Edward Sapir’s Views on Language

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,0 (B), University of Cologne (English Seminar), course: Hauptseminar The Writings of Edward Sapir, language: English, abstract: As Edward Sapir first approached the field of linguistics in the course of his anthropologist studies, his view on language is one that takes into account not only cultural studies but the whole range of human sciences, among them psychology, sociology, and philosophy. He treats language as a cultural product and considers linguistics to be a fruitful possibility of a scientific study of society. In this paper I want to give an overview on his inquiries into the function and form of languages as arbitrary systems of symbolisms. Beginning with Sapir’s definition and characterization of language I want to carve out the function of language structure in connection with language change, its impact on world view, and finally Sapir’s conclusions concerning an artificial international language.