The significance of Linguistic Relativity in COVID-19

Abstract

The principal objective of this investigation is the intention to present a project of investigation about how two distinct cultures interpret infographics about COVID-19 after showing them a set during a semi-structured interview. There is a desire to see if the language in a person’s culture influences these COVID-19 infographics' unique interpretations and implications, which are transcribed as data after the recorded semi-structured interviews are finished. Through these semi-structured interviews that contain parallel questions, these two participants of distinct cultures, North American and Chinese, are shown identical WHO mask usage infographics, with and without text. In light of this, the focus is on COVID-19 infographics by the WHO because of their large global impact on health advice to all cultures that seek it; also, the WHO is one of the most reliable and largely funded resources for universal public health issues, and its global accessibility prevents bias. Additionally, the theoretical frameworks and disciplines that elaborate on the phenomenon that language and culture may have a correlation with cognition, such as a person’s attitude, perception, or interpretation, is usually referred to as the theory of linguistic relativity with relation to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. Nevertheless, inspired by research in that field, the data obtained in pretests could help understand and validate the design of the objectives that are available for debate. As well, the results can be appreciated in more than one discipline, such as portrayed in the theoretical framework, and favorable for both a project of investigation and/or in final research. Thus, based on the studies of the pretest, one can begin to observe that both cultural interpretation during a health crisis and the infographics' effectiveness to the multitude of cultures that are in need of them in any era is a paramount topic. Henceforth, this project of investigation may offer reasons that support the efficacy of the WHO’s infographics, or on the contrary, propose evidence that suggests their infographics are not appealing due to the conflict of interpretations by distinct cultures. That is why it is crucial to conduct pretest as part of this project of investigation; such methods allow rigor in the preparedness for the foreseeable macro diagnostics