Whorfian hypothesis linguistics Actions Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/Whorfian-hypothesis Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/Whorfian-hypothesis Also known as: Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, Whorf hypothesis, linguistic relativity Written by Teagan Wolter Teagan Wolter is Associate Editor of Anthropology at Encyclopædia Britannica. Teagan Wolter Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Sep 4, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Also called: Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or linguistic relativity (Show more) Key People: Benjamin Lee Whorf (Show more) Whorfian hypothesis, in linguistics, a hypothesis given classic form by the American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf stating that language influences thought and perception of reality. It is also called linguistic relativity, because it focuses on how different languages lead to differences in perception. Although Whorf did not distinguish between different iterations of his hypothesis, scholars have since discussed “strong” and “weak” versions based on how strong an impact of language on perception is supposed. The strong Whorfian hypothesis suggests that language determines a speaker’s perception of the world. Weak versions of the hypothesis simply state that language influences perception to ...(100 of 740 words)

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