees. The hypothesis of linguistic relativity is the fruit of many scientists.