Sapir, suh PEER, Edward (1884-1939), was an American anthropologist and linguist who explored the relationships between language, culture, and personality. In anthropology, Sapir helped found two new branches of study: (1) linguistic anthropology, which analyzes the role of language in different societies, and (2) psychological anthropology, which examines the relationship between culture and personality. He also formulated methods by which scholars can reconstruct the history of a culture in the absence of written evidence. Sapir greatly influenced the modern anthropological concept of culture. This concept emphasizes patterns of acquired traits and the relationship between personality and culture.