Edward Sapir
[1884-1939]
• Born in Germany and immigrated into the
United States in late 19th century
• Events occuring during this time include
the following
- Wright Bros. first airplane 1903
- Einstein proposes theory of relativity
1905
- World War I 191
- Panama Canal completed 1920
- Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle
1928
Studies
BA and MA in Germanic Philosophy at Columbia
University [1904 +1905]
Linguistic interests were further than this
1907 Sapir studies native american language in
Oregon
1908 Sapir studies yana language in northern
california
Conducts ethnographic interviews with Ishi
1909 Phd in Anthropology at University of
Columbia while the study was just emerging
Life Work
Language 1928
Nootka and various indigenous native
american languages
Wishram Chinook, Navajo, Nootka, Paiute,
Takelma, and Yana.
Work
“Linguistic Drift” Theory
Meets with Benjamin Whorf while instructing at
the University of Yale in the 1930’s
Compose the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Durings the 1940’s this was proved true
Inspired students and was a key force in the
establishing anthropological study
Why is language
important
communication
cultural preservation
His thoughts
He believed language was a symbol of
human relationship
He believed it was impossible to understand
cultural behavioralism without language
Language shapes our perceptions
Interested in abstract connections between
personality, verbal expression and socially
determined behavior
Relevance
Stimulating a topic could lead to exponential
amounts of information.
This could be used to raise awareness of
smaller aspects of networks
This could be used to raise awareness of
lesser known aspects
He receives a degree in a newly developing
field