Perception of the world through language : do spanish and english speakers perceive the world differently? a review of the literature on the sapir-whorf hypothesis

Abstract

Research on perception of the world through language as addressed by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis have been presented since the 1940’s and continues to be popular nowadays among linguists, psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists. This review of the literature on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis aims to explain the relevance of the weak version of the hypothesis, known as linguistic relativity, over the strong version of the hypothesis. In addition, a series of research studies supporting the hypothesis will be presented from three points of view: differences in lexis/semantics among languages, sociocultural aspects in language, and enhancement of cognitive ability. Subsequently, the two research questions of this report will be approached: To what extent can it be said that Spanish speakers experience the world in a different way to English speakers? What possible applications in teaching can this hypothesis have? Results of this literature review strongly suggest that different languages can influence the way speakers express, think about and perceive their reality, and that Spanish and English speakers can experience the world differently due to the linguistic features of its languages.