The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words

Ana Ontaneda
February 26, 2009
Anthropology 1001/TV24A

Benjamin Lee Whorf claimed language, "may be shaped by the world, but in turn shapes the world." David S. Thomson mentions how Whorf studied various languages but ended up studying the structure and lexicon of the Hopi Indians in Arizona. Whorf was also influenced by a cultural anthropologist and linguist, Edward Sapir and together they formed what is now known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The most clear definition of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is that "we dissect nature along lines laid down by our native language (Thomson 115)." Whorf later discovered that to the Hopi, the past and future were just abstractions. There was no such word for past, present or future in their language. Therefore they did not think of postponing things until two days later. They just stopped when they wanted to and started when they wanted to. This is contrary to more developed language such as English. There is a past, present, and future in english, as well as other fancy forms of verb tenses. This is why we are able to postpone things or create a deadline for projects. Had we not known that there is a "future" we would probably not have deadlines, nor calendars. I have once experienced a young girl trying to explain to her mother something I had once told her in English. The girl was Chinese and I could tell that the young girl could not fully explain it to her mother without including similar vocabularies, or explanations that were not a translation of what I said but resembled it. Another example of why we can only perceive what our language allows us to perceive is when you're asked to name shades of blue. Unless you were an artist or a painter, many people would probably only recite navy, baby blue, dark blue or light blue. Artists are more exposed to different variations of blue than we would be. Therefore we can't perceive their language and only those who have the same perception can.

Bibliography
Thomson, David S. “The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words.” Conformity and Conflict: Reading to Accompany Miller, Cultural Anthropology, 4 ed., ed. Spradley and McCurdy. Pearson, 2008, Chapter 12.

Eating Christmas in the Kalahari

Ana Ontaneda
February 22, 2009
ANT 1001 TV24A/Gaunt
1st Year/Psychology

Richard Borshay Lee. “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”

In "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari," the author, Richard Borshay Lee, a social anthropologist, studied the culture of the !Kung Bushmen. As an ethnographer, he participated in the traditional ceremonial Tswana-Herero custom of killing an ox and sharing it with the members of the tribe for Christmas. He decided to buy the biggest and fattest ox available from a Herero friend. Lee, who tried to pass on his own culture's (American) tradition of "friendship and brotherly love (Lee 16)"on Christmas day, found that the !Kung Bushmen constantly criticized him and made him feel like a miser (Lee 12). They told him that the ox he bought may be big, but in their eyes, it was only a "bag of bones (Lee 13)." Lee could not believe that they were not satisfied with the size of the ox so he asked several people for their opinions. His wife agreed with him, yet all the Bushmen insisted that the ox was thin. The constant comments and ridicule he received from the Bushmen upset him and he felt that all his efforts to enjoy Christmas with the Bushmen have been ruined. Although he has spent nearly three years performing an ethnography for the !Kung Bushmen, the author was experiencing cultural shock. His curiosity lead him to experience the butchering of the ox, where the Bushmen laughed about the ox being thin and sick.
Afterwards the author, as an ethnographer, asked Tomazo why the Bushmen have been joking all along. Tomazo explained that for a young man to brag about his victory of killing an ox was like saying he's chief and therefore everyone else was inferior (Lee 17). This explained why the Bushmen criticize Lee's choice of ox. In Lee's perspective, these indigenous people were less wealthy than he was and offering them a gift of a healthy and fat ox would be a gift of generosity. However, to the Bushmen, "there are no totally generous acts (Lee 17)." The author believed that the Bushmen would appreciate and be grateful for the gift of ox that he gave them but in reality, the gift was nothing more than a normal meal they would always eat. Through an emic perspective, the ethnographer realized that sharing between them was not unusual. However through Lee's etic perspective, he believed that sharing the gift of the ox with the !Kung Bushmen was an act of generosity.

Bibliography

Kottak, Conrad. Mirror for Humanity. 6^th ed., City: McGraw-Hill
Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2007. Chapter 2.

Lee, Richard Borshay. “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari.”
Conformity and Conflict: Reading to Accompany
Miller, Cultural Anthropology, 4 ed., ed. Spradley and
McCurdy. Pearson, 2008, Chapter 2.

introduction

My name is Ana. I am currently a freshman at Baruch. A lot of people think I am Middle Eastern or South-East Asian, but I am actually Ecuadorian and from South America. I aspire to become a doctor (although I don't know why I'm at Baruch). Perhaps I'll change my mind and study business. I created this blog for Professor Gaunt's anthropology class. I will be blogging about topics relating to culture and humanity.