By the glasses of the language (Guy Deutscher, translated by Felix of the Laar): review

By the glasses of the language (Guy Deutscher, translated by Felix of the Laar): reviewBy the glasses of the taalOndertitel
: How words the world colors
Author: Guy Deutscher
Dutch translation: Felix of the Laar
Issued at Unieboek - The Spectrum (2012)
ISBN (paperback): 978-900031131-6
Review: Luk Vanrespaille


Many have the intuition that the language in which they are grown is less neutral than say their hair color. It is often something that language reflects the nature of its users and some also believe that language does something with them and their thinking influences.

It is sometimes suggested that the Anglican religion there had to be necessary, because the grammar of English, which is somewhere halfway between the catholic French and the protestant German ceases. And emperor Charles alleged to speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French against the men, and German against his horse.


These and many other anekdoten you will find in the very his readable explanatory statement provides direct that the Israeli linguistic Guy Deutscher wrote about the question what a text says about its speakers and what they do with them.
He clearly wants to the level of the 'puistjesmetafysica' of although teens beyond what surprised me sincerely on a strictly scientific way answer the question what we really get to see in the mirror of language: nature or culture.

The whole of the first part, about half of the book, is devoted: shows language us especially the universal human nature or shows a language of the conventions rather a veruitwendiging of a certain culture, in the broad sense of the word?

Common sense says that we certain creatures rather arbitrary 'perro', 'chien', 'dog' or 'dog', but that we have an understanding of nature at all for that beast. According to Aristotle saw the concepts, the 'pressing of the soul', for the whole of humanity have been the same. Only the sounds were different. The nature organizes the reality. The culture paste labels on that organization.
Unfortunately it is true that much. On abstract concepts do languages approximately complete their meaning. The English 'mind' translation you now agree as 'view', then 'meaning', 'head', 'spirit', 'spirit', 'sense', 'ideas', 'gedachten' ... Deutscher also shows that it is also for very natural terms are often not true. Who Hawaiian speaks, has the same body as everyone, but no separate word for arm, hand and fingers. Here also the culture the overwhelming nature.

This is the framework. At each step, the author us to conclude: 'Yes, but' and he pushes back the focus. That delivers a provocative, intellectual journey through time, and a spicy discussion between philosophical traditions.
The grounds that he should develop the most comprehensive, is that of the colors, as the subtitle nice illustration: 'How words the world colors'. What determines our voice and our vocabulary about colors? How we naturally see or how we learn watch: nature or culture? On that question for centuries and the squabbles between the universalisten relativisten, or between supporters of the nativisme, who say that everything is congenital and the supporters of a form of culturalisme, who believe that everything is learned.

In three chapters, and even what the author us to its final 'yes, but'. That is as follows.


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Author: Luk Vanrespaille

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Source language: Nederlands (nl)


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