Comments on: The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and How Language Affects Our Understanding of Soccer http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:18:31 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Hiten http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-100399 Hiten Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:01:10 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-100399 David, kudos on a wildly interesting article on two of my favorite things, language play and footy. I've been interested in Whorfianism for a while now, and while the hard version has shown to be ecologically invalid (just because the English don't have the word schadenfreude doesn't mean they can't feel pleasure in another's pain), I always felt the soft version has merit. I notice that when I'm speaking Hindi or Arabic, my mental set shifts and I'm more sensitive to certain stimuli. Love your insight into the trequartista position, the word has definitely been one of the catalysts for players adopting that style and being groomed for that position. Your La Plancha example would need backing up by looking into whether that kind of foul is given a little more leeway in the English game. I've written a little piece on language play, specifically code-switching which is a fascinating phenomenon associated with bilinguals/polyglots. Love to get your thoughts: http://mothsmokelingers.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/code-switching-branding-pt-iii-the-language-fetish/ Inspiring blog, anticipating devouring it very soon :) Hiten David, kudos on a wildly interesting article on two of my favorite things, language play and footy.

I’ve been interested in Whorfianism for a while now, and while the hard version has shown to be ecologically invalid (just because the English don’t have the word schadenfreude doesn’t mean they can’t feel pleasure in another’s pain), I always felt the soft version has merit. I notice that when I’m speaking Hindi or Arabic, my mental set shifts and I’m more sensitive to certain stimuli.

Love your insight into the trequartista position, the word has definitely been one of the catalysts for players adopting that style and being groomed for that position. Your La Plancha example would need backing up by looking into whether that kind of foul is given a little more leeway in the English game.

I’ve written a little piece on language play, specifically code-switching which is a fascinating phenomenon associated with bilinguals/polyglots. Love to get your thoughts:
http://mothsmokelingers.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/code-switching-branding-pt-iii-the-language-fetish/

Inspiring blog, anticipating devouring it very soon :)

Hiten

]]> By: Carlos http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-32602 Carlos Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:58:05 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-32602 It is interesting to read of soccer in this way. And yet rarely does it put a smile on my face as wide as the one I get reading even the most skimpy vacuous star interview. Indeed, the dream of scoring the magic goal, the dips y do!, is what I think becomes lost when the great game is taken to such precious intellectual plateaus. And whenever it is written of in this manner there is always the little cry of the author: " I am/was a player too!". Thank you. It is interesting to read of soccer in this way. And yet rarely does it put a smile on my face as wide as the one I get reading even the most skimpy vacuous star interview. Indeed, the dream of scoring the magic goal, the dips y do!, is what I think becomes lost when the great game is taken to such precious intellectual plateaus. And whenever it is written of in this manner there is always the little cry of the author: ” I am/was a player too!”. Thank you.

]]> By: ninaz http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-32189 ninaz Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:15:43 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-32189 good article...gives me more insight on sapir-whorf hypothesis.. (im writing a thesis and i use linguistic anthropology approach and the sapir-whorf hypothesis) good article…gives me more insight on sapir-whorf hypothesis..
(im writing a thesis and i use linguistic anthropology approach and the sapir-whorf hypothesis)

]]> By: Jesús http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-19174 Jesús Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:50:36 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-19174 Great article! Great article!

]]> By: Fintsomsnus - Jonathan Forster’s Blog » Blog Archive » links for 2008-02-14 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-13589 Fintsomsnus - Jonathan Forster’s Blog » Blog Archive » links for 2008-02-14 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:26:15 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-13589 [...] Culture of Soccer » Blog Archive » The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and How Language Affects Our Underst... [...] [...] Culture of Soccer » Blog Archive » The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and How Language Affects Our Underst… [...]

]]> By: HodgeyBoy http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-13566 HodgeyBoy Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:11:08 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-13566 Really enjoyed the article. I love it that football can be enjoyed for the score, for the team, for the passion and also for the 'meaning' As this article points out; the game is strong enough oand pervasisve ebough to be used to cast a light on amany other areas of study. Really enjoyed the article. I love it that football can be enjoyed for the score, for the team, for the passion and also for the ‘meaning’ As this article points out; the game is strong enough oand pervasisve ebough to be used to cast a light on amany other areas of study.

]]> By: Jack http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-13556 Jack Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:07:21 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-13556 I would have to disagree with the article on the basis that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is not the most compelling socio-linguistic argument around. From Chomsky on, linguists have downplayed the effect of language on thought and emphasized the universals of grammar, Chomsky and followers (e.g. Pinker) going so far as to say that thought precedes language, that we think in a deeper level called "mentalese", for lack of better term. You could see that in the Beckenbauer example. Beckenbauer plays in a way that no one had before him, ergo, you need a new word to describe what he does. What he was doing and the need to describe what he was doing precedes the word's actual use. Every time you hear the word "libero", you might remember Beckenbauer or that style of play, but would either have any meaning if Beckenbauer wouldn't have existed and done it first? I don't mean to be scroogey, and I love your next article on cultural definitions of cheating. Obviously these concepts are a heck of a lot more complex than I'm speaking of here. I think language does influence thought, but I'm not willing to say that language holds as strong a power over its hearers as Sapir, Whorf, or Orwell would have us believe. I would have to disagree with the article on the basis that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is not the most compelling socio-linguistic argument around. From Chomsky on, linguists have downplayed the effect of language on thought and emphasized the universals of grammar, Chomsky and followers (e.g. Pinker) going so far as to say that thought precedes language, that we think in a deeper level called “mentalese”, for lack of better term. You could see that in the Beckenbauer example. Beckenbauer plays in a way that no one had before him, ergo, you need a new word to describe what he does. What he was doing and the need to describe what he was doing precedes the word’s actual use. Every time you hear the word “libero”, you might remember Beckenbauer or that style of play, but would either have any meaning if Beckenbauer wouldn’t have existed and done it first?

I don’t mean to be scroogey, and I love your next article on cultural definitions of cheating. Obviously these concepts are a heck of a lot more complex than I’m speaking of here. I think language does influence thought, but I’m not willing to say that language holds as strong a power over its hearers as Sapir, Whorf, or Orwell would have us believe.

]]> By: Ryan http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-11703 Ryan Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:09:10 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-11703 Nice article. I agree with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis comment above. It's simply a function of language, that is you invent words that describe your environment. And in these cases, the futbol that exists in their life makes a need for other terms that some languages don't have. Nice article.

I agree with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis comment above.

It’s simply a function of language, that is you invent words that describe your environment. And in these cases, the futbol that exists in their life makes a need for other terms that some languages don’t have.

]]> By: Culture of Soccer » Blog Archive » Do You Monitor the Monitor? http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-3300 Culture of Soccer » Blog Archive » Do You Monitor the Monitor? Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:01:37 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-3300 [...] here has been picked up and published in the Christian Science Monitor. The piece, which I titled The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and How Language Affects our Understanding of Soccer, is in today’s Monitor on the commentary page under the headline Win or Lose, It’s How [...] [...] here has been picked up and published in the Christian Science Monitor. The piece, which I titled The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and How Language Affects our Understanding of Soccer, is in today’s Monitor on the commentary page under the headline Win or Lose, It’s How [...]

]]> By: Jason.Burke,Murphy http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/comment-page-1/#comment-1067 Jason.Burke,Murphy Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:33:06 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/06/19/the-sapir-whorf-hypothesis-and-how-language-affects-our-understanding-of-soccer/#comment-1067 Great article. Please indulge me when I say that this is a "soft" version of Sapir-Whorf, one that is more plausible than the "hard" version, in which languages are ulitimately untranslatable. This article proves that one can make such translations with time. The US may be learning this soon as the Chicago Fire is about to employ a number 10 with a whaleload of ardido, Cuahtemoc Blanco. Another note; I noticed Didier Drogba protesting to an official and pointing to a hole in his shirt as evidence of an outrage. Perhaps English-speaking Soccer is unique in its relatively lax attitude. And another: I think all sides are right, the EPL is too lax on fouls and the rest of the world should punish diving more. Great article. Please indulge me when I say that this is a “soft” version of Sapir-Whorf, one that is more plausible than the “hard” version, in which languages are ulitimately untranslatable.

This article proves that one can make such translations with time.

The US may be learning this soon as the Chicago Fire is about to employ a number 10 with a whaleload of ardido, Cuahtemoc Blanco.

Another note; I noticed Didier Drogba protesting to an official and pointing to a hole in his shirt as evidence of an outrage. Perhaps English-speaking Soccer is unique in its relatively lax attitude.

And another: I think all sides are right, the EPL is too lax on fouls and the rest of the world should punish diving more.

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