Reconstructing Realism in Post-Postmodern Narrative: Dave Eggers’s A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

By analysing Dave Eggers’s autofictional work A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, this article attempts to reveal the role of this author in the post-postmodern narrative of the turn of the millennium. Following in the wake of David Foster Wallace, Eggers’s solution to overcome the problems created by postmodernism is a kind of writing based on honesty. Through a rebirth of the author, the objective of Eggers’s New Sincerity is the democratization of narrative in order to create a sensibility network aimed at ending the solipsism brought about by postmodern linguistic relativism. However, this new sensibility is reminiscent of pre-postmodern fundamentalism. The use of meta-metafiction based on the use of neo-Romantic irony enables Eggers to create an escape valve that allows for the creation of a metamodern oscillation—as described by Tim Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker.

Zjawisko stereotypizacji, uprzedzeń i dyskryminacji „eurosierot” w świetle wyników ośmiu badań eksperymentalnych i podsumowującej metaanalizy

Referring to the children of circular migrants as Euro-orphans could arouse implicit negative attitudes, serving as an essential source of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against them. Based on: (1) the three-factor theory of attitude, (2) the automatisation of cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes concept, and (3) the linguistic relativism theory, and the aforementioned assumption was tested in eight experiments (n = 160 subjects), and the gathered data were summarised in the meta-analysis. It turned out that contact with the term “Euro-orphan” (vs. “child”) was the source of negative attitudes among 73% of participants (Cohen’s d = 0.693). The strongest effect was recorded in the behavioural (1.195), affective (0.556) and cognitive domain of attitude (0.309). The observed regularities and their practical (educational) implications were discussed in the light of the theory of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination of various social groups.

Interdisciplinarity of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Linguistic relativism originally comes from anthropology and linguistics. However, most of the interpretations of linguistic relativism have come a long way considering the beginning of the 20th century – when it was established. One of the reasons for that lies in its interdisciplinary potential. In various arts, we find many applications of the philosophy of linguistic relativism. In this paper, we write about the application of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis in the American movie Arrival (2016) and the novel from Bosnian writer EnesKarić named Boje višnje (2016).

How Language Influences Conceptualization

Do speakers of different languages think alike because of the universality of the experience of being human or do we all think differently because of differences in our languages? The answer to these questions has changed throughout the history of linguistic thought, ranging from observing languages merely as tools for expressing our thoughts to strongly believing that languages shape and even constrain our thoughts. This paper presents an overview of two most important theories that deal with these questions: the “rise and fall” of linguistic determinism (Whorfianism), and the development of its more cautious version – linguistic relativism (Neo-Whorfianism) – advocated today primarily within the framework of cognitive views of language, as well as their criticisms, most commonly within the framework of generative views of language.

Co łączy i dzieli nazwy odgłosów zwierząt i ludzi?

The article provides is a comparison of the names of human and animal sounds, which belong to a larger collection of vocabulary that defines the world of auditory perceptions. The historical, grammatic and semantic regularities are identical to them. Differences are noticed in detailed meanings and in the pragmatic of these names, which includes among other things, a much higher incidence of the names of human sounds. Linguistic relativism is more closely covered by the names of animal sounds. The widespread use of animal names for sounds in relation to humans is accompanied by regular negative value and the expression of contempt against the person designated as sound performer.

Covid-19 Neologisms and their Social Use: An Analysis from the Perspective of Linguistic Relativism

This study aims to explore neologisms related to Covid-19 through the lens of the language-mind relationship, in terms of linguistic relativity. From a list of 25 Covid-19 neologisms collected from online dictionaries and Twitter.com, eight scientific and pop culture neologisms were selected to assess the motive of creation by exploring their first recorded use. Subsequently, the usage of Covid-19 neologisms in social media discourse was contextually analysed using the SFL framework of field, tenor, and mode to investigate whether it was illustrative of language influence over perception, or vice versa. A cyclic relationship was observed, in which perception prompted the creation of neologisms, whereas language influence on perception was evident in their usage in discourse.

Carving the body at its joints: Does the way we speak about the body shape the way we think about it?

ABSTRACTLooking at the way different linguistic communities speak about a universally shared domain of experience raises questions that are central to the language sciences. How can we compare meaning across languages? What is the interaction between language, thought, and perception? Does linguistic diversity entail linguistic relativism? The literature on the naming systems of the body across languages have addressed these questions with little consensus. In the present study, we contribute to this debate with a comparison of body part terms in French, Indonesian, and Japanese. Using an updated version of the body coloring task, we observed both diversity and cross-linguistically shared patterns. Importantly, we also observed that speakers of languages which violate the wrist/ankle joint boundary rule do not collapse the distinction in thought. This key finding goes against the conflation of language and thought and leads us to conclude that linguistic diversity does not entail linguistic relativism. Methodologically, we advocate for the use of a culturally neutral etic space as a necessary tool in semantic typology. Theoretically, we propose that language is a multilevel phenomenon, which results from the interaction of non-linguistic and cross-culturally shared embodied motivations, context-specific situated language use, and culturally specific sedimented linguistic conventions.

Learning/teaching philosophy in sign language as a cultural issue

This paper is about the process of learning/teaching philosophy in a class of deaf stu-dents. It starts with a presentation of Portuguese Sign Language that, as with other sign lan-guages, is recognized as a language on equal terms with vocal languages. However, in spite of the recognition of that identity, sign languages have specifi city related to the quadrimodal way of their production, and iconicity is an exclusive quality. Next, it will be argued that according to linguistic relativism - even in its weak version - language is a mould of thought. The idea of Philosophy is then discussed as an area of knowledge in which the author and the language of its production are always present.Finally, it is argued that learning/teaching Philosophy in Sign Language in a class of deaf students is linked to deaf culture and it is not merely a way of overcoming diffi culties with the spoken language

The Myth of Holism in Early China

This chapter documents the various forms of holist claims made about early China, showing how they are grounded in the sort of extreme cultural and linguistic relativism that is characteristic of postmodernity. It then focuses on mind-body concepts because this binary in particular tends to be the locus of holistic claims about early China and therefore serves as a helpful lens for viewing holism in general. The chapter characterizes what I refer to as the radical, or “strong,” mind-body holist position, which holds that any sort of distinction between mind and body is entirely foreign to early Chinese thought. The chapter concludes with a brief review of both textual and extra-textual evidence against the various flavors of holist claims about early China.