“Sapir-Whorf hypothesis"holds that human thoughts are shaped by their native languages,and speakers of different languages think differently relevantly.The hypothesis is controversial partly because it seems to deny the possibility of a general principle for human cognition,and partly because some findings taken to support it have not reliably replicated.The author argued that considering this hypothesis through the lens of probabilistic inference has the potential to figure out both issues,at least with respect to certain prominent findings in the two languages—Chinese and English.After exploring on the inner relationship among language,thought and culture with the comparison between English and Chinese based on a series of examples including“numbers,Wuhan dialect and some different understandings of idioms”,the author made an inference that language can somewhat affect human thought under the different culture contexts.Besides,it also provides some reference for educators to take in-depth studies on the relationship among language,thought and culture,which is vitally significant for ESL educators and learners.
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