Od Whorfa do Whorfa: o rozwoju koncepcji badań nad zasadą względności językowej
From Whorf to Whorf: On the development of research methodology for the study of linguistic relativity

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the evolution of the principle of linguistic relativity, developed in the 1940s by the anthropological linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf. The principle, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, postulates the existence of a causal relationship between the categories of natural language and the functioning of human cognition. Currently, the hypothesis is experiencing a renaissance, facilitated by a rapid development of research technologies that enable its verification. Since it has been argued that the hypothesis’ current form does not reflect the views of its authors or does so only superficially, the article addresses these concerns by discussing the three factors that Whorf considered to be directly related to the problem, namely thought, language, and behavior, and confronts them with the accepted scientific solutions. Generally speaking, in order to advance research, it was necessary to reformulate Whorf’s postulates as verifiable hypotheses and extend the research to include other areas of language, beyond his main focus on grammar. As new technological possibilities emerged, research gradually confined the number of tested behavioral variables to unconscious neurophysiological reactions. Since the most crucial discoveries took place in laboratory conditions, which significantly limited their scope, the need arose to (re)examine the data thus obtained in socio-cultural contexts. This signals a U-turn back to the philosophy and methodology of the authors of the relativity principle.

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