No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. Language is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the individual’s mental activity, analysis of impressions. The fact of the matter is that the ‘real world’ is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group.” 6

As Sapir has written, not only is it a misunderstanding of words that can cause confusion and differences of opinion, but the structure of the language, or grammar of the language, influences how we think and see our world. Sapir and Whorf agree that it is our culture that determines our language, which in turn determines the way that we categorize our thoughts about the world and our experiences in it. Whorf says that your language affects how you think, which in turn affects how you deal with incoming information, and ultimately how you use it. Thus, the words we select to describe people’s internal or external attributes shape the way we feel about these people.

In 1984 the main character, Winston Smith, works in the government’s “Ministry of Truth.” His Job is to rewrite news stories to be consistent with the way in which the government wants you to think. George Orwell uses his concept of Newspeak, an earlier essay, that argues that to control what people think, control their language and only those thoughts consistent with that language will occur. 4

“linguistic determinism”