1887
Culture – Language – Cognition: Special Commemorative Issue - 20th Birthday of Pragmatics & Cognition 20:2 (2012)
  • ISSN 0929-0907
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9943
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Abstract

Everett’s main claim is that language is a “cultural tool”, created by hominids for communication and social cohesion. I examine the meaning of the expression “cultural tool” in terms of the influence of language on culture (i.e. the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) or of the influence of culture on language (Everett’s hypothesis). I show that these hypotheses are not well-supported by evidence and that language and languages, rather than being “cultural tools” as wholes are rather collections of tools used in different language games, some cultural or social, some cognitive. I conclude that the coincidence between language and culture is due to the fact that both originate from human nature.

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/content/journals/10.1075/pc.20.2.06reb
2012-01-01
2025-02-11
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