4 ms·
Point is language does limit possible thought. There are concepts which are hard/awkward/impossible to express because one’s language lacks constructs to do so.
by ctdonath 5y ago
Point is language does limit possible thought. There are concepts which are hard/awkward/impossible to express because one’s language lacks constructs to do so.
- WJW 5y agoThis is called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis [0], and it is generally believed not to be true by linguists. As it turns out, natural languages are flexible enough to describe any phenomenon even if there are no dedicated words or constructs directly available. If a thought cannot be expressed by the currently available features of the language, people will invent new words "on the spot" instead of not thinking the thought in the first place. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity
- BurningFrog 5y agoThis can be true if language is constantly policed to make certain words and thought dangerous to say, as in the 1984 plot. In unpoliced discourse, I don't believe this happens. There are always some rough edges in languages as they aimlessly evolve, but nothing that hard.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]