Read the following passage carefully.
In the mid-twentieth century, the prevailing anthropological consensus regarding the relationship between language and cognition was heavily influenced by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. In its strongest formulation, linguistic determinism posits that the grammatical and lexical structures of a given language dictate the cognitive boundaries of its speakers. According to this view, individuals are incapable of conceptualizing ideas for which their native language lacks specific vocabulary or syntactic frameworks. This paradigm effectively treated language as an inescapable cognitive straitjacket, shaping not merely communication, but the very nature of human perception.
By the late 1970s, however, the ascendancy of cognitive psychology and universalist linguistics fundamentally undermined this deterministic model. Researchers observed that while languages partition the visual spectrum differently, human color perception is rooted in universal biological mechanisms rather than linguistic constraints. Similarly, developmental psychologists demonstrated that pre-linguistic infants possess sophisticated spatial reasoning abilities, suggesting that complex thought precedes language acquisition. Consequently, the strong formulation of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis was largely discarded by the academic community in favor of theories emphasizing innate, universal cognitive structures.
Recently, a more nuanced iteration of linguistic relativity, often termed neo-Whorfianism, has emerged, moving beyond the binary of strict determinism and absolute universalism. Contemporary researchers concede that while language does not absolutely restrict thought, it routinely obliges speakers to attend to certain aspects of reality. For instance, languages that require speakers to specify the gender of a subject or the exact temporal nature of an action encourage habitual cognitive biases. Thus, rather than functioning as a rigid constraint, language operates as a habitual framework, subtly guiding attention and memory in ways that produce measurable, albeit limited, cognitive variations across cultures.
Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?
- A traditional theory is described, evidence that discredited this theory is presented, and a modified contemporary version of the theory is introduced.Answer
- BA hypothesis regarding language is defined, the specific findings of cognitive psychologists are detailed, and the effects of grammar on habitual memory are summarized.
- CAn initial scientific consensus is established, empirical anomalies that contradict this consensus are enumerated, and a call for further research to resolve these anomalies is issued.
- DTwo competing theories regarding linguistic determinism are contrasted, evidence favoring the more recent theory is evaluated, and the older theory is dismissed as unscientific.
- EA traditional paradigm is described, the cognitive mechanisms that govern human perception are analyzed, and a habitual framework for memory is proposed.