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 Whorf's almost unknown unpublished writings (as well as his published papers) are drawn on to show how twelve elements of theory interweave in a sophisticated account of relations between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 SIHOLS 81 THE WHORF THEORY COMPLEX 1 Editorial page 2 Title page 3 Copyright page 4 Dedication 5 Table of contents 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 9 PREFACE 13 CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 21 1.1 The early work: 1924-1930 21 1.2 1931-1941: The final years 29 1.3 Misread, unread, and superficially treated 34 1.4 The theory complex — an overview 43 1.5 Elements of the complex summarized 50 CHAPTER TWO. LINGUISTIC THINKING: POINTS, PATTERN, LINKAGE, AND RAPPORT 54 2.1 Patternment 54 2.2 Points in the pattern 62 2.3 Emergent from a field of causes 73 2.4 Linguistic thinking 85 2.5. Form and substance, process and content — cutting through the dichotomies to linguistic thinking 92 CHAPTER THREE. THE LOGIC AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY PRINCIPLE 104 3.1 The linguistic relativity principle 104 3.2 Raw experience 109 3.3 Isolates of experience — the nonlinguistic configuration of experience 116 3.4 A canon of reference, the same for all observers 129 3.5 The biological segmentation of reality 138 3.6 Different essentials from the same situation 142 3.7 The Yale report and configurative linguistics 148 3.8 An analysis of Hopi stems — gestalt theory in the service of linguistics 156 3.9 Overview of the Yale report 163 CHAPTER FOUR OF COVERT CATEGORIES, CRYPTOTYPES, AND THE INTERNALIZED LINGUISTIC SYSTEM 180 4.1 A Whorfian psycholinguistics 180 4.2 Marking and grammatical classes 185 4.3 Terminological anomalies 188 4.4 Grammatical meaning and the problem of levels in linguistic description 192 4.5 The data of utterances 206 CHAPTER FIVE. ABSTRACTIVE PROCESSES AND THE QUESTION OFUNIVERSALS 213 5.1 Abstractive processes in cognition 213 5.2 Experiential, conceptual, and linguistic universals 231 CHAPTER SIX. METALINGUISTICS: THE INTERCALIBRATION OF AGREEMENT THROUGH LANGUAGE AWARENESS 244 6.2 Three kinds of agreement 245 6.3 Metalinguistics 248 6.4 Language awareness as an augmentative function in cognition 258 6.5 Different order systems, different logics, and the progress of science 265 APPENDIX: THE 'YALE REPORT' 271 REFERENCES 301 INDEX OF NAMES 321 INDEX OF SUBJECTS 325 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.