Johannes Leo Weisgerber (25.02.1899-08.08.1985) Biography Contribution Leo Weisgerber

Johannes Leo Weisgerber (25.02.1899-08.08.1985)

Biography Contribution Leo Weisgerber

February 25, 1899 – was born in Metz, France He taught as a professor at the Rostock University, Marburg University, Bonn University During World War II his pan-Celticist ideology was co-opted to support the German war effort He died in 1985 in Bonn

Contribution Leo Weisgerber anticipated the hypothesis of the existence of a Sprachliche Zwischenwelt, a linguistic mediary world, which controls thought.

Contribution He proposed the theory that “our understanding is under the spell of the language which it utilizes”. The most important concept of the theory is that of the Sprachliches Feld (Linguistic Field).

Contribution This is a ‘segment of the Sprachliche Zwischenwelt’. It is any relatively well-defined subsystem within the content of a particular language.

Contribution Examples of segments are: The system of color words in a language; The system of words designating temperature; The system of adjectives designating intellectual ability;