While the hypothesis is named after them both, the two never actually formally co-authored a coherent hypothesis together.
Since then, the concept has evolved into multiple variations, some more credible than others.
Instead, Whorf argued, the Hopi view time as a formless process.
Thomas Barwick / Getty Images
Different Languages Express Colors Differently
Color is one of the most common examples of linguistic relativity.
In English, for example, there are distinct categories forblueandgreen.
Blue and Green
But in Korean, there is one word that encompasses both.
They roughly correspond to light blue and dark blue in English.
But to Russian speakers, they are as distinct asorangeandbrown.
The test specifically focused on varying shades of blue ranging from siniy to goluboy.
Russian speakers were not only faster at selecting the matching color square but were more accurate in their selections.
The Way Location Is Expressed Varies Across Languages
This same variation occurs in other areas of language.
This doesnt mean humans never experienced anger or sadness before words for them emerged.
But they may have struggled to understand or explain the subtle differences between different dimensions of displeasure.
Researchers asked them to put all the pictures that matched the first angry face picture into a box.
The two-year-olds in the experiment tended to place all faces except happy faces into the box.
But four-year-olds were more selective, often leaving out sad or fearful faces as well as happy faces.
But some research suggests the influence is not limited to just developing a wider vocabulary for categorizing emotions.
As our vocabulary for talking about emotions expands, so does our ability to understand and distinguish those emotions.
In German, for example, theres an emotion called gemutlichkeit.
While its usually translated as cozy or friendly in English, there really isnt a direct translation.
You may have felt gemutlichkeit when staying up with your friends to joke and play games at a sleepover.
In Japanese, the word amae is just as difficult to translate into English.
But both of those have strong negative connotations in English and amae is apositive emotion.
Regardless of which languages you speak, though, youre capable of feeling both of these emotions.
Rhee S.Lexicalization patterns in color naming in Korean.
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Lindquist KA, MacCormack JK, Shablack H.The role of language in emotion: predictions from psychological constructionism.
