Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir
Edward Sapirwas an American anthropologist-linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the early development of the discipline of linguistics...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth26 January 1884
CountryUnited States of America
heart crowds hopeless
It would, of course, be hopeless to attempt to crowd into an international language all those local overtones of meaning which are so dear to the heart of the nationalist.
inquiry language interest
National languages are all huge systems of vested interests which sullenly resist critical inquiry.
latin language accepted
English, once accepted as an international language, is no more secure than French has proved to be as the one and only accepted language of diplomacy or as Latin has proved to be as the international language of science.
reality two language
No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality.
normal psychological anthropology
Cultural anthropology is not valuable because it uncovers the archaic in the psychological sense. It is valuable because it is constantly rediscovering the normal.
community choices language
We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation.
art creativity generations
Language is an anonymous, collective and unconscious art; the result of the creativity of thousands of generations.
art generations language
Language is the most massive and inclusive art we know, a mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations.
complex dispose english formal german structure true
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.
real world matter
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.
expression language social
In a sense, every form of expression is imposed upon one by social factors, one's own language above all.
different would-be analysis
It would be naïve to imagine that any analysis of experience is dependent on pattern expressed in language. Any concept, whether or not it forms part of the system of grammatical categories, can be conveyed in any language. If a notion is lacking in a given series, it implies a different configuration and not a lack of expressive power.
expression world language
Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society.
communication secret code
Nonverbal communication is an elaborate secret code that is written nowhere, known by none, and understood by all.