The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis is the idea that the sort of language people speak changes the way they think and act.
Cuneiform is one of the first known forms of written language, but spoken language is believed to predate writing by tens of thousands of years at least.
We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way - an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language.
The agreement is, of course, an implicit and unstated one, but its terms are absolutely obligatory; we cannot talk at all except by subscribing to the organization and classification of data which the agreement decrees.
Cuneiform is one of the first known forms of written language, but spoken language is believed to predate writing by tens of thousands of years at least.
We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way - an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language.
The agreement is, of course, an implicit and unstated one, but its terms are absolutely obligatory; we cannot talk at all except by subscribing to the organization and classification of data which the agreement decrees.
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