[suh-peer-hwawrf, -hwohrf, -wawrf, -wohrf] 
| a theory developed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf that states that the structure of a language determines or greatly influences the modes of thought and behavior characteristic of the culture in which it is spoken. |
| Sa·pir-Whorf hypothesis (sə-pîr'wôrf', -hwôrf') n. A hypothesis holding that the structure of a language affects the perceptions of reality of its speakers and thus influences their thought patterns and worldviews. [After Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf.] |
