Enfield, N. J. (2000). On linguocentrism. In Martin Pütz & Marjolijn H. Verspoor (Eds.), Explorations in linguistic relativity (pp. 125-157). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/cilt.199.09enf
Enfield’s paper “On linguocentrism” addresses the methodological and theoretical issue in linguistic relativity research that has emerged from two current conflicting positions. According to one view, one may experimentally test a language/culture/thought connection by isolating phenomena from these putatively separate realms, and then demonstrating whether or not there is some influence or non-accidental connection. A second view argues that the said prior separability of language, culture and thought is illusory, and that rather, the point of studies in linguistic relativity is to describe the ways in which particular conceptual themes dominate particular linguistic and
cultural systems. Enfield supports the linguocentric view, which favors the position of language in cognitive and cultural phenomena, allowing linguistic evidence to be used in describing such phenomena. However, Enfield concludes that even though linguocentrism is a fact of life, in its methodology, monolinguocentrism, and therefore ethnocentrism, must be avoided at all cost to avoid circularity in argumentation.
