“Different languages and different cultures can,” Everett writes, “produce different thoughts.” Language is a cultural, not a biological, tool, precisely because it gives meaning to the world in which it is formed; it is not some pure Platonic entity that adapts itself to that world, it is a product of the world. So, to know why wives are called vaginas in Wari’, you need, as far as possible, to become a Wari’.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sounds good …
… Bryan Appleyard — Overthrowing Chomsky. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
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Everett lived with the Piraha for 30 years and spoke their language fluently. Yet, to the Piraha "he was merely mouthing the words - he could not possibly know what they meant."
ReplyDeleteI've had the same reaction when I listened to Presidents, Senators, TV personalities, even some of my neighbors.
You, too? Politicians, in particular, give me that feeling.
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