Uto-Aztecan languages
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| + | '''Uto-Aztecan''' or '''Uto-Aztekan''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|juː|t|oʊ|.|æ|z|ˈ|t|ɛ|k|ən}} is a [[Language family|family]] of [[indigenous languages of the Americas]], consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found almost entirely in the [[Western United States]] and [[Mexico]]. The name of the language family was created to show that it includes both the [[Colorado River Numic language|Ute language]] of [[Utah]] and the [[Nahuan languages]] (also known as Aztecan) of Mexico. | ||
| - | '''Benjamin Lee Whorf''' (April 24, 1897 – July 26, 1941) was an American [[Linguistics|linguist]] and [[fire prevention]] engineer. Whorf is widely known as an advocate for the idea that differences between the structures of different languages shape how their speakers perceive and conceptualize the world. This principle has frequently been called the "[[Sapir–Whorf hypothesis]]", after him and his mentor [[Edward Sapir]], but Whorf called it the principle of [[linguistic relativity]], because he saw the idea as having implications similar to [[Albert Einstein|Einstein's]] principle of [[general relativity|physical relativity]]. | ||
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| - | Throughout his life Whorf was a chemical engineer by profession, but as a young man he took up an interest in linguistics. At first this interest drew him to the study of [[Biblical Hebrew]], but he quickly went on to study the indigenous languages of [[Mesoamerica]] on his own. Professional scholars were impressed by his work and in 1930 he received a grant to study the [[Nahuatl]] language in Mexico; on his return home he presented several influential papers on the language at linguistics conferences. | ||
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| - | This led him to begin studying linguistics with Edward Sapir at [[Yale University]] while still maintaining his day job at the [[Hartford Fire Insurance Company]]. During his time at Yale he worked on the description of the [[Hopi language]], and the [[historical linguistics]] of the [[Uto-Aztecan languages]], publishing many influential papers in professional journals. He was chosen as the substitute for Sapir during his medical leave in 1938. Whorf taught his seminar on "Problems of American Indian Linguistics". In addition to his well-known work on linguistic relativity, he wrote a grammar sketch of Hopi and studies of [[Nahuatl]] dialects, proposed a deciphering of [[Maya script|Maya hieroglyphic writing]], and published the first attempt towards a reconstruction of Uto-Aztecan. | ||
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| - | After his death from cancer in 1941 his manuscripts were curated by his linguist friends who also worked to spread the influence of Whorf's ideas on the relation between language, culture and cognition. Many of his works were published posthumously in the first decades after his death. In the 1960s Whorf's views fell out of favor and he became the subject of harsh criticisms by scholars who considered language structure to primarily reflect cognitive universals rather than cultural differences. Critics argued that Whorf's ideas were untestable and poorly formulated and that they were based on badly analyzed or misunderstood data. | ||
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| - | In the late 20th century, interest in Whorf's ideas experienced a resurgence, and a new generation of scholars began reading Whorf's works, arguing that previous critiques had only engaged superficially with Whorf's actual ideas, or had attributed to him ideas he had never expressed. The field of linguistic relativity studies remains an active focus of research in [[psycholinguistics]] and [[linguistic anthropology]], and continues to generate debate and controversy between proponents of relativism and proponents of universalism. By comparison, Whorf's other work in linguistics, the development of such concepts as the [[allophone]] and the [[cryptotype]], and the formulation of "[[Whorf's law]]" in Uto-Aztecan historical linguistics, have met with broad acceptance. | ||
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Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan Template:IPAc-en is a family of indigenous languages of the Americas, consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found almost entirely in the Western United States and Mexico. The name of the language family was created to show that it includes both the Ute language of Utah and the Nahuan languages (also known as Aztecan) of Mexico.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Uto-Aztecan languages" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
