Word: pirah
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...Lowdown: Everett is a linguistics professor at Illinois State University, and in addition to cultural observations like the ones above, he spends a lot of time reveling in his passion for sentences and structure. The Pirahãs language contains just eight consonants and three vowels; their repetitive staccato sounds like indecipherable gibberish to just about everyone else in the world except for Everett. Until he came along, no one outside of the tribe had ever become fluent in Pirahã. A few years ago, Everett made waves in the linguistics world when he challenged Noam Chomsky's idea that...
...difficulties of religious conversion: Kóhoi said, "Ko Xoogiái, ti gi xahoaisoogabagai." (Hey Dan, I want to talk to you.) He continued, "The Pirahãs know that you left your family and your own land to come here and live with us. We know that you do this to tell us about Jesus. You want us to live like Americans. But the Pirahãs do not want to live like Americans. We like to drink. We like more than one woman. We don't want Jesus. But we like you. You can stay with...
...There is still a sense of belonging that permeates the values of all Pirahãs. The Pirahãs see immediately that outsiders lack this quality. They see Brazilians cheat and mistreat other Brazilians. They see American parents spank their children. Most puzzling to them, they have heard that Americans fight huge battles to kill large numbers of other people and that Americans and Brazilians even kill other Americans and Brazilians...
...Pirahã have no word meaning "Thank you." They show gratitude by returning the favor or giving a gift. They do not say "I'm sorry" or "you're welcome" or "hello." Instead of bidding someone goodnight, they say, "Don't sleep, there are snakes" - a gentle reminder that wild beasts lurk in the nearby jungle ready to slither, scurry or pounce at the first hint of an unsuspecting, defenseless snore. "Goodnight," is an empty phrase, argues Everett. At least the Pirahã saying serves a purpose...
...when the talking stops and the sentences have all been diagramed, Everett's book becomes more than just the personal journey of a man deep in the heart of godless, grammatical darkness. There is no horror for Everett or the Pirahã, just friendship, respect, and endless fascination with each other's differences...