The Whorf Theory Complex: A Critical Reconstruction (Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science Series III: Studies in the History of the Language Sciences)

Annotation At last - a comprehensive account of the ideas of Benjamin Lee Whorf which not only explains the nature and logic of the linguistic relativity principle but also situates it within a larger 'theory complex' delineated in fascinating detail. Whorf's almost unknown unpublished writings (as well as his published papers) are drawn on to show how twelve elements of theory interweave in a sophisticated account of relations between language, mind, and experience. The role of language in cognition is revealed as a central concern, some of his insights having interesting affinity with modern connectionism. Whorf's gestaltic 'isolates' of experience and meaning, crucial to understanding his reasoning about linguistic relativity, are explained. A little known report written for the Yale anthropology department is used extensively and published for the first time as an appendix. With the Whorf centenary in 1997, this book provides a timely challenge to those who take pleasure in debunking his ideas without bothering to explore their subtlety or even reading them in their original form 1. Acknowledgments 2. Preface 3. Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview 4. 1.1 The Early Work: 1924-1930 5. 1.2 1931-1941: The Final Years 6. 1.3 Misread, Unread, and Superficially Treated 7. 1.4 The Theory Complex: An Overview 8. 1.5 Elements of the Complex Summarized 9. Chapter 2. Linguistic Thinking: Points, Pattern, Linkage, and Rapport 10. 2.1 Patternment 11. 2.2 Points in the Pattern 12. 2.3 Emergent from a Field of Causes 13. 2.4 Linguistic Thinking 14. 2.5. Form and Substance, Process and Content: Cutting through the Dichotomies to Linguistic Thinking 15. Chapter 3. The Logic and Development of the Linguistic Relativity Principle 16. 3.1 The Linguistic Relativity Principle 17. 3.2 Raw Experience 18. 3.3 Isolates of Experience: the Nonlinguistic Configuration of Experience 19. 3.4 A Canon of Reference, the Same for all Observers 20. 3.5 The Biological Segmentation of Reality 21. 3.6 Different Essentials from the Same Situation 22. 3.7 The Yale Report and Configurative Linguistics 23. 3.8 An Analysis of Hopi Stems: Gestalt Theory in the Service of Linguistics 24. 3.9 Overview of the Yale Report 25. Chapter 4. Of Covert Categories, Cryptotypes, and the Internalized Linguistic System 26. 4.1 A Whorfian Psycholinguistics 27. 4.2 Marking and Grammatical Classes 28. 4.3 Terminological Anomalies 29. 4.4 Grammatical Meaning and The Problem of Levels in Linguistic Description 30. 4.5 The Data of Utterances 31. Chapter 5. Abstractive Processes and the Question of Universals 32. 5.1 Abstractive Processes in Cognition 33. 5.2 Experiential, Conceptual, and Linguistic Universals 34. Chapter 6. Metalinguistics: The Intercalihration of Agreement through Language Awareness 35. 6.1 Introductory Comments 36. 6.2 Three Kinds of Agreement 37. 6.3 Metalinguistics 38. 6.4 Language Awareness as an Augmentative Function in Cognition 39. 6.5 Different Order Systems, Different Logics, and the Progress of Science 40. Appendix: "The Yale Report" 41. References 42. Index of Names 43. Index of Subjects Linguistic Thinking : Points, Pattern, Linkage, And Rapport -- The Logic And Development Of The Linguistic Relativity Principle -- Of Covert Categories, Cryptotypes, And The Internalized Linguistic System -- Abstractive Processes And The Question Of Universals -- Metalinguistics: The Intercalibration Of Agreement Through Language Awareness. Penny Lee. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. This text on the Whorf theory complex begins with an overview and then covers topics such as linguistic thinking, the Yale Report and configurative linguistics, Whorfian psycholinguistics, and metalinguistics.