So, are you arguing that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is a theory?
There's more on the controvesy here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, the author of which writes:
Whorfism has not only fallen out of favor and has never been backed up by rigorous studies, it has also been used, again and again, to support the idea that indigenous languages are inprecise, incomplete means of communication which will never suffice for the modern world. Yes, I do know that Safir, Whorf's teacher, was trying to do exactly the opposite: point out the value of indigenous languages by pointing out their many complex and unique features, but Whorf completely warped what the legitimate point that Safir was trying to make. When I talk to people about language preservation, it amazes me how often they dredge up some half-remembered reference to Whorf that they read about during college "Isn't it true that Hopi can't refer to time in any way? Well, really, it would be nice to preserve it, but how can they actually use it in today's world if they can't even talk about when something happened?".
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My graduate work, spent in the Yukon Territory, where I lived and worked with a First Nations band for two consecutive years, was dedicated to documenting their language for the purposes of a) preservation and b) linguistic data, (Hopi and Navajo, by the way, among other aboriginal languages, are two that I researched during those 2 years), so if you would like to get into the inner workings of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, I have first-hand experience and knowledge to share with you in support of the problems raised by the hypothesis; however, and since the topic of this thread (your thread) focuses on semantics;i.e. theory v. hypothesis, I'm not all that convinced, given your argument, that you fully understand the issue at hand. Maybe it would be best at this point if you defined your terms, and explained what it is exactly that you think the hypothesis means and how it applies to the previous discussion, the one that spun this discussion, English grammar rules, worldwide?

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