Grammatical Categories and Cognition

A Case Study of the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
Erscheinungsjahr 2003
ISBN: 978-0-521-56620-9
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 13, 227 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 377 g

Reihe: Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language

Grammatical Categories and Cognition uses original, empirical data to examine the Sapir-Whorf linguistic relativity hypothesis: the proposal that the grammar of the particular language we speak affects the way we think about reality. The author compares the grammar of American English with that of Yucatec Maya, an indigenous language spoken in south-eastern Mexico, focusing on differences in the number marking patterns of the two languages. He then identifies distinctive patterns of thought relating to these differences by means of a systemtic assessment of memory and classification preferences among speakers of both languages.The study illustrates the new approach to empirical research on the linguistic relativity hypothesis which Lucy develops in a companion volume Language Diversity and Thought.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lucy, John A.

Irvine, Judith

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Soziolinguistik
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Sprachsoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Psycholinguistik, Neurolinguistik, Kognition

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of figures; List of tables; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Background of the comparative research in Yucatan, Mexico; 2. Comparison of grammatical categories: nominal number in English and Yucatec; 3. Cognitive assessment; 4. Conclusions; Appendices; Notes; References; Index.