[lojban] la'o zoi gy. Sapir-Whorf .gy.

[SwiftRain <swiftrain@geocities.com>]

From: SwiftRain <swiftrain@geocities.com>

Pycyn@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Whorffian effects are in grammar, not vocabulary.
 
.i mi na tugni fi la'edi'u .i pe'i le mulno bangu cu galfi le menli be
le tavla be fo le bangu 
 
I think that the method by which a language changes its speakers is very
straightforward: a language contains information; to learn the language
is to learn that information; learning information changes the way one
thinks. 
 
In learning lojban one learns that "there is a word guzme, which means a
melon or squash."  Knowing that may not induce a dramatic change in
one's worldview, but it does lead to thoughts that one would not
otherwise have.  Yesterday I said that I was making a "stasu be lo
guzme" (I was making squash soup) & the fact that guzme also means melon
lead me to imagine watermelon soup.  I opine that this was an instance
of "language changing thought" -- granted, it's a rather obvious way of
changing thought, but I think it is no less significant due to its lack
of obscurity. 
 
co'o mi'e bret.

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