IMAGINE a world without words for colour, numbers or tales about imaginary beings. A tribe in a remote area of Brazil may live in just such a world, because their language lacks the words for such concepts and only allows people to talk about material things they have experienced directly.
Previous analysis of Pirah茫, a language spoken by only 200 people in Amazonas, Brazil, suggested that it had some limited words for colours and at least the words for 鈥渙ne鈥�, 鈥渢wo鈥� and 鈥渕any鈥�. But further analysis by Daniel Everett at the University of Manchester, UK, reveals that these 鈥渨ords鈥� are in fact phrases. 鈥淭hey are descriptions, and can vary from time to time,鈥� he says. For example, bio-pai-ai means 鈥渂lack鈥�, but translates literally as 鈥渂lood is dirty鈥�.
Everett also argues that Pirah茫 is the only known language without numbers, numerals or a concept of counting. Words which were previously assumed to mean 鈥渙ne鈥�, 鈥渢wo鈥� and 鈥渕any鈥� actually refer to relative size, and efforts to teach the Pirah茫 how to count in Portuguese failed (Current Anthropology, vol 46, p 621).
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Such features make the Pirah茫 language unique, and Everett鈥檚 work identifies other aspects that appear to challenge the idea put forward by linguists such as Noam Chomsky that all languages have a similar basic underlying structure and that children are born with the major principles of language in place.
According to Everett, Pirah茫 culture does not require its people to talk about abstract concepts, gods, spirits or other things that they have not experienced at first hand. This would indicate that Pirah茫 grammar is subject to cultural constraints, something that shouldn鈥檛 happen according to both Chomsky鈥檚 theory and linguist Charles Hockett鈥檚 鈥渄esign features鈥� view of language.
鈥淧irah茫 culture does not require its people to talk about abstract concepts or things they have not experienced at first hand鈥�
Paul Kay, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley, who studied Pirah茫 as part of his work on the language of colour, described Everett鈥檚 work as 鈥渟tartling and fascinating鈥�. But words made up of phrases can still count as words, he says. 鈥淭he question is, are their meanings composed of the meanings of their parts, or are they dead metaphors?鈥� For example, are they metaphorically based idioms like 鈥渞ound the bend鈥�, which performs the same role as a word, or are they compositional phrases like 鈥淗e鈥檚 no longer of sound mind鈥�?
Either way, this does not necessarily undermine Everett鈥檚 main argument that Pirah茫 lacks one or more features that were previously thought necessary for a language, Kay says.
