its proclamation of the impact language has on thought. The hypothesis states that an individual’s thought are influenced by the language the individual speaks and is divided into two components: Linguistic Relativism and Linguistic Determinism. Linguistic Relativism is the weaker form and asserts that distinctions found in one language are unique to that particular language alone and there is no limit to the structural diversity of languages. Linguistic Determinism states that the semantics of a language affect the way an individual perceives the world and shapes that person’s thought.

Scholars vary along the spectrum of the Whorfian Hypothesis from complete support of Linguistic Determinism to complete rejection of the Whorfian Hypothesis. One scholar who has shown favor for Linguistic Determinism is scholar Lera Boroditsky. Her research on the Whorfian Hypothesis has enabled her to conclude that people who speak different languages do in fact think differently. In order to come to the conclusion that language does in fact influence thought, Boroditsky traveled to Pormpuraaw, a small Aboriginal community in northern Australia. There she discovered that the locals, the Kuuk Thaayorre, use cardinal-direction terms to define space. Through her trip to Pormpuraaw, Lera discovered a significant difference in navigational ability and spatial knowledge between speakers of languages that primarily rely on absolute reference frames. In order to support her finding Boroditsky gave people sets of pictures that showed a type of temporal progression. She asked them to arrange the photos to show the correct temporal order. Each person was tested in two separate sittings, each time facing in a different cardinal direction. Boroditsky discovered that the Aborigines did not place the photos in sequential order like English speakers, left to right, or Hebrew and Arabic speakers, right to left, they did it by the compass, from east to west (. On the other end of the spectrum stands John McWhorter. In his article, McWhorter emphasizes his idea that language does not give an individual a particular worldview. McWhorter provides examples that refute the assertion proposed by the Whorfian Hypothesis. He states