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Language, thinking and embodiment
Bakhtin, Whorf and Merleau-Ponty
pp. 133-146
Abstract
In this chapter, I will discuss the relationship between language, thinking and culture and aim to combine three different frameworks. I will start with Benjamin Lee Whorf's (1897–1941) work. I will argue in line with, for instance, Lee (1996) that the arguments which have later been known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or the hypothesis of linguistic relativity, have been largely misinterpreted within linguistic sciences since the 1950s. Apart from some early dissident voices, for instance Dan Alford's work,1 Whorf's ideas have started gaining wider understanding only recently (see for instance Gumperz and Levinson 1996).
Publication details
Published in:
Bostad Finn, Brandist Craig, Evensen Lars, Faber Hege Charlotte (2004) Bakhtinian perspectives on language and culture: meaning in language, art and new media. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Pages: 133-146
Full citation:
Dufva Hannele (2004) „Language, thinking and embodiment: Bakhtin, Whorf and Merleau-Ponty“, In: F. Bostad, C. Brandist, L. Evensen & H.C. Faber (eds.), Bakhtinian perspectives on language and culture, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 133–146.