What is the fundamental tenet of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and how have contemporary linguists reacted to it?
What will be an ideal response?
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis delineates two principles. One is the principle of linguistic determinism, which says that the way one thinks is determined by the language one speaks. The second is the principle of linguistic relativity, which says that the differences among languages must therefore be reflected in the differences in the worldviews of their speakers.
Contemporary linguists argue that Sapir-Whorf overstated its case in that all human languages share a universal grammar that is innate in the human species and culturally invariant. Chomsky and other linguists claim that every normal child is genetically programmed for human language. Just as humans are programmed to walk upright, so are humans programmed with universal grammar. Chomsky says that language is as much a part of the human brain as the thumb is a part of the human hand.
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