Regarding the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, in private conversations, noted linguist and philosopher, Emmon Bach, pointed out that the notion popularized as the "Sapir-Whorf hypothesis" was common currency in linguistic circles as the principle of linguistic relativity long before Sapir or Whorf popularized it. For an overview showing the historical context see: Linguistics and Anthropology.

For a scholarly discussion of how thought on the topic has evolved in recent decades, see Rethinking Linguistic Relativity, Cambridge University Press, (1996).