zwicky@osu-eddie.UUCP (Elizabeth D. Zwicky) (07/23/85)
Expires: Followup-To:net.nlang This is not the group for this comment, but I can't resist the temptation to squash a misunderstanding where it started. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in its strong form (The one that states that if you can't say it, you can't think it) is now known to be wrong. I repeat WRONG. The weak form, which states that language CAN influence culture, and that culture DOES influence language is completely true. Thought and culture both influence language much more than the other way around. The stong version of the Sapir-Whorf theory is admittedly much more interesting and exciting, but remember "There is always a solution to any problem which is simple, intuitive, and wrong" The Sapir-Whorf theory is one such, more's the pity. -Elizabeth D. Zwicky