Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Edward Sapir was born Ephraim Evzerinskiy in Lida, Belarus on January 26, 1884. He later adopted the name Edward Sapir as his professional name.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: January 26, 1884, Lida, Russian Empire (now Belarus)
Died: September 4, 1939, New Haven, Connecticut
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Sapir was a Canadian-American linguist, anthropologist, and philosopher. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern linguistics.
Early Life and Background
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Edward Sapir's early life was marked by significant cultural and linguistic diversity. As a young boy, he moved to the United States with his family, where he would spend most of his life. His father, Jacob Sapir, was a merchant who had immigrated from Lithuania, while his mother, Charlotte Sapir (née Rosenthal), came from a Jewish family in Belarus.
Sapir's fascination with languages began at an early age. He learned several languages, including Yiddish, Hebrew, and German, as well as English. This linguistic proficiency would later become essential to his academic pursuits.
Major Accomplishments
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Edward Sapir made significant contributions to the fields of linguistics, anthropology, and philosophy. His work focused on the relationship between language and culture, which he believed were inextricably linked.
Sapir is perhaps best known for his theory that language influences thought. This idea, known as linguistic determinism or Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, suggests that our language shapes how we perceive reality and categorize experience.
He was also a prolific linguist who worked on various languages, including the indigenous peoples of North America. His work on the Ojibwe language, in particular, remains influential to this day.
Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Sapir's notable works include:
Language (1921) - a comprehensive textbook on linguistics that laid the groundwork for modern linguistic theory.
The Status of Linguistics as a Science (1929) - a paper in which he argued that linguistics was, indeed, a science worthy of academic recognition.
Impact and Legacy
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Edward Sapir's contributions to linguistics have had a lasting impact on the field. His work on linguistic determinism has inspired generations of scholars, including Benjamin Lee Whorf, who built upon Sapir's ideas.
Sapir's commitment to understanding and preserving the languages of indigenous peoples helped establish the foundations for modern language documentation and revitalization efforts.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Edward Sapir is widely quoted and remembered due to his groundbreaking work on linguistic determinism. His theories continue to influence fields such as anthropology, sociology, and cognitive science.
As a linguist who worked tirelessly to document and preserve the languages of indigenous peoples, Sapir's legacy extends beyond academia. He has inspired efforts to revitalize endangered languages and promote linguistic diversity.
In summary, Edward Sapir was a pioneering figure in modern linguistics whose work continues to shape our understanding of language and culture. His commitment to preserving linguistic diversity and his groundbreaking theories on linguistic determinism have cemented his place as one of the most influential scholars of the 20th century.
Quotes by Edward Sapir
Human beings do not wish to be modest; they want to be as expressive – that is, as immodest – as fear allows; fashion helps them solve that paradoxical problem.
The psychology of a language which, in one way or another, is imposed upon one because of factors beyond one’s control, is very different from the psychology of a language which one accepts of one’s free will.
Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols.
In a sense, every form of expression is imposed upon one by social factors, one’s own language above all.
Were a language ever completely “grammatical” it would be a perfect engine of conceptual expression. Unfortunately, or luckily, no language is tyrannically consistent. All grammars leak.
The fact of the matter is that the ‘real world’ is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group.
It is well known that the tense systems of French, English and German teem with logical inconsistencies as they are actually used.
It is true that English is not as complex in its formal structure as is German or Latin, but this does not dispose of the matter.
The supposed inferiority of a constructed language to a national one on the score of richness of connotation is, of course, no criticism of the idea of a constructed language.