萨丕尔的“语言—文化观”再认识

Rethinking Sapir's"Language-Culture View"

萨丕尔与沃尔夫的“语言—文化观”具有明显差别,“萨丕尔—沃尔夫假说”的内涵并不明确。前人对萨丕尔的“语言—文化观”的研究多是对其观点的总结,对萨丕尔所使用的“文化”概念缺乏清晰的认识,缺乏通过语言实例对萨丕尔的“语言—文化观”做出批判性思考,缺乏从历史的视角研究萨丕尔的观点。通过对萨丕尔“语言—文化观”的阐释,对多组语言现象实例的分析以及对“语言与语言学”“语言内容与语言结构”“语言与言语”“文化与知识”等几组概念的辨析,可以试图还原萨丕尔“语言—文化观”的提出缘由和理论诉求,并证实文化对语言的概念因素和主观因素均存在影响,对前者的影响是直接的、相对显性的,对后者的影响是间接的、相对隐性的。

There are obvious differences between Sapir and Whorf's"language-culture view",and the connotation of the term"Sapir-Whorf hypothesis"is not clear.Previous studies on Sapir's"language-culture view"are mostly the repetition of his views,lack of clear understanding of the concept of"culture"used by him,critical thinking on his"language-culture view"through language examples,and observation and research on the view from a historical perspective.Through the interpretation of Sapir's"language-culture view",the analysis of several groups of language examples,and the discrimination of several groups of concepts including"language and Linguistics","language content and language structure","language and speech"and"culture and knowledge",we might restore the reasons and theoretical demands of Sapir's"language-culture view".It also proves that culture has an impact on both conceptual and subjective factors of language,with the former direct and relatively explicit,and the latter indirect and relatively implicit.