Abstract
This article considers linguistic relativism and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis from the point of view of integrational linguistics (Harris, 1998). Taking Roy Harris' scattered comments on linguistic relativity as its starting-point, this article explores to what extent integrational theory adheres itself to some form of relativism. The article then considers a second major current in philosophy of language providing an explanation of how languages relate to reality, namely surrogationalism, which Harris divides into a reocentric and a psychocentric version (Harris, 1996). While linguistic relativism of a Saussurean, Whorfian or Quinean stamp provide holistic explanations, none can satisfy the onto-epistemological needs of Science, which presupposes a reocentric approach to language. Integrationism constitutes the third position, incompatible with either linguistic determinism or surrogationalism.
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