Sapir

Sapir is a surname of Jewish origin, derived from the Hebrew word sapir meaning sapphire. The name is also encountered as a given name in modern Hebrew. It appears in various cultural and academic contexts.

Edward Sapir (1884–1939) was a Russian-born American anthropologist and linguist, a foundational figure in American structural linguistics. His work on the relationship between language, culture, and thought helped lay the groundwork for linguistic anthropology in the United States. Along with Benjamin Lee Whorf, his ideas contributed to the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, commonly described as linguistic relativity, which proposes that language influences perception and cognition. The status and strength of its claims are widely debated. Sapir conducted extensive studies of Native American languages and helped shape the Boasian tradition of documenting linguistic and cultural diversity.