Sapir—Whorf Hypothesis and Its Implications for Second Language Learning

【Abstract】： Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is concerned with the relationship among language， thought and culture. As a famous theory in linguistics， it is always attractive in academia since its appearance which has been interpreted from different perspectives by numerous scholars. This paper mainly focuses on the practical meanings of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis on second language learning， both English learning of Chinese learners and Chinese learning of English learners.

【Key words】： Sapir-Whorf hypothesis； thought； culture； second language learning

1. Introduction

As one of the most famous theory in Sociolinguistics， Sapir-Whorf hypothesis explains the interaction among language， thought and culture which suggests that people who use different languages have different ways of thinking and different culture in different countries will influence the format of different languages. This paper will focus on the implications which are originated from this hypothesis， discussing how Sapir-Whorf hypothesis helps to make second language learning more effective.

2. Implications on Second Language learning

2.1 Pay attention to different thinking patterns

There are many strong logic and analytical thinking modes in western thoughts， which is originated from the Greek thoughts. As for English learning， Chinese students often make mistakes in English because of fixed Chinese thinking pattern. There was a study on students’ mistakes in English writing in the college entrance examination in the past 20 years. The result shows that 80 percent mistakes in English writing belong to the logic mistakes instead of the grammatical errors. This point suggests that only when we really learn to think as westerners can we really grasp the true meanings of English. On the contrary， oriental thoughts always prefer euphemism and implicitness. Lots of evidence justifies that although many foreigners have learned Chinese for many years， they still cannot communicate with Chinese native speakers successfully. The reason which lead to failed communications always lies in that their ways of expression is too direct that Chinese native speaker cannot tolerate. Therefore， it is significant for foreign learners to know that the communicational way of speaking Chinese is more important than the grammatical way of speaking English to a certain extent.

From the analysis talked above， it is apparent that different thinking patterns may easily result in improper use of language， which suggests that language learners should try to eliminate the interference of mother tongue thinking and achieve agreement between thought and target language in the process of second language learning.

2.2 Pay attention to different cultural background knowledge

The language and the culture are closely related and intricately related as part and whole. Different countries have different cultures which may often create misunderstanding if ignored and hinder our communications with native speakers if a foreign language is culturally misused even though the structure are perfectly correct （Foley， 1997）.

Different cultural histories may result in many differences between two languages. In English， the word “brother” means a male having the same parents as another or one parent in common with another， while in Chinese， the meaning is broadened， it not only means the male having the parents as another or one parent in common with another， but also contains the cousins. This difference can be explained by different social historical traditions which exist in China society and western society. In ancient times， there was a rigid kinship system corresponding to the specific political need at that time. With the complicated relationship crossed and influenced， China’s society can be called a “kinship’s society”. Different appellations for different kinfolk can better fit for traditions in China， such as “表兄弟， 表姐妹， 堂兄弟， 舅舅舅媽， 姨媽姨夫”， while it is hard for foreign learners to understand why they need to use so many different words for their kinfolk and all the words mentioned above can be replaced only by “cousin” “uncle” and “aunt” simply in western countries. Therefore， when learning Chinese， many foreign learners always mistakenly use appellations which may result in embarrassments， which proves that only when foreign learners understand the kinship system of China society， can they understand so many different appellations for their kinfolk and communicate with Chinese native speakers successfully.

3. Conclusion

According to Sapir-Whorf hypothesis， it is suggested that language has a close relationship with culture and people’s thinking patterns. The great influence it has on second language learning cannot be neglected. People who use different languages have different views of the world and ways of thinking and different culture in different countries will influence the format of different languages. It is a good way of learning a second language along with its thinking patterns and cultural background information. Learning a new language is not only to learn language itself， but also a new mode of thinking； a better understanding of culture will certainly help second language learning more effective. With these principles in mind， the process of second language learning will be improved certainly.

References：

[1]Sapir， E. （1921）. Language： An introduction to the study of speech. New York： Harcourt， Brace and company.

[2]Sapir， E. （1925）. Sound patterns in language. Language. （1）： 37-51.

[3]Wolfson， N. （1983）. Rules of speaking. In J. C. Richards R. W. Schmidt （Eds.）， Languages and communication （pp. 61-68）. London： Longman.

[4]胡壯麟（2006）。語言學教程（第三版）。北京：北京大學出版社。

作者簡介：喬丹雯，1994年7月25日出生，女，漢族，漢濱區人，現就讀于西安外國語大學英文學院2016級英語語言文學專業。主要研究方向：英美文學。