- Title
- From linguistic determinism to technological determinism
- Creator
- Kaschula, Russell H
- Creator
- Mostert, Andre M
- Date Issued
- 2015
- Date
- 2015
- Type
- text
- Type
- book
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67062
- Identifier
- vital:29027
- Identifier
- https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-5888-2.ch447
- Description
- publisher version
- Description
- From Introduction: This article seeks to analyse the link between linguistic determinism, the notion that language determines our thought and the way we perceive our reality, as espoused by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and contemporary technological determinism. Arguably this link takes place within a global context where equal access to technology is not yet guaranteed. Ellul (1964) and Lawson’s (2004) observations create an interesting metaphor in terms of the technological beast staring down human society. The overwhelming response if we accept Lawson’s observation is complacency at best or downright naivety at worst regarding the impact of technology on our thinking. Lawson made his observation in the pre-Facebook era and subsequent literature is now much more focused on all aspects of technology within our contemporary milieu. Technology is now totally ubiquitous in the developed world and becoming more so in developing countries, albeit with a much stronger mobile bias for early technology adopters. That technology is rushing ahead of many individuals and institutions is almost an aphorism with many lagging in its wake. This lag as recognised by Brynjolfson and McAfree (2011) has wide social and economic implications for all members of society, in the case of business those that do not keep up go under. A further pertinent question revolves around how individuals who start from low technological literacy levels or do not keep pace with technological developments are impacted. Dlutu (2013) assesses for example the impact of social network sites on the isiXhosa language and culture in both a rural and urban area of South Africa. Furthermore one may then ask how this technological milieu impacts on the general aspects of the day to day lives and thinking of all members of a society. This gives rise to the concept of technological determinism which in its simplest form states ‘that technology has important effects on our lives’ (Adler, 2008, p. 537). This is far too simplistic when the contemporaneous technological developments are assessed. Adler (2008, p. 537) goes further and recognizes ‘that technology itself is socially determined…and social structures co-evolve in a non-deterministic, emergent process…the effects of any given technology depend mainly on how it is implemented which in turn is socially determined’ (Adler, 2008, p. 537). Engaging this socially determined application of technology can be advanced when the relationship with language and language determinism is considered. Moreover, it is the interplay between technology and language that gives rise to the emerging concept of a language singularity which is brought about by a form of technological determinism. This article seeks to explore the possible effects of rapid technological development on human interaction, language and culture in a ‘globalized’ world which has unequal access to literacy and technology. Furthermore, the article explores the link between language, culture, thought and technology and the type of linguistic and technological determinism that we can anticipate.
- Format
- 11 pages
- Format
- Publisher
- IGI Global
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition
- Relation
- Kaschula, R. H., & Mostert, A. M. (2015). From Linguistic Determinism to Technological Determinism. In M. Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition (pp. 4564-4574). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-5888-2.ch447
- Relation
- Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition volume number 4564 4574 2015 9781466658899
- Rights
- IGI Global
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the IGI Global Content Reuse Policy (https://www.igi-global.com/about/rights-permissions/content-reuse/)
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Kaschula, Russell H (Prof)
RU School of Languages and Literatures
RU DST/NRF SARChI for Intellectualisation of African Languages, Multilingualism and Education
RU Books and Book Chapters
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