The Sapir‐Whorf Hypothesis: A Preliminary History and a Bibliographical Essay

This article presents a historical overview of linguistic ideas in relation to the Sapir‐Whorf Hypothesis. The source of the hypothesis is found in the writings of Wilhelm von Humboldt, and further development is found in the writings of Heymann Steinthal, Franz Boas, Edward Sapir, Benjamin Lee Whorf, Carl Voegelin, and Dell Hymes, among others. Humboldtian ideas have had a long‐standing impact on American ethnolinguistics.