Benjamin Lee Whorf was an American linguist and fire prevention engineer, best known for his ideas on the relationship between language and thought. He proposed the concept of linguistic relativity, which suggests that the structure of a language influences its speakers' worldview and cognition. His work primarily focused on the Native American languages, particularly Hopi and Apache, which he studied in depth. Whorf's theories challenged the notion that language is merely a tool for communication. Instead, he argued that language shapes our perceptions and experiences. His ideas have had a lasting impact on fields such as linguistics, anthropology, and cognitive science.