Ada Castro

Annotated Bibliography
Ottawa University

Carnes, R. (2014). A PERCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE WHORFIAN THESIS. ETC:

A Review Of General Semantics, 71(3), 263-271
Carnes breaks down systematically how both Sapir and Whorf formulated the hypothesis in
1956. The author offers a variety of comparison between he study of these known writers and
tears the theories apart to come up with a new model within linguistic relativism. Carnes follows
some of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, however, he bring a new perspective in the proposed
model.
The source is very recent (2014) and it attends to the expectations of its scholarly audience.
Carnes presents an article filled with new and interesting ideas that bring controversy to my
research project. He presents different claims and support those with credible background as
well.
Ciutacu, S. (2008). Whorf and His Aftermath Revisited. Scientific Bulletin Of The
Politehnica University Of Timisoara. Transactions On Modern Languages / Buletinul
Stiintific Al Universitatii Politehnica Din Timisoara. Seria Limbi Moderne, 7(1/2), 7-14.
Ciutacu summarizes Whorfs claims to give final results on the studies he made regarding
cultural and linguistic relativism. One of the main thoughts is that any thought process takes
place within the boundaries of a language, that each language fleshes out a worldview and that
the worldviews structured by languages or, at least, the language families differ greatly.
This source is practical and it translates what is supposed to be scholarly material in to general
audience material. Ciutacu write accurately a simplified version of Whorf thoughts that later on

became the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. This ties back into my project in the second implication,
which is rhetoric and language, making it then, an extremely accurate source.
Gamble, M & Gamble, T. (2008). Contacts: Interpersonal communication in theory, practice &
context. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
This book emphasizes the role that rhetoric has on interpersonal communications. It highlights
the relevance of using the correct terms for all social situations and it is highly academic. The
specific chapter (4) that is present in the research project talks about linguistic relativism and the
impact it has in bilingual students.
It is a great source because it is for general audiences and it is very easy to follow the author
through their claims. It is relatively recent and very accurate to fulfill some gaps in my research
question. One excellent reason to trust in the credibility of this source is that it is used by Ottawa
University faculty to teach several communication courses.
Madani, D., Kayedian, M., & Mohammadi, F. A. (2013). The Interaction between People's
Learned Language and Their Habitual Thinking Patterns. Language In India, 13(10),
270-278.
The central claim is that a language is more than just a means of communication. It is able to
influence our culture and even our thought processes. The authors bring new perspective to the
understanding of how language influences thought or vice versa. There are three main theories in
the article which are: Mould theories, Sapir-Whorf theory and Cloak theories.
In the implications of my research question, there is a cognitive leap between thought and action
regarding culture. This source addresses that gap by providing theories and new ideologies to

overcome the lack of linguistic relativism. It is relatively recent and it provides diversity to the
project because of the language that the study was made in, which was Hindi.
McGee, M. C. (1980). The "Ideograph": A Link Between Rhetoric and Ideology. Quarterly
Journal Of Speech, 66(1), 1-16.
McGee offers a high-quality article explaining what an ideograph is and the premises for
anything to become one. There are four premises, and in summary, those are: it must be found in
political discourse, it must be an abstraction representing a collective commitment, it warrants
the use of power and it is accepted broadly by our culture. If any ideology follows those
premises, then it can become an ideograph; this is McGees main claim.
I chose this source because it is essential background for my project. In order for continental
models to become ideographs, they must follow McGees premises. That is the only way to
answer the research question properly and in an organized way. McGees research is almost
unique in the field and it had great credibility due to the fact that it was published in the
International Journal of Speech. Its accuracy cancels its currency, because we are yet to see
another work like McGees nowadays.
Monmonier, M. (1996). How to lie with maps. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

As its title reveal, it is easy to learn how to lie with maps, or more interesting: how mapmakers
lie with them. Monmoniers book is a helpful guide to understand how cartographers manipulate
the content and data interpretation to make it eye-catching for a specific audience. Moreover, it
conveys a specific message of how statistics in general can be manipulated by almost anyone
with money.

One of the implications of the present research project is the lack of geographic relativism in the
way we see and divide the world. Monmonier addresses this topic entirely and his claims fit
perfectly with the implications presented. Monmonier have had excellent book reviews; this adds
credibility to his work, and therefore my project.
Monmonier, M. (1996). How to Lie with Maps. Retrieved from
http://www.markmonmonier.com/how_to_lie_with_maps_14880.htm
In this website, Monmonier exposes all his work and allows other writers to comment and give
reviews on it. This source allows readers to confirm the originality and impact that Monmoniers
book has had in society with the pass of the years.
Through this only resource, this project is backed up with accurate and recent information. Since
the book was published in 1996, this website allows the source to update itself without the need
of another book. As I stated before in my evaluation of sources, in the field of geography is ok to
expand our scope a couple of years back.
Lewis, W. & Wigen, K. (1997). The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography.
Berkeley: University of California.
Lewis and Wigen provide a full historical and geographic analysis for how the continents were
formed. They give a detailed explanation of the existence of todays continental patterns and the
comprehensive alignments for cartographers to understand better the issues between antique
geography and modern geography.
One of the main concepts Lewis and Wigen analyze is that of continental models. Since my
research question is based on continental models, I believe this source fits perfectly to improve
the perception of such a complicated phrase. It is an accurate source that directs mainly scholars,

however, it is so well-written that general audience feels welcome to comprehend their claims as
well. The source is not only original, but extremely trustworthy due to its authors and reviews
within the geographic field.
Lind, M. (1997, November 2). Ever Since Gondwanaland [Review of the book The myth of
continents] The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/11/02/reviews/971102.02lindlt.html
Linds main argument is that maps are made by the biases of mapmakers. His article is a review
for the book The Myth of Continents, by Lewis and Wigen (one of my main sources). Lind gives
another perspective through constructive criticism. He states that people see the world that they
want to see regardless of their cultural background. Although my research differs from this, this
source helps giving different points of view from which I can expand better arguments.
A good research project always brings controversy to light, and this is what this source is all
about. Although it is not completely recent, there has not been another work similar to this in the
last decade. Lind dared to challenge one of the greatest continent books of all times, and he did it
elegantly and classy. This article meets the expectations of its audience, both scholarly and
general.
Reboul, A. (2012). Language: Between cognition, communication and culture. Pragmatics &
Cognition, 20(2), 295-316. doi:10.1075/pc.20.2.06reb
Rebouls work is mainly interpreted from the Everett hypothesis, which main claim is that
language is a cultural tool, created by hominids for communication and social cohesion.
Throughout the article, Reboul makes it clear that language and culture work together because

they are both originated from human nature. The concepts of culture and language as a tool are
analyzed and broken down, in order for us to understand Rebouls claims more clearly.
One of the implications of continental models being ideographs that I present in my project, is
that there are rhetoric consequences of the way we see and appreciate the language in our
culture. This source is engaging and it brings the necessary elements to provide solid background
for my claims. It is recent and it fulfills both scholar and general audiences accurately.