Books in brief (original) (raw)

Nature volume 508, page 318 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language

Oxford University Press (2014)

In this manifesto for a logical linguistics, one of John H. McWhorter's many intriguing examples hinges on the colour blue. To an English speaker, it is one subtly graded hue, from robin's-egg to deep navy. To a Russian, pale and dark blue are different colours. But does this point to crucial differences in how Russian and English speakers perceive? Emphatically not, avers McWhorter. He tackles such linguistic determinism — the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis — head on, arguing that world views are human, not strapped to one culture.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Barbara Kiser is Nature's books and arts editor.,
    Barbara Kiser

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kiser, B. Books in brief.Nature 508, 318 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/508318a

Download citation